Council, Representing NW States, Expresses Support For Corps’ Cost-Sharing, Rapid Response Plan If Invasive Mussels Invade Basin
August 14th, 2019
A letter in support of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ rapid response plan for invasive mussels got a thumbs up from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
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Corps Prepares Plans To Execute Rapid Response Measures If Mussels Discovered In Columbia River Basin, Northwest Water Bodies
July 24th, 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.
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Montana Details Its High-Level Effort To Keep Zebra, Quagga Mussels Out Of Basin; Funding For More Inspection Stations Would Help
July 18th, 2019
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.
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Study: As Regional Climate Warms, Smallmouth Bass Will Encroach On Much More Salmonid Spawning, Rearing Habitat
July 11th, 2019
Nearly 18,000 river kilometers (11,185 miles) of Columbia River basin streams currently has suitable habitat for an invasive predatory fish that, as climate warms, is a range that is predicted to increase by 10,000 river miles by 2080, according to a recent study.
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New Water Quality Permits For Atlantic Salmon Farms Include Stronger Protections For Puget Sound; No Non-Native Fish Farms By 2022
July 10th, 2019
Beginning in 2022, fish farms will no longer be allowed to raise non-native fish in Washington’s waters. Until then, updated permits from the Washington Department of Ecology require Atlantic salmon farms to step up their monitoring, inspections and reporting, and to have emergency response plans, the agency said Thursday.
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Western Governors Call For Western Invasive Species Council; More Federal Cooperation, Funding
June 18th, 2019
The Western Governors Association at its annual meeting last week approved a resolution calling for the creation of a new Western Invasive Species Council; new mechanisms to enhance regional invasive species research, planning and coordination; and recommendations to Congress and federal agencies on improving invasive species management on federal lands and supporting state-led management efforts.
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Quantifying Economic Costs Of Northern Pike Invasion; ‘Would Require Large-Scale Ecological-Economic Exercise’
June 13th, 2019
Economists tasked with quantifying the costs of suppressing invasive northern pike in Lake Roosevelt as well as the costs to the region if the pike escaped Grand Coulee Dam and migrated downstream, risking recovery of the Columbia River basin’s threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead, indicated at a Northwest Power and Conservation Council meeting this week that available data is too sparse to adequately answer the questions.
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Western Governors’ ‘BioSecurity’ Report Recommends Ramping Up Actions To Stop Destructive Invasive Mussels From Contaminating Columbia Basin Waters
June 11th, 2019
If invasive quagga and zebra mussels spread to the Columbia River Basin — the last major un-infested water system in the continental U.S. — the control costs in the basin alone could reach $500 million annually, says the Biosecurity and Invasive Species report released this week by the Western Governors’ Association.
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Stopping Invasive Mussels: Congress, Administration Urged To Empower State-Led Programs Rather Than Create New Response System
May 30th, 2019
The Western Governors Association is urging Congress and the Trump Administration to “support and empower state-led rapid response programs” to manage the risks of aquatic invasive species, including zebra and quagga mussels, rather than creating a new response system.