Anyone transporting a boat must stop at an aquatic invasive species watercraft inspection station for a brief interview and inspection, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Montana’s aquatic invasive species laws were recently strengthened by the 2013 Legislature.

The most likely aquatic invasive species threats to Montana waters include quagga and zebra mussels, New Zealand mudsnails, and Eurasian watermilfoil. The cost of invasive species damages in the U.S. amounts to more than $100 billion each year.
Already in May, two boats stopped at inspection stations were found to be fouled by zebra mussels, and another contaminated boat was found by an alert private citizen.

FWP urges boaters to inspect, clean and dry boats, trailers and gear to ensure they don’t carry organisms from one water body to another.

“One of Montana’s best defense against spreading invasive species while enjoying the outdoors is to inspect, clean, and dry boats, trailers, and fishing gear after each use,” said Allison Begley, FWP’s aquatic invasive species coordinator in Helena. “If boaters and anglers get into the habit of carrying out this preventative maintenance, we’ll be able to decrease the number of troubling, expensive, unintentional introductions of harmful species in Montana,” Begley said.

Statewide, inspection stations and roving crews will be operating throughout the boating season at the Clearwater Junction rest area, in Eureka on Highway 37 westbound, in Ronan at the U.S. 93 northbound rest area, in Culbertson at the U.S. 2 westbound rest area, in Wibaux on I-94 westbound, at the Dena Mora I-90 eastbound rest area in Dillon on I-15 northbound, at the Hardin I-90 rest area, in Conrad on I-15 northbound and southbound, in Shelby on U.S. 2 westbound, in Fort Peck on Highway 24 eastbound, in Troy on U.S. 2 eastbound, and around the Clark Fork, Missouri, Madison, Bitterroot and Swan river drainages. Roving crews will also work at fishing tournaments and boating events.
For more information, visit online at www.fwp.mt.gov and click on “Aquatic Invasive Species” on the “Fishing” page.

by Sydney Blackwell  ·  Friday, May 31, 2013
A Harvard interloper is armed and dangerous, ready to explode its stockpile of ammunition any day. The time to intervene is now.

Harsh words for a delicate looking spring plant, but garlic mustard is no innocent. It's near the top of almost every list of invasive herbs in New England. The Divisions of Fisheries and Wildlife, Mass Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, the National Plant Conservation Alliance—all are sounding alarms on this plant, particularly now, when garlic mustard is easily identifiable and before it disperses its prolific seed arsenal.

Prolific and toxic

A single plant is capable of producing thousands of seeds, viable for more than five years. Because it can self-pollinate, it takes only one plant to wreak havoc on gardens, roadsides, and even woodlands, in just a few years.
As if garlic mustard's reproductive prowess isn't enough, the herb also produces allopathic chemicals—plant toxins—that destroy essential soil fungi that make nutrients available to most plants, including trees and shrubs. Garlic mustard's capacity to inhibit the growth of other plants, combined with its ability to grow in both sun and shade, allows it to colonize not just roadsides, but also woodland floors, where it displaces understory wild flowers like spring beauty, wild ginger, and trillium.
Deer don't like the plant and will eat more of the remaining plants the mustard is displacing, further hastening their demise. A variety of caterpillar is poisoned when it mistakes the invasive mustard for the noninvasive one it normally feeds on.

What to look for
A biennial, garlic mustard stays close to the ground its first year, forming a rosette of rounded leaves that are easy to mistake for other plants. The second year it takes off and up, creating tall, thin stems topped with tiny white flowers. The leaves become paler, more heart-shaped, and have distinctly serrated edges. When crushed, the leaves smell like garlic.
Masses of these second-year plants were easily visible along roadsides in town earlier in the month. Now, the flowers are going by and the plants are devoting their energy to producing seeds in long, very thin pods on slender two- to three-foot stems.

Pull it and bag it
In its native Europe, garlic mustard has natural predators and the soil fungi there are immune to its toxic effect, but here, if it is to be checked, we humans will have to become the predator.

Getting rid of small patches of garlic mustard is easy. Just pull it up. The ease with which garlic mustard comes out, roots and all, makes it a satisfying weed to pull. But it shouldn't be left around where the seeds can mature. Mass Audubon recommends storing the pulled plants in a black plastic bag, which should be left in the sun for several weeks to destroy the seeds.

Or eat it
Rich in vitamins A and C, garlic mustard is thought to have arrived on Long Island in the 1860s for culinary use. According to Russ Cohen of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, who is also a wild foods expert, the first-year leaves can be parboiled and eaten like spinach. To use second-year plants, Cohen recommends stir-frying the stems and flowers or adding them to soups. The young leaves can replace basil in pesto recipes and the roots used as a substitute for horseradish.
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The Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, with Glacier National Park, Montana, and Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, at its center, is one of North America’s most remarkable landscapes. Here, where open prairies meet the Rocky Mountains, some of the world’s most pristine freshwater ecosystems remain intact. Many North American watersheds originate in the Crown’s 28,000 square miles (72,000 km2), contributing to life-sustaining resources throughout much of North America.

Access to cold, clean water supports ranching, farming, recreation, and wildlife in the Crown. Without abundant clean water, quality of life in the region would be severely diminished, making aquatic invasive species one of the greatest threats to the Crown of the Continent.

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DENVER - The Bureau of Reclamation has updated the Inspection and Cleaning Manual for Equipment and Vehicles to Prevent the Spread of Invasive Species. This manual provides guidance for inspection and cleaning of vehicles and equipment to limit the spread of invasive species from one site to another.

"Invasive species are a serious concern and limiting their spread is important to protect the environment and ecosystems across the West," said co-author and Reclamation's Invasive Species Program Coordinator Joe DiVittorio. "This manual has application for agriculture, construction, facilities and for many organizations and agencies. It is easy to use will reduce invasive species and pest problems on land and in water." Read more...

A Draft Five-Year Plan for Species at Risk in British Columbia" has been posted online and will be accepting public comments online and by mail until April 12, 2013.

Go To: http://www.gov.bc.ca/env/  http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/atrisk/5_yr_plan/  

Minister of Environment Terry Lake and Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson invite interested individuals and groups to comment on B.C.'s draft species-at-risk plan.

Comments on "Protecting Vulnerable Species: A Draft Five-Year Plan for Species at Risk in British Columbia" will be accepted online and by mail until April 12, 2013. Comments will be reviewed and summarized on the website on a weekly basis in a frequently asked questions (FAQ) format. Feedback provided will be considered in making revisions to the draft plan and informing further development of British Columbia's species-at-risk program.

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