Idaho

Washington on-guard for troublesome mussel found in Idaho • Washington State Standard

Published

2 years ago

June 29, 2024

Washington on-guard for troublesome mussel found in Idaho • Washington State Standard

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.

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.

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.

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.

Source link

Click to comment

Idaho

Pocatello and Idaho Falls welcome new leadership – Local News 8

Published

8 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Pocatello and Idaho Falls welcome new leadership – Local News 8

IDAHO FALLS/POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) —The City of Pocatello officially welcomed new Mayor Mark Dahlquist and City Council Members Dakota Bates, Stacy Satterfield, and Ann Swanson during the City Council meeting on Jan. 8, 2026.

Mayor Dahlquist, a lifelong resident of Pocatello, brings extensive experience in leadership and management to the role. From 2007 until 2025, he served as Chief Executive Officer of NeighborWorks Pocatello, where he focused on housing, community development, and neighborhood revitalization. Before that, he spent 17 years in leadership and management positions with Farmers Insurance.

After the ceremony, Dahlquist said, “To make our community the very best it can be. Just remember to be involved. Volunteer being advocates for the community. We all together will make this community rise and be the very best it can be.”

The City also recognized the three City Council members who were sworn in following the November election.

In Idaho Falls Mayor-elect Lisa Burtenshaw officially began her term, taking the oath of office alongside elected City Council members during a ceremony at the City Council Chambers.

In addition to Burtenshaw, Brandon Lee was sworn in to City Council Seat 1. Jim Francis and Jim Freeman, who were reelected to Seats 4 and 6, also took the oath to begin their new terms.

Burtenshaw’s term begins following her election in December 2025. She succeeds outgoing Mayor Rebecca Casper, who served the city for 12 years and leaves a legacy of dedicated public service.

“I am honored to serve the residents of Idaho Falls and to begin this next chapter with such a dedicated City Council,” Burtenshaw said. “I look forward to engaging with our community, listening to their ideas, and working together to make Idaho Falls a great place to live, raise a family and grow a business.”

Source link

Idaho

Water Outlook does not look promising in SW Idaho, but it could be worse without all the precipitation

Published

20 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Water Outlook does not look promising in SW Idaho, but it could be worse without all the precipitation

BOISE, Idaho — It has been a dismal year for snow, but we’ve actually received more precipitation than normal in the Boise and Payette River basins. The difference has been the temperature, and we are trying to learn what the change in climate means for water users— both commercial and recreational.

“If you think about the lack of snow we have gotten in the Treasure Valley, it is unusual,” said hydrologist Troy Lindquist with the National Weather Service.

Click here to see the conditions and hear from the National Weather Service.

Water Outlook does not look promising, but it could be worse without all the precipitation

The mountains of western and central Idaho received some snow this week, and that bumped up the snow water equivalent to 83 percent of average in the Boise Basin, 81 percent in the Payette River Basin, and 69 percent in the Weiser River Basin.

The lack of snow is obvious at lower elevations, but we have also received 4.88 inches of rain at the Boise Airport since the beginning of October, a full inch above the average. I wanted to talk with Troy Linquist to learn more about this strange winter and what it means for the future.

“If we don’t have that mid and low elevation snowpack, that’s just overall going to decrease the spring run-off,” said Lindquist. “Instead of it holding as snow and holding in the mountains, that rain has increased the reservoir system.”

I’ve been out kayaking as the South Fork of the Payette River is flowing at normal summer levels and has been for several weeks.

Most of Idaho’s rivers are flowing higher than normal, including Mores Creek, which dumps into Lucky Peak Reservoir.

It’s good news, but not as good as if the precipitation was sticking around in the mountains in the form of a deep snowpack.

Mores Creek just above Lucky Peak Reservoir

“If we just don’t get the snow that is going to impact the water supply, it’s going to impact vegetation, spring flows, the health of the ecosystem, and stuff like that,” added Lindquist.

The team at the National Weather Service will continue to monitor the situation daily and Troy Lindquist told me the outlook for the next ten days doesn’t look good. However, the wet winter months are a marathon, not a sprint— with several months left to improve the outlook. That said, it could also get worse.

The reservoirs have added water from the rivers and streams

“We got the second half of January, February, and March where we can accumulate snowpack,” explained Lindquist. “We do have time to see that snowpack recover, and that’s what we are hoping for.”

The Boise system has pretty good carryover from last year between Anderson Ranch, Arrowrock, and Lucky Peak. The system is 58 percent full, and the Payette system is 71 percent full.

Snow water equivalent after this week's snow

Some of Idaho’s river basins are actually doing pretty well right now, but southern Idaho is doing the worst, as the Owyhee River Basin is sitting at 20 percent of its average snowpack.

ALSO READ | Lemons into lemonade: Kayakers get a unique, winter opportunity while snow conditions worsen

Source link

Idaho

Idaho faces “snow drought” despite high precipitation levels

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Idaho faces “snow drought” despite high precipitation levels

Water managers in Idaho are expressing concern over an unusual weather pattern causing a “snow drought” across much of the state, despite a wet start to Water Year 2026. While fifteen of Idaho’s twenty-six river basins are experiencing “pluvial” conditions with exceptionally high precipitation, twelve of these basins are facing snow drought. This phenomenon occurs when winter precipitation falls as rain rather than snow, a situation exacerbated by the warmest winter on record, surpassing the previous record set in 1934.

The Spokane basin exemplifies this issue, with moderately pluvial precipitation conditions but exceptional drought snowpack conditions. Snow has only accumulated significantly at high elevations, leaving areas like the Big Lost River basin’s valley floor, downstream from Mackay, without snow cover.

Despite these challenges, some basins, including the Big Wood, Little Wood, Big Lost, and Little Lost, are seeing snowpack levels almost a month ahead of schedule. The Upper Snake River basin is also wetter than normal, which is crucial for recovering from drought due to below-normal reservoir carryover at the start of the water year.

Northern Idaho requires significant snowpack accumulation to recover from drought conditions, while western Idaho risks drought without more snow. Eastern Idaho is faring better, except for the southern side of the Snake River basin, which needs substantial snowpack for drought recovery.

An active weather pattern is forecasted for the next week, but drier than normal conditions are expected to begin this weekend and last for at least a week. Water managers will be closely monitoring temperatures to see if they drop enough to convert precipitation into the much-needed snowpack.

Source link