Washington is upping efforts to keep an invasive freshwater mussel from gaining a shell-hold in the state’s rivers and lakes, using tactics ranging from DNA testing to shellfish-sniffing dogs.
Quagga mussels can cause major problems as layers of them crust over components of hydroelectric dams and locks, or clog drinking water or irrigation systems. Fisheries and fish ladders that allow salmon to bypass dams could be disrupted, too. The mussels can also outcompete native species, throw off water quality, and otherwise degrade ecosystems.
They were found last year in Idaho, stoking new worries about their threat to the region.
Washington’s Invasive Species Council cites estimates that it will cost $100 million annually to keep the state’s power and water infrastructure running if quagga mussels or non-native zebra mussels were to invade. That amount doesn’t factor in the cost of harm to habitat or fishing.
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Even taking the potential problems for dams out of the equation, Justin Bush, aquatic invasive species policy coordinator at the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the mussels would have “a devastating, catastrophic impact to our environment and our economy.”
The Columbia River Basin for years has been the last major U.S. watershed free of the invasive mussels. But last September Idaho officials said they’d detected quagga mussels near Twin Falls in the Snake River, which runs into the Columbia.
So what’s to be done in Washington? The Department of Fish and Wildlife has some new money to deal with the shellfish. The Legislature approved $1.81 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1 to combat invasive mussels and the Army Corps of Engineers is providing an equal sum, for a total of $3.6 million.
“We’re significantly increasing efforts,” Bush said this week during a meeting of the Invasive Species Council.
Monitoring for quagga mussels
The main way the mussels tend to spread is on recreational boats moved between bodies of water. When grown, they’re 1 to 2 inches and easy to spot but larvae, known as veligers, are microscopic.
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Fish and Wildlife wants to fully staff watercraft inspection stations, Bush told the council.
The agency is turning to a variety of techniques to detect mussels in the water. These include measuring calcium levels (the bivalves rely on calcium to build their shells), using a grabber device to pull up and check material from lakebeds, and looking for traces of mussel DNA.
Bush said the department will also add a monitoring crew to three two-person crews it has had.
And he said the department is looking to bring on another mussel-sniffing dog. The dog would join Fin, a canine already doing this work. Puddles, a dog that had been, is retired, Bush said. Fin, a mussel-sniffing dog, inspects a jetski. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
More public outreach is also planned to remind people to clean, drain, and dry boats and other gear that’s been in the water and could spread the mussels.
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It’s unclear if Idaho’s attempt last year to kill quagga mussels in the Snake River worked. The $3 million project involved treating a 16-mile stretch of the river with a copper-based chemical to kill the mussels. There was collateral damage as thousands of fish died, too.
Idaho Department of Agriculture Director Chanel Tewalt told state lawmakers that it was the largest operation of its kind ever attempted in the U.S.
Along with zebra mussels, quagga mussels were first documented in the U.S. in the 1980s in the Great Lakes, having made it there in the ballast water of ships. They’ve spread since.
In addition to detection and monitoring, Washington Fish and Wildlife officials are also preparing to respond if the mussels aren’t stopped and become a fixture in state waters.
“We’re planning for the very worst, but we’re hoping that Idaho was successful in eradicating this problem,” said Bush.
Former Idaho receiver Mark Hamper will take an official with the USC Trojans starting Thursday, Dec. 19. His former teammate, receiver Jordan Dwyer is taking a visit of his own with the Trojans starting Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Hamper entered the transfer portal on Sunday, Dec. 15 following the Vandals loss to Montana State in the FCS quarterfinals and immediately garnered a ton of interests from Power 4 programs. The Oregon native is being pursued by Washington State, Utah, Arizona State, Wisconsin and Stanford. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Hamper was a three-star prospect coming out of West Linn (OR) in the 2024 recruiting cycle. In his first season with the Vandals, he reeled in 49 receptions for 961 yards and six touchdowns, which earned him FCS Freshman All-American honors. Hamper was also a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding freshman player at the FCS level.
The two former Idaho teammates are high on the Trojans priority list during this transfer portal window because of the departures of former five-star recruits Zachariah Branch and Duce Robinson, and Kyron Hudson since the portal opened. All three were key contributors of offense this past season.
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The Trojans have already missed out on one transfer receiver when former Tulsa pass-catcher Joseph Williams committed to Utah Wednesday morning. Williams took an official visit with USC last weekend and was set to take four more this week, starting with Mississippi State, Utah and Washington during the week and finishing up with Colorado over the weekend. However, Williams decided to end his recruiting process in Salt Lake City with the Utes.
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USC coach Lincoln Riley is also targeting former Purdue receiver Jaron Tibbs, who has a busy schedule himself. Tibbs was at Wake Forest last weekend and is taking visits to Kansas State and Arkansas this week before making his way out west for his official visit with the Trojans this weekend.
