State trust fund created to fight aquatic invaders
A bill that will create a $10 million trust fund to expand Montana’s war on aquatic invasive species was signed into law by Gov. Steve Bullock on April 24.
House Bill 525, sponsored by Rep. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, was passed unanimously in the House on Feb. 26 and by 45-5 in the Senate on April 13.
Wildlife experts for years have worried about the potential local impacts of zebra mussels, a nuisance species that rapidly has spread through waterways from the Great Lakes to Southern California.
The mussels are especially bad in Lake Mead, and check stations in Idaho, Montana and other states keep a close eye on watercraft coming from Nevada. Recently a pontoon boat purchased in Nevada passed inspection in Idaho but had local officials concerned as it headed to its new owner’s home in Hungry Horse.
Interest generated by the fund established by HB 525 will go toward grants to local governments and other organizations for public education, prevention, control and eradication of invasive species.
Noland said it’s money well spent, with the Flathead Valley’s tourism industry relying heavily on the health of its renowned lakes, rivers and streams.
“I grew up on Whitefish Lake, and I see the beauty of it. I want to keep that for my children and grandchildren,” he said. “If it gets here, it’s going to cost millions and millions of dollars to stop it. Let’s do a little legwork up front to prevent a lot of money having to be spent in the future.”
Noland said grants for public education programs could help inform out-of-state boaters who may not be aware of the relative sensitivity of the Flathead River system.
Flathead Basin Commission executive director Caryn Miske joined representatives from environmental and recreation groups across the state to testify in support of HB 525.
“One of our greatest challenges, although the Legislature has been incredibly generous as far as funding, is that the reality is, we still don’t have sufficient funding to ensure we are catching the highest-risk boats coming into the state,” Miske said.
Montana Trout Unlimited executive director Bruce Farling stressed the need for preventive action for invasive mussels.
“Once we get any of these things in Flathead Lake, it’s going to be extremely problematic,” Farling said. “That’s the same for any lake in Northwest Montana, but since we have so many watercraft from other states going to Flathead, it’s a real challenge to make sure we have a tight enough noose around the lake to make sure we’re intercepting them.”
A second bill sponsored by Noland and signed by Bullock, HB 553, directs Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to work with the Montana Department of Transportation to conduct boat checks at ports of entry to the state. It also allows FWP to authorize other governmental entities to operate invasive species check stations.
That new authority could be a game-changer, Miske said, since many local governments have an interest in being able to fund and operate their own check stations.
“One of the keystones of our Flathead plan is that we want protection at all major points of entry coming into the basin,” she said. “It also allows all peace officers in the state to enforce aquatic invasive species laws. Now if there’s a noncompliant, fouled boat and FWP can’t respond because they’re two hours away, the city of Whitefish’s officers could respond, for example.”