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The discovery of New Zealand mudsnails has shut down the state of Montana’s third largest hatchery, a trout production facility near Bridger. The discovery was at a hatchery located in the Missouri River drainage of Montana.

The number of watercraft inspections completed in 2019 across the four Northwest states rose 6 percent from 2018, but the number of contaminated recreational vessels intercepted at the stations that had invasive quagga or zebra mussels attached dropped 2 percent to 93 boats, according to a draft report by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission that was completed last week.

The Western Governors Association has launched the Western Invasive Species Council to enhance coordination between existing state invasive species councils, improve communication and collaboration on regional biosecurity and invasive species control efforts, and to advocate for regional needs at the federal level. Governors appointed 16 members to the new council.

As inspection stations that search arriving watercraft for aquatic invasive species – especially quagga and zebra mussels – begin to close, the State of Montana reported that it had completed 110,000 watercraft inspections in 2019.

An invasion of quagga and zebra mussels is being held off at the borders of Northwest states through the efforts of invasive species inspection stations, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District is preparing for the worst.

In a state that lies in the upper headwaters of the Columbia River basin and considers itself guardians in keeping zebra and quagga mussels out of the basin, Montana says that more can be done and calls on the Bonneville Power Administration to help fund permanent watercraft inspection stations.