Tribes declare 'invasive species emergency'
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes announced last Tuesday evening they have declared an “invasive species emergency” on the Flathead Indian Reservation in response to invasive mussels detected in Central Montana last month.
Head of Tribal Natural Resources Rich Janssen said no new restrictions will go into effect as a result of the declaration, but said the tribes are in the process of forming an incident-management team comprising of officials from several departments.
“We just want to make sure we’re on the same page with other agencies and other entities that we can prevent these mussel larvae from even getting here,” Janssen said.
Situated on more than 1.2 million acres including lands around the southern half of Flathead Lake, the reservation includes popular boating and fishing access points on the lake and southern Flathead River. So far, Montana’s mussel detections have been restricted to east of the Continental Divide.
The tribes operate an invasive species boat-check station in Pablo during the boating season, in partnership with the Flathead Basin Commission. Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks also operates a check station in Ravalli.
Last year, the Pablo boat-check began operations ahead of its typical Memorial Day opening, and Janssen said he hopes to continue the expanded schedule by March 2017, in anticipation of the tribes’ popular biannual Mack Days fishing tournament.
He added that the tribes have also been working with researchers from the University of Montana Flathead Lake Biological Station to conduct additional water sampling on the lake, and are also working with the university facility to obtain grant funding for aquatic invasive species research and funding.
“Our goal is to protect the lake, and we believe we need the entire community to keep the mussels away from Flathead Lake and other water bodies on the reservation,” Janssen said.
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.