USC signed three receivers in the 2025 recruiting cycle, four-stars Tanook Hines, Romero Ison and Corey Simms. Freshman Xavier Jordan was a four-star prospect coming out of local Sierra Canyon (CA) in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Jordan was the No. 20 receiver and No. 98 overall prospect, per the On3 Industry Rankings. Depending on what receivers the Trojans are able to land in this transfer portal window and when it opens again in the spring, they may be forced to play a number of young players to compliment Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane in 2025.
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GOLF’s Course Raters and Ran Morrissett, Architecture Editor
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Coeur D’Alene remains one of golf’s funkiest — and most sought-after — vacation spots.
Joel Riner
As part of GOLF’s rigorous ratings process for our newly released Top 100 Courses in the U.S. and Top 100 Courses You Can Play rankings, our fleet of 100-plus expert panelists identified the best golf courses in every state.
You can check out the links below to browse all of our course rankings, or scroll down to see the best courses in Idaho. And if you’re looking to create your own trip in the future, you’d be wise to let GOLF’s new Course Finder tool assist you. Here, you can toggle all of our lists — Top 100 public, best munis, best short courses, best par-3s and more — or filter by price to create the perfect itinerary for your next trip.
GOLF’s other course rankings: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the U.S. | Top 100 Courses You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | The 100 Best Short Courses in the World
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Explore our all-new Course Finder
Golf courses near you? Search here!
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The best golf courses in Idaho (2024/2025)
SYMBOL GUIDE # = Top 100 Course in the U.S. Y = Top 100 You Can Play in the U.S. V = Top 100 Value Course in the U.S. P = Public/Resort
Ed. note: Some courses were omitted from our rankings because they did not receive enough votes.
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1. Gozzer Ranch Golf & Lake Club (Harrison) [#]
Tom Fazio at his artistic best. Overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene, Gozzer Ranch plays through majestic pines and black rock outcroppings to some of golf’s most scenic green complexes. The layout features two drivable par-4s and a postcard-perfect collection of par-3s. Every hole is memorable, and the brilliant back nine is one of the best nines west of the Mississippi, capitalizing on the Pacific northwest’s unsurpassed beauty. For sheer wonder, it’s hard to top the 15th, a 431-yard par-4 that plays toward a green framed by the distant lake and mountains.
2. The Tributary (Driggs)
3. The Club at Black Rock (Coeur d’Alene)
4. Circling Raven Golf Club (Worley) [P, V]
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5. Blue Lakes CC (Jerome)
How we rank our courses
For our newly released Top 100 U.S. and Top 100 You Can Play lists — a process that helped us create 50 best-in-state rankings — each panelist was provided a ballot that consisted of 609 courses. Beside the list of courses were 11 “buckets,” or groupings. If our panelists considered a course to be among the top three in the U.S., they ticked that first column. If they believed the course to be among Nos. 4-10, they checked that column, followed by 11-25, 26-50, and so on out to 250+ and even a column for “remove.” Panelists were also free to write in courses that they felt should have been included on the ballot.
Points were assigned to each bucket; to arrive at an average score for each course, we divide its aggregate score by the number of votes. From those point tallies, the courses are then ranked accordingly. It is an intentionally simple and straightforward process. Why? Because it historically has produced results that are widely lauded. Like the game itself, there’s no need to unnecessarily complicate things or try to fix something that already works so well.
The key to the process is the experience and expertise of our panel. Hailing from 15 nations and all the worldwide golf meccas, each of our 127 handpicked panelists has a keen eye for architecture, both regionally and globally. Many of our panelists have played more than 1,000 courses in 20-plus countries, some over 2,000. Their handicaps range from +5 to 15.
Because the nature of course rating is so intensely subjective, no one opinion carries the day. The only way, then, to build meaningful consensus is to incorporate this diversity of panelists and experiences into one ranking.
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Need help unriddling the greens at your home course? Pick up a custom Green Book from 8AM Golf affiliate GolfLogix.
Utah Valley Wolverines (5-6) at Idaho State Bengals (5-5)
Pocatello, Idaho; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bengals -1.5; over/under is 135.5
BOTTOM LINE: Utah Valley visits Idaho State after Dominick Nelson scored 20 points in Utah Valley’s 70-66 loss to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
The Bengals have gone 4-0 in home games. Idaho State leads the Big Sky in rebounding, averaging 38.4 boards. Jake O’Neil paces the Bengals with 9.9 rebounds.
The Wolverines are 1-5 in road games. Utah Valley is the WAC leader with 25.5 defensive rebounds per game led by Carter Welling averaging 4.8.
Idaho State scores 75.8 points per game, 3.8 more points than the 72.0 Utah Valley allows. Utah Valley averages 9.8 more points per game (74.1) than Idaho State allows (64.3).
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TOP PERFORMERS: Dylan Darling is scoring 13.3 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the Bengals.
Nelson is averaging 14.1 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Wolverines.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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