Inspection station protects Western Montana waters

Montana’s Aquatic Invasive Species Early Detection and Monitoring Program has been in place since 2004. Early discovery allows Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists to locate small or source AIS populations, while monitoring allows the agency to study existing population trends and investigate suspect findings.

All watercraft, motorized and non-motorized, must stop at all watercraft inspection stations. Kayaks, innertubes, paddleboards, drift boats, rafts, ski boats -- if it touches the surface of water, it needs to be inspected to detect any possible AIS. Out-of-state boats must be inspected prior to launch on Montana waters. If boaters do not encounter a Montana watercraft inspection station while traveling, inspections conducted in Idaho and Wyoming fulfill Montana’s inspection-before-launch requirements. But boaters must carry proof of inspection receipt and, when applicable, a seal.

In 2016, the Fish, Wildlife and Parks initiated the AIS Watercraft Inspection Station program and today over 60,000 boats statewide are inspected. There are almost 40 inspection stations in the state with about 10% being examined at the Drexel Station off I-90 in the eastbound lane at mile-marker 25. 

Jason Green lives in DeBorgia and this is his second year as a watercraft inspector. 

“We’ll give it a visual all the way around. Use a flashlight to look into dark corners and crevices. We check for wet; anything wet,” as he feels the rope wrap on rowing oars of a rubber raft. “That tells us that the boat has recently been in water. Could be rain. Could have been a sprinkler at their house but it leads us to ask a couple of questions on where it’s been in the last 30 days so we know to look even closer for milfoil or other vegetations, especially if it was in what we call a hot-zone area.” 

Each station has computers that print out the well-known hot zones in the country. The Midwest has many lakes and Lake Havasu in Arizona is almost an AIS factory. The most well-known AIS is Eurasian Watermilfoil but Flowering Rush is in Flathead Lake and Curley Pond Leaf is becoming more prevalent. 

At the annual three-day training, attendees were warned that Golden mussel is new to the area that came from Vietnam.  

“If it’s wet, were suspect,” Green smiled as he was checking life jackets and waders from the raft.

Invasive species include plants, animals and pathogens that are non-native to the ecosystems and cause harm to natural and cultural resources, the economy, and human health. Invasive species often reproduce and spread rapidly due to a lack of predators or competitors to keep their populations in check.

“Washington, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming are the only states that don’t have any AIS mussels,” shared Mike Flaman, who has been an AIS Watercraft Inspector for many years. 

He lives in Thompson Falls and works at the Drexel Station 40 hours a week during the season. 

“These mussels live in wet, dark and muddy areas and they are tiny. They’re called villagers when they are in this stage. When they become adults at about 1 1/2 inches, they are having a million babies a year.”  

Zebra and quagga mussels (collectively referred to as Dreissenid mussels) have become a major concern across North America due to their impacts on waterways. 

“They can get transported in bilges, ballast bags, and cooling systems. Even on the surface, but they tend to like dark right angles deep in the boat,” Flaman said.

Paddles on kayaks break apart and they look closely inside the tubing. If anything doesn’t look or feel right, they take them over to the hot water tank where it’s 140 degrees and flush them out. Once the vessel is cleaned, it’s certified, and the owner receives a copy of their report showing proof that it’s been inspected, and it’s now certified to operate on Montana waters.

Bob Wheeler drives over from St. Ignatius to help on Saturday and Sundays as they are the busiest days of the week. He works as the greeter by going up to the driver and explaining what the inspections are all about while the other guys become detectives. 

“Most people are real high-quality people. They take care of their equipment. They are conscientious about what they are bringing into our waters. The locals, for sure. They care as much as we do,” he shares. 

“A quarter inch of milfoil can contaminate a whole new body of water. Just a piece. It doesn’t have to be the entire plant. Do you know where milfoil originally came from?” he asks. “People’s aquariums. They dump it into the water and that’s where it starts. Sometimes they let their guppies go in a creek, or their goldfish and then we have invasive species of fish and an aquatic plant that can destroy miles of water.”

“When we find a boat that we don’t feel good about or it’s dirty looking, we turn on the heaters and pumps and give it a thorough cleaning,” Green said. 

They do not charge the boat owner nor do they issue citations. They are ambassadors of taking care of water resources, giving tips and sharing stories with other like-minded recreationists. 

“We do this because we love our state. We don’t want any of that malarkey in our waters so we’re protecting them for our grandkids today,” he said.

Nonresident watercraft launching in Montana must purchase a Vessel AIS Prevention Pass (Vessel AISPP) online at fwp.mt.gov/AIS or any FWP license provider. Motorized watercraft fee is $30 and nonmotorized watercraft fee is $10. There is no decal so proof of purchase must be a paper receipt or electronic on cellphones.