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As
part of the statewide effort to address the risks of invasive mussels, Montana
Fish, Wildlife & Parks plans to create a new bureau to manage the prevention, detection and control of aquatic
invasive species within state borders.
The
Aquatic Invasive Species Bureau will be housed in FWP’s Fisheries Division,
with plans to be operational beginning in March. The agency began a nationwide
recruitment for a bureau supervisor this week.
“Aquatic
invasive species pose an enormous risk to Montana’s waters, economy, and way of
life,” said Eileen Ryce, FWP Fisheries Division Administrator. “The increasing
scope and complexity of managing these threats requires a more comprehensive
approach.”
Responsibilities
of the Aquatic Invasive Species Bureau will encompass
all aspects of AIS prevention, including early detection, rapid response,
control, outreach and vector management.
In
October 2016, Montana’s first-ever detection of invasive mussel larvae showed
up in Tiber Reservoir – and “suspect” detections turned up in Canyon Ferry
Reservoir, the Missouri River below Toston Dam, and the Milk River. The
discovery triggered a natural resource emergency in Montana and led to several
recommend strategies to manage the threat of invasive mussels spreading to
other areas.
In
January, Montana’s Joint Mussel Response Implementation Team leaders presented
a series of recommendations to the Montana Legislature to address prevention,
detection and control efforts, including the creation of an AIS management
bureau within FWP. Other recommendations included additional mandatory
Montana watercraft inspection stations; deployment of watercraft
decontamination stations at Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs; and doubling
sample collection to more than 1,500 taken from more than 200 waterbodies, all
of which will fall under the management of the new bureau chief.
The AIS bureau chief will be responsible for the rapid response to
AIS detections, which will often require coordination among multiple agencies,
partners, and stakeholders, while mobilizing and redirecting resources to
address threats. The Incident Command System, used in Montana under Gov. Steve
Bullock’s natural resource emergency executive order last November, will become
a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency
responses for specific AIS detections in the future.
Information
on the AIS bureau chief position is available online at: Bureau Chief - https://mtstatejobs.taleo.net/careersection/200/jobdetail.ftl?job=17140292.
Applications are due Feb. 28.
The
Joint Mussel Response Implementation Team includes staff members from FWP, DNRC
and other agencies. It is tasked with carrying out recommendation to further
minimize the risk of spreading mussels
to other Montana waters.
All
boaters and anglers are urged take year-round precautions and to Clean, Drain
and Dry their equipment after each use. For more information visit musselresponse.mt.gov
or follow Montana Mussel Response on Facebook.
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