The threat to Idaho from invasive zebra and quagga mussels is so great, according to Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, that Idaho needs to enact emergency legislation right away to make every boat owner in the state purchase a sticker that’d help fund wash stations to keep the tiny and insidious shellfish out of Idaho’s waterways. Anderson won unanimous support from the House State Affairs Committee this morning to introduce his bill; next step is a full public hearing. “It’d be a $100 misdemeanor to not have that (sticker) on your vessel,” he told the panel. “However, the intent of this is not to fine, the intent of this is to educate”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

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Question: Should boaters pay $10 to $20 more for a sticker to fight the waterway threat from zebra and quagga mussels?

Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, noted that the Legislature has “been very generous when we’ve had the money to be proactive on milfoil, and with the leadership of Rep. Anderson and others, made some great strides.” But now, she said, “Obviously, in our economic downturn we’re at a crisis point, and we have quagga mussels looming 100 miles from our border, so there’s a grave concern.” She asked state Ag Director Celia Gould if she’s “identified other funding sources that could help us with this threat?” Gould responded, “We just haven’t found that money tree for quagga mussels”/Betsy Russell, SR Eye On Boise. More here.

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