Inspections halt 25 befouled vessels

SANDPOINT — Since the Idaho State Department of Agriculture implemented its boat-inspection program in 2009, 145 vessels befouled with dreaded aquatic invasive mussels have been intercepted.

The state, which has 20 inspection stations and one roving crew of inspectors in southwest Idaho, intercepted 25 boats in 2015 that contained quagga or zebra mussels.

"Of those 25 vessels we intercepted this year, 17 were in northern Idaho — two were headed to Hope and one was headed to Priest River," said Tom Woolf, aquatic plants program manager for ISDA.

Idaho is on high alert for mussels because they have not yet been detected in any of its waterways. They can adhere to just about anything and are virtually impossible to eradicate. They can clog water intakes and disrupt the aquatic environment.

The state conducted a record-number of inspections - 64,157 - in 2015, surpassing an earlier record of 49,380 inspections. Roughly half of the inspections this year were conducted at stations in Bonner and Kootenai counties.

"We looked at a lot of boats," said Woolf.

The inspections stations in Bonner County are operated by the Bonner County Soil & Water Conservation District.

Woolf said some of the boats that were inspected were being transported commercially coast-to-coast, while others were boating tourists.

"We see people that are just touring the country, dragging their boat and dropping it in along the way. Those are the guys that can really move stuff," said Woolf.

Inbound vessels are deemed high-risk if they had been in a mussel-impacted waterway within the previous 30 days. The state is authorized to conduct high-pressure hot water wash-downs if mussels are visible on boats, but can only strongly recommend a wash-down if there are no obvious signs of mussel contamination.

Woolf said 660 boats were pressure-washed, but as many as 830 boats had come from mussel-fouled waters within that 30-day window.

"Boaters have a right to refuse that. We don't have the authority to require a hot wash unless we find a mussel on the boat," said Woolf. "That's kind of a gap in our program."

However, notification and inspection programs in other states are alerting Idaho when a high-risk boat is en route.

"This year, 16 of the boats were intercepted due in part because of notification from Nevada, down at Lake Mead. They're starting to inspect boats more and letting us know that they're coming. Arizona, to a certain extent, is also doing that," Woolf said.