Zebra mussels (photo courtesy of the B.C. Government / Flickr)

By Kevin Rothwell

Inaugural meeting

Interior invasive mussel working group ramps up

Mar 8, 2024 | 6:30 AM

Dozens of concerned parties are expected to attend the inaugural meeting of a new Okanagan-Interior Invasive Mussel Working Group starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 8 at Manteo Resort in Kelowna.

The Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) is expanding its efforts to prevent zebra and quagga mussels from arriving in B.C. and is hosting the meeting.

In 2012, the OBWB received a report indicating the Okanagan was at risk for invasive mussels due to its warm, calcium-rich waters and strong attraction for water-based tourism.

A year later, the board started lobbying for mussel inspection stations, as were becoming common in the U.S. It also started it’s “Don’t Move A Mussel” campaign to raise awareness regarding the mussel threat, the risks and ways to prevent them from arriving.

With the discovery of quagga mussels in Idaho – where one can be boating there one day, and the next day in the Okanagan – the Water Board has updated its calls to action to the B.C. and Canadian governments, and is gathering supporters to determine what more can be done to protect local and B.C waterways.

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The working group includes representatives from First Nations and local governments, chambers, tourism, marinas and others from the Thompson-Okanagan and Columbia-Shuswap regions, all with the aim of protecting local waters.

On the agenda for discussion: what more can be done to prevent zebra and quagga mussels from reaching the B.C. Interior; how to contain their spread if they get in; and how to manage their arrival.

There will be presentations regarding the threat to Okanagan and B.C. waters, the Province of B.C.’s Invasive Mussel Defence Program, and how some mussel-infested jurisdictions are dealing with the problem which could help inform B.C.’s response.

Invasive mussels have caused multi-million dollar damages to infrastructure and tourism in other jurisdictions in North America.