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State starts checking boats for mussels in northwest Montana

In this Feb. 7, 2012, file photo, Idaho State Rep. Eric Anderson poses in his offices in the Idaho Capitol in Boise with an Idaho license plate he left for six months in Lake Mead near Las Vegas to be encrusted with quagga mussels. (John Miller / Associated Press file)
Associated Press

KALISPELL, Mont. – Officials have opened two watercraft inspection stations as part of the state’s plan to prevent the spread of invasive mussels.

The Daily Inter Lake reported that the Flathead Basin Commission opened the inspection stations on Friday in Pablo and at Clearwater Junction.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks says the state will take over operations at the two boat-check sites starting April 15.

State officials have pushed for broader restrictions on boating activity after invasive mussel larvae were detected in the Tiber Reservoir in October and suspected in other parts of the state.

Lawmakers are currently considering a budget proposal from the department that calls for increasing spending on Montana’s mussel-prevention program and doubling the number of boat-check stations.