Dreissenid Prevention Across the Pacific Northwest

Zebra mussels and quagga mussels have been the most costly aquatic invaders in U.S. history as tens of millions of dollars are spent each year in managing zebra mussel infestations in the Great Lakes, Mississippi and now Colorado River drainages.  The introduction of zebra and quagga mussels into the Columbia River Basin could not only threaten native species, but also industrial, agricultural, recreational, navigation, and subsistence use of the infested waters.  

Dreissenid mussel transfer between basins in the western United States is most likely to occur through the movement of trailered watercraft.  Government agencies and organizations in the western US have implemented watercraft interception programs designed to prevent contaminated watercraft from being launched in unaffected waterways.  Hundreds of thousands of boats are inspected each year in the western US. 

An overview will be provided an overview of western watercraft inspection programs, data on number of boats inspected and source waters of infested boats. This talk will also highlight challenges and successes of watercraft interception programs and future direction of interjurisdictional cooperative planning, prevention and management amongst state, federal and provincial agencies.