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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 2020)
4 July 10, 2020 T he C olumbia P ress State launches all-out attack on invasive zebra mussels Last month, a coali- “Oregon needs to tion of natural resource practice a rapid re- agencies and tribes held sponse plan and act a virtual “what if” exer- fast,” said Glenn Dol- cise on the possibility of phin, aquatic invasive invasive quagga or zebra species coordinator for mussels being found in Oregon State Marine the Columbia River Ba- Board. “The question sin. isn’t if the mussels con- The practice scenario taminate the basin, but involved a boat launch- when.” ing into Lake Billy Chi- The state needs to be nook after coming to the prepared with technolo- lake from mussel-infest- gy and communication, Zebra mussels cling to the underside of a ed Lake Pleasant, Ariz. with leadership and The out-of-state boat boat. procedures in place, he launched and moored in a tions ranging from facility said. marina on the lake for 10 closures, law enforcement as- Invasive species can deci- hours before the invasive sistance, and mandatory boat mate an area, crowding out mussels were detected. inspection/decontamination native species and damaging The exercise included mon- for boats leaving the water water filtration systems. itoring and containment op- body. In the mock drill, the re- sponse team activated a mock command center and explored the best mitigation options for the conditions. The variety of participants provided a diverse amount of expertise for the drill, said Rick Boatner, Oregon De- partment of Fish and Wild- life’s invasive species/wild- life integrity supervisor. “If you miss your window of opportunity for whatever reason, the mussels will take over an entire ecosystem,” Boatner said. “And now you are dealing with containment and control, which is far more expensive and drastically in- creases the chance that the mussel will expand into more areas around the state.” Mandatory boat inspection stations in Oregon are the first line of defense, but most are open seasonally and only during daytime hours. Rec- reational boaters can help protect waterways by clean- ing, draining and drying their boats after every use. Beginning this year, all boaters also are required to “pull the plug” and empty any water-holding compartments when leaving a water body and during transit. Nonmo- torized boats 10 feet and lon- ger are required to purchase and carry a waterway access permit. Nonresident motor- boat owners must purchase an out-of-state aquatic inva- sive species permit. The revenue pays for aquat- ic invasive species inspection stations, decontamination equipment, staffing, law en- forcement, and outreach ma- terials. Those participating in the exercise were Oregon State Marine Board, Oregon De- partment of Fish and Wild- life, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Parks and Recre- ation Department, Oregon Department of Environmen- tal Quality, Portland General Electric, Invasive Species Ac- tion Network and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Com- mission. “We are proud to be a part of this … proactive approach to invasive species preven- tion in the Columbia River Basin,” said Theresa Thom, regional aquatic invasive species coordinator for Fish and Wildlife. “Our successes and lessons learned are be- ing used to inform other rap- id-response efforts across the nation.”