New watercraft checkpoint opens in Pablo

With funding now in place, a third checkpoint to inspect watercraft for aquatic invasive species will open in Pablo today.

Three check stations are in place on major routes entering the Flathead Lake drainage to limit the possibility of invasive species, including quagga and zebra mussels, from gaining a foothold in the lake. Check stations in Browning and at Clearwater Junction have been open since March 2.

According to a Monday news release from the Flathead Basin Commission, the third station was made possible by donations from the BNSF Foundation and the Flathead National Forest.

The stations are open earlier than in previous years, after research showed the greatest number of high-risk vessels enter the region prior to Memorial Day weekend. Visitors and part-time residents of the valley often transport their boats from popular boating areas such as Lake Mead, which is heavily infested with invasive mussels.

“Oregon has already intercepted a mussel-fouled boat, and [many] of the highest-risk boats coming from the Southwest begin traveling back to Montana well before Memorial Day,” Heidi Sedivy, the commission’s program manager, said in the release.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are also assisting with operation of the Pablo station.

The Montana Legislature established the commission in 1983 to protect the water quality of the Flathead River drainage.

For more information call 406-240-3453.