Salute to Idaho Agriculture: Invasive species hot wash stations

BURLEY, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Spring will be here at this time next week, at least on the calendar, and that means the quagga hot wash stations will be opening back up.

Last year, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture discovered quagga mussels in the Mid-Snake River and implemented a rapid response plan which included hot wash stations and shutting down portions of the river where the mussels and their larvae were found.

The watercraft inspections stations have been in Idaho since 2009, featuring more than one million inspections conducted. 413 mussel or other invasive species-covered watercraft have been intercepted.

And although this number seems low, all it takes is one to ruin an ecosystem, which is why stations around the state are reopening.

“It’s kind of odd with this weather that we’re having, but typically we open between March and October and we’re looking for aquatic invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels, they can be very detrimental to irrigation hydropower and things like that,” said Madilyn Patterson, an Invasive Species Specialist with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.

The nearest hot wash stations to our viewers are Centennial Park in Twin Falls, the Cotterell station in the Mini-Cassia area and Highway 93 near the Jackpot border, and remember if you pass one of these stations while transporting a watercraft you must stop.

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