Bipartisan bills take aim at aquatic invaders

The prospect of an aquatic mussel invasion has drawn deep concern from Montana policy-makers for years, and for good reason.

A recent study suggests that up to $500 million could be lost in property value in the state, should invasive mussels become established in our lakes and rivers. Potentially add on another $122 million in mitigation costs and up to $112.1 million in lost revenue, and you have the recipe for an economic disaster.

The good news is that a slate of bipartisan lawmakers are taking this threat seriously. According to a recent report by the UM Legislative News Service, a number of bills aimed at preventing the spread of aquatic invaders are in front of the Legislature that would up the ante on Montana’s already robust AIS prevention programs.

Speaker of the House Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is sponsoring legislation that would give counties more teeth in managing prevention programs and enforcing penalties. Under House Bill 402, counties could quarantine lakes, levy taxes to pay for invertebrate and vertebrate pest control and establish local AIS laws.

The provision allowing more local control in the authority to rapidly respond to an AIS outbreak could be critical. Time would be of the essence should mussels be detected in one of Montana’s waterways, and it’s possible local government could mobilize much quicker than state or federal resources.

Hertz’s bill has the backing of the Montana Association of Counties, Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana, the Clark Fork Coalition and the Montana Audubon Society. We were surprised to see the Montana Farm Bureau oppose the bill on the grounds that ag land could be taxed for AIS prevention purposes. As Rep. Joe Read, R-Ronan, points out, farmers’ irrigation systems could be seriously harmed by the presence of aquatic invaders if water is pulled from lakes or rivers.

For Read’s part, he is sponsoring a bill that would require all boats with ballasts or bladders be decontaminated no matter the circumstance. That bill has the support of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Montana Trout Unlimited and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

There are other bipartisan proposals in front of lawmakers as well. House Bill 32 would require boat owners to buy an AIS prevention pass annually that could add millions of dollars to the state’s AIS programs. Similarly, House Bill 411 would require the purchase of a prevention pass for nonresident motorized boat owners only.

We’re glad to see each of these proposals getting serious consideration by the Legislature. An ounce of prevention now could save millions down the road.