Mussel-infested boat stopped in Ravalli

A boat from Chicago bound for Seattle was quarantined and decontaminated at the Ravalli watercraft inspection station operated by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes.

An inspection conducted by Lacey Burke, Mitch Parker and JaBlue Arlee found adult zebra mussels attached to the vessel. The boat came from mussel-infested waters and had been out of the water for less than two weeks.

The Chicago boat stopped at watercraft inspection stations in Wibaux and Anaconda but the mussels were not detected.

This is the second mussel-infested vessel that has been seized at the Ravalli AIS check station this year, and the 15th mussel boat intercepted in Montana.

Montana AIS protocol requires a contaminated vessel to be quarantined and decontaminated with hot water to remove and kill invasive species prior to being released from an AIS check station. It is illegal to transport mussels, dead or alive, into or within the state of Montana.

The watercraft inspection station at Ravalli is a partnership between CSKT and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.