Fighting invasive species

Photo: Contributed

A local group has an extra $10,000 to fend off an invasive species of mussels, which one organizer says is at the doorstep to B.C.

Zebra and quagga mussels have officially been found in Montana, and if they go just a short ways north into southern Alberta, Lisa Scott with OASISS (Okanagan And Similkameen Invasive Species Society) says the invasive species have a downward flow into B.C.

At this point, however, the fight is largely one of awareness with local boaters, whom groups like OASISS and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen are warning to make sure take all necessary precautions before shipping their boats back into the province when travelling outside of B.C.

"What we're trying to educate people is the concept of clean, drain, dry your boats and equipment," added Scott. because right now it's people that are the biggest concern about overland travel, trailer and boats."

That effort, Scott says, will continue with a new $10,000 grant from the RBC Blue Water Project Grant Program. OASISS, in partnership with the RDOS, has been touring the area in an interactive, educational trailer, attempting to educate boaters on how to avoid bringing the invasive mussels into B.C. and the devastating effects those mussels can have on the province.

"There's a feature wall inside (the trailer) that depicts the Okanagan as we know it now, with lots of recreation, fisheries values, tourism, lakefront properties," Scott said. "And then we highlight how everything would change if mussels were to arrive."

That includes, according to Scott, decreased property values, mussel-infested beaches where sharp shells could make walking barefoot unviable and devastated ecosystems.

A provincial study showed that maintaining water-based infrastructure, including piping for domestic water, would require $43 million annually if the invasive mussels got into the province. Taking into account tourism, fisheries and other impacts, as well as infrastructure, Scott says it could cost $43 million to the Okanagan, alone.

The project was previously funded through the same grant program, and this year's funding will pay for the group to take the trailer through the region this summer, again.