Close call with mussel in Dayton harbor

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reports that an exotic quagga mussel adult was found on a sailboat hull during a March 5 inspection conducted at the Dayton yacht harbor on Flathead Lake.

FWP regional aquatic invasive species coordinator John Wachsmuth and volunteer Erik Hanson, a certified mussel inspector, found the small adult quagga mussel attached to the stern of the hull. The mussel appeared to be intact and alive.

The sailboat owner said the boat was hauled to Montana from Lake Mead, in Nevada and Arizona. The boat was decontaminated at Lake Mead and later inspected by the Idaho Department of Transportation.

After being notified by the Columbia River Basin Network inspectors on March 4 that the decontamination procedure might not have been adequate, Wachsmuth arranged for a local inspection and coordinated further decontamination efforts. The boat is now in dry dock and will not be launched for at least two months.

FWP attributed the success in averting this potential threat to good coordination and communication between officials in Idaho and Montana. The incident illustrates the danger of exotic mussel introductions due to boats being transferred from water to water.

Wachsmuth urges anyone hauling boats of any kind into Montana to be sure the boats have been decontaminated and inspected by a state agency involved in aquatic invasive species prevention.

Boat owners should make sure the hull and bilge area are clean and dry, and that the boat is inspected before the boat is transported. Boaters who are hauling boats from known infested waters, such as Lake Mead, should contact FWP at 444-2449 so arrangements with a local inspector can be made.