Bullock declares 'natural resource emergency' to boost invasive mussel response

Responding to growing evidence of invasive mussel contamination in Central Montana this month, Gov. Steve Bullock on Wednesday declared a “statewide natural resource emergency” to focus the state’s response to the issue.

In an executive order declaring the emergency, he noted the “grave threat” posed by invasive zebra and quagga mussels to the state’s natural resources and convened an incident command team to assume responsibility for the response.

The declaration comes three weeks after the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks confirmed Montana’s first-ever detection of invasive mussel larvae in the Tiber Reservoir south of Shelby. Subsequent test results revealed suspected mussel larvae in Canyon Ferry Reservoir, the Missouri River and the Milk River.

“The potential economic, ecological and recreational impacts for Montana and our region must be addressed quickly and every effort must be taken to prevent the additional spread of this threat,” Bullock said in a Wednesday press release announcing the declaration.

Bullock’s declaration also releases $750,000 in state funding to the incident command team, according to FWP spokesman Greg Lemon.

The release stated that results from additional water samples from the three “suspect” water bodies will be available in the next two weeks.

Following the Nov. 9 positive results from Tiber, the state established a rapid-response team including representatives from the state wildlife agency, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the federal Bureau of Reclamation. That team will be folded into the new one under an incident command structure similar to those used to respond to major wildfires and other natural disasters, Lemon said.

“This really sort of takes it one step further in bringing together the agencies and MISAC (the Montana Invasive Species Advisory Council) and coordinate the response,” Lemon said. “It makes the response to the situation much more efficient when you clearly have one incident commander that isn’t necessarily involved in the issue of AIS (aquatic invasive species). Their job is to manage the incident.”

Matt Wolcott, the area land manager for DNRC’s southern land office, will serve as the team’s incident commander.

While no mussel larvae have been detected west of the Continental Divide in Montana, members of the Flathead Basin Commission have urged the governor to temporarily close the Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs to boating until the extent of the mussel contamination is fully known.

In the days after the state’s initial announcement, Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Nation enacted boating closures on their waters. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also closed a pond that supplies water to its hatchery in Creston.

Lemon said specific actions, from possible boating restrictions and closures for contaminated waters to the draw-down of the Tiber Reservoir are still on the table, but it wasn’t clear whether the team’s incident commander would have the ability to enact those measures.

“They’re trying to figure out, with the information we have right now, if we need to do more in terms of response,” Lemon said. “I think they’re looking at all possibilities and trying to evaluate the most appropriate and effective response needed.”

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.