Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force meets

THOMPSON FALLS – The Sanders County Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force assembled last week to discuss steps to limit the spread of invasive species in the county’s waterways as the recreation filled warm summer months approach.

The task force’s first meeting of the year took place on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at the Sanders County Courthouse in Thompson Falls.

Representatives from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Avista Corp. and County Commissioners Tony Cox and Glen Magera were among those in attendance at the task force meeting.

Funding was a main emphasis of the force’s first meeting of the year, as grant funding is a critical element in ensuring monitoring and treatment of county rivers, ponds and lakes throughout the warm summer months in northwestern Montana.

Currently, Dr. Kurt Goetzinger is working on a maintenance plan for the task force to use as a basis for future control measures throughout the county.

Goetzinger, an aquatic species expert is planning to have a draft of the plan around the end of February.

There are currently a large number of pieces of legislation pertaining to aquatic invasive species circulating in the state legislature in Helena, as invasive fauna and flora has become a statewide issue over the past several years.

A main component of limiting the transport of invasive species across the state is boat and live fish inspections.

Recognizing the important role these inspections play in limiting the spread of non-native and potentially harmful plant and wildlife, FWP held a meeting to address the issue in Billings, on Thursday, Jan. 29.  

The meeting was transmitted via telecast to cities throughout the state to ensure each region of Montana was a part of the ongoing conversation.

According to Kim Bergstrom of the Sanders County Aquatic Invasive Task force one of the main specie the task force must deal with is Eurasian watermilfoil.

“Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) is an extremely aggressive invasive plant known to impact aquatic environments, recreational uses, irrigation and hydro-power generation. It was first discovered in the Lower Clark Fork River in Sanders County in 2007, which also happened to be the first discovery of the species in Montana. Initial studies indicated EWM covered 247 acres in Noxon Rapids Reservoir and 117 acres in Cabinet Gorge Reservoir, and that it was spreading at a rate of about 9.8% annually,” said Bergstrom.  

Bergstrom noted the task force is implementing a multi-tiered approach to protect the county from aquatic invasive species.

“The Task Force is implementing an aggressive integrated control program that includes herbicide treatments, hand pulling, bottom barriers, public education/boater outreach, watercraft inspection stations (with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks), and monitoring that provides data to evaluate results,” Bergstrom said.

Bergstrom added the herbicides used are employed in a way, which limits their impact on native aquatic plants.

“The herbicides endothall, triclopyr and diquat are applied alone or in combination based on site characteristics and effectiveness at treating aquatic invasive plants while limiting impacts to native aquatic plants. Applications are made using a variable-depth water injection system that is calibrated with boat speed and plant depth for exact delivery to the targeted EWM plant stands,” Bergstrom said.

Bergstrom and the rest of the task force understand their efforts to combat the spread of aquatic invasive species involve several challenges, which the task force must overcome.

“The large-scale integrated control program isn’t without challenges, the first of which is funding. The annual budget to treat 200 acres of infestations with herbicides, perform hand pulling and monitoring, install and maintain bottom barriers, and conduct public outreach runs about $315,000 per year not including the cost of operating three watercraft inspection stations (managed and funded through FWP). To date, treatment efforts have been funded through grants awarded by the Noxious Weed Trust Fund and Montana DNRC as well as funding provided by Avista Corporation. The sources of those grants funds have now been depleted and the Task Force is hard at work with legislators to identify a source of funding that will allow the program to continue. The group is currently short about $200,000 for 2015 and 2016,” stated Bergstrom.

In 2014 FWP boat check stations in Sanders County recorded both the highest number of failed boat inspections and the highest number of incidences regarding live fish transportation in the state.

The high number of failed inspections has been a key topic of discussion at previous task force meetings.

The task force noted educational outreach would be key to ensure both residents and visitors to Sanders County are aware of the potentially harmful repercussions on local habitats of moving a species of fish or plant from one body of water to another.  

“In addition, results from FWP reveal that the Thompson Falls watercraft inspection station recorded the highest instances of EWM and other aquatic vegetation findings, as well the highest frequency of illegal fish, compared to all stations statewide. This means that methods performed by watercraft owners to inspect, clean, and dry their boats are not adequate, and there is either a lack of awareness about legal fish taking and transporting regulations, or there is a willingness to break those laws. It appears that while public awareness of EWM is quite high, the importance of watercraft inspections and adhering to laws regarding fish transport are not well understood by the general public,” Bergstrom stated.

Over the past few years the task force has been able to cut back levels of invasive species in areas across Sanders County.

Bergstrom stated operational treatments took place in Noxon Reservoir in 2012. That first year, 172 acres were treated with herbicides. In 2013, 188 acres were treated with herbicides and hand-pulling of EWM occurred on 1.22 acres. Due to effectiveness of these treatments, only 18.6 acres were identified in need of herbicide treatment and 0.1 acres in need of hand pulling in 2014 on Noxon Reservoir.

“Success of the treatments has been very high, with 90% control of EWM typical across these treatment plots in Noxon. If this level of success remains consistent following 2014 treatments, the acreage of EWM in Noxon will have been reduced from 247 acres in 2008 to an anticipated infestation occurring over only 9 acres in summer 2015,” Berstrom said.  

According to Bergstrom, in 2008 the Sanders County Aquatic Invasive Plants Task Force was formed to address the existence of aquatic invasive plants in county waterways. The Task Force consists of members representing the Sanders County Weed District, general public, Avista Corporation, private industry, Green Mountain Conservation District, Montana BASS Federation, Noxon-Cabinet Shoreline Coalition, Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes, MSU Extension, US Forest Service, MT Department of Agriculture, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and NorthWestern Energy.