Boaters urged to clean boats - keep Oregon free of invasive mussels.
As boaters, anglers and recreationalists take to the water this fall, the Oregon State Marine Board and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife remind boaters, “Never launch a dirty boat!”
Clean boating is more than a good practice; it’s critical to keeping Oregon free of destructive zebra and quagga mussels - the invasive freshwater shellfish that have cost many eastern and mid - western states billions of dollars in damage. In 2007, quagga mussels made the leap to the west where they are wreaking havoc on dams, irrigation and water systems.
“With the discovery of quagga mussels in Nevada last year, we have to realize they are just six hours south of our border,” says Randy Henry, Marine Board policy analyst and member of the Oregon Invasive Species Council. “Unfortunately, the mussels spread rapidly, readily floating downstream to colonize new areas or hitching a ride on recreational boats and houseboats.”
It is especially important to clean boats when moving them between waterbodies or when coming from a state known to be infested with quagga or zebra mussels. Canoes, kayaks, boat trailers, angling and other equipment should also be cleaned.
“You should clean your boat and equipment thoroughly after each use,” says Henry. “In Oregon’s lakes and streams, we have water milfoil, New Zealand mudsnails and other invasive species that are doing damage and can be easily spread.”
Henry says 2008 is going to be a tense year for Oregon’s waterway managers. “We’ve seen the numbers from infested states; a mussel infestation would be a terrible blow to our economy as well as our efforts to restore fish habitat and recover dwindling salmon stocks,” Henry says. “In fact, on May 22 and 23, vehicles trailering watercraft north on I-5 near Redding, California will be stopped for mandatory quagga and zebra mussel inspections. The California Department of Fish and Game is conducting the inspections to help prevent the spread of invasive mussels into Oregon.”
Henry is hopeful that, while prevention efforts such as boat inspection and cleaning are expensive, Oregon will adopt these practices. In Florida, officials estimate the benefit-cost ratio of prevention at 70:1. “That means that an ounce of prevention is worth 4.1 pounds of cure,” says Henry.
“The cost of quagga and zebra mussels to native plants and fish is huge,” said Tom Friesen, ODFW Invasive Species coordinator. “Once established these invaders are virtually impossible to eradicate and expensive to control. They colonize quickly and smother native plants and animals, removing food and nutrients from the water, leaving little or nothing for native aquatic species.”
In addition to being costly to economies and the environment, quagga and zebra mussels are also causing boaters to lose access in many places. In California, for example, many reservoirs are managed by private companies and some are closing their reservoirs to recreational boating. Others are installing expensive cleaning or inspection protocols or limiting access to boats.
Despite the threat, Henry believes education and preparation for invasive mussels will pay off. “We have to look at other state’s efforts and learn from them. While an introduction somewhere in Oregon might be inevitable, infestation everywhere is not. If you ‘never launch a dirty boat,’ you won’t introduce invasive species to our waterways”.
The Port of Siuslaw has a car and boat wash near the top of the boat launch ramp.
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