Invasive mussels found in Idaho sparks concern for the Okanagan

Sep 27, 2023 | 12:30 PM

Vernon’s mayor is concerned about invasive mussels found in Idaho recently and the risk they pose to the local waterways.

During the mayor and council reports portion of the regular council meeting Monday, Sept. 25, Victor Cumming stated zebra mussels were discovered in the state bordering British Columbia in early September.

“It was found in the fast-flowing component of the Snake River, which means that they get distributed very widely and very quickly,” Cumming told council.

“One of the real negatives here is that Idaho takes this extremely seriously, more seriously than we do, check boats more carefully than we do, have more stringent regulations, have drain and dry requirements, et cetera et cetera, and they still ended up with an outbreak of mussels in the Snake River.”

Cumming told council he brought up the concern of the mussels being brought north from Idaho and into the Okanagan Water Basin to the minister of land, water and resource management at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) Convention in Vancouver earlier in the month.

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“We’re hoping that the province will take this seriously and begin to think how they can upgrade their management for zebra mussels,” Cumming stated.

“The call we made was to look at putting up moratorium on bringing boats in from the U.S., but we’d have to upgrade our boundary management with Alberta because it would be just as easy to come north from Idaho into Alberta and then come across.”

Zebra mussels are a cause for concern in the Okanagan as they are an invasive species that can breed exceptionally fast, out-compete native species for food, and can alter the water’s clarity leading to changes in water temperature and plant growth that can negatively impact the survival of fish eggs.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Cumming reiterated the concern surround the mussel’s potential environmental and ecological impact on the Okanagan, as well as the fact that they were discovered in a state where there are lots of regulations to reduce the risk of mussels getting into the waterways.

He said measures need to be put in place to keep the invasive mussels out of the Okanagan.

“The most significant thing we can do is get border services to check every single boat that enters British Columbia from the U.S. That’s really the most important step,” Cumming told Vernon Matters.

“The second step is for the province to increase inspections at our three main entrances for people coming from the east, the Crowsnest Pass, Highway 1 and Highway 5.”

Cumming added those points of access need increased inspection “both in terms of 24 hours a day and a lengthening of the season.”

He hopes the discussion he had with the minister at the UBCM Convention will result in those actions being taken.

by Liam Verster