A group of spokespeople from the Glacier National Park announced this Thursday that they are prohibiting all boating momentarily until they find out what the mussel invasion source is. It is the first time that invasive mussels have shown up in Montana waters.
Lauren Alley, a representative from Glacier Park, has argued that if all the waters in their park get infested with these creatures, then they need to make sure immediately they are not migrating to different areas of the state or country. This infestation of mussel larvae has rapidly spread on all the waters of this park, forcing the officials to take measures like forbidding all the boating to assure the protection of the people and the animals.
It seems like this infestation only has been found in the Tiber Reservoirs at the east of Shelby. However, the personnel of the park needs to investigate any slight possibility of this mussel spreading elsewhere, and have to take actions like avoiding it or eradicating it. Alley has said that the regulations the Park must take include the prohibition of boating for a longer period if mussel has indeed spread to other water areas inside Montana State.
This new decision will harm the activities of people who prepared boat journeys to benefit from amazing views when floating on those rivers and even practice trout fishing in certain locations.
Mechanisms being used
Representatives from the Glacier National Park had established that they will work with other associations to solve this situation as quick as possible. To succeed in this matter, one of the innovations is the usage of groups of dogs trained specifically to found mussels.
The Flathead Basin Commission in western Montana has opted for the employment of dogs this year. This is part of a program to protect the western Montana basin from aquatic invasive species and agreed to assist with the enormous effort to locate adult mussels in Tiber Reservoir and avoid its possible spread to other waters.
Dogs can find mussels when they are still as small as a seed, and they can grow up to an inch long. When this happens, they become dangerous for swimmers because their sharp shells can cut human skin very easily. Mussels can cost millions in both economic and ecological damages, according to FWP and DNRC.
Officials have said this is the first time that dogs are entering this kind of search, and certainly, they don’t know how long is going to take. In any scenario, these actions will help to find and control the mussels more quickly.
Source: States Chronicle