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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Boaters must stop at Washington’s ‘pop-up’ invasive species check stations

BOATING -- Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) check stations will be set up this weekend in several locations in Eastern Washington, the state Fish and Wildlife Department announced this afternoon.

These are mandatory stops for anyone on the road with watercraft of any kind.

Officers will be looking for zebra and Quagga mussels and other plant and animal invasive species that can be extremely hazardous, both to native fish and wildlife and to water systems, if introduced to Washington waters.

The Check Stations will run from 8 a.m. through at least 3 p.m., and will be highly visible with signs, as follows:

  • Saturday, on Highway 2 just north of Spokane (near Chattaroy transfer station).
  • Saturday, on Lake Roosevelt, at National Park Service boat launch sites, including Kettle Falls.
  • Sunday, on Snake River boat launch sites, including Clarkston.

For more info on AIS, see the Fish and Wildlife Department's webpage at  http://wdfw.wa.gov/ais/.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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