Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks ups ante on fight against aquatic invasive species
When whirling disease was first discovered in Montana waters in 1994, an alarm bell sounded across the state. Its echo was heard loud and clear in Washington, D.C., when reports were published documenting a shocking 90 percent decline in the Madison River’s rainbow trout population.
“If Montana, which is known as the state of ‘A River Runs Through It,’ becomes known as the state where fish float belly up, people aren’t going to come here,” Matt Raymond, press secretary for then Montana senator Conrad Burns, told the Chronicle at the time.
Fortunately, the devastating effects of whirling disease have been tempered on the Madison and other Montana waters through extensive efforts on the part of federal, state and private interests. Unfortunately, whirling disease is just one of numerous aquatic invasive species (AIS) mounting an ever-growing threat to the health of Montana’s rivers, its economy and people.
Eileen Ryce is the statewide AIS coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Ryce is in charge of fighting the onslaught of foreign species threatening the state. She has been on the job almost seven years and said the challenges we face today dwarf those even remotely conceived of when whirling disease made waves nearly two decades ago.
“There are a lot of things out there threatening us now,” Ryce said on Monday, “and their impacts go much further than the ecological impact.”
Recognizing the threat, Montana lawmakers passed the Aquatic Invasive Species Act during the 2009 legislative session. The act budgeted $660,000 to the Department of Agriculture to be spent during the 2010-11 biennium. FWP received a chunk of that money and recently began a new campaign to raise public awareness of AIS.
The campaign – being promoted through distributed literature, billboards, boat inspections and on the Internet – focuses on three simple tasks that can help prevent the spread of AIS. Those three measures – to inspect, clean and dry boating and fishing equipment – could mean the difference between healthy water bodies and ecological disaster across the state.
“We want to see people taking action,” Ryce said. “We are really hoping to get that peer-to-peer interaction. We are hoping the guys are talking about AIS in the bar when they are sharing their fishing stories.
“If a boat or gear is not clean, it needs to be cleaned. Live wells need to be emptied, mud needs to be cleaned from boots, vegetation needs to be cleaned from motors.”
As the executive director of the Whirling Disease Foundation, Dave Kumlien of Bozeman has extensive experience battling the threat of AIS. During the late 1990s, as Montana was grappling with the outbreak, Kumlien worked with the foundation to spread the word about whirling disease.
Kumlien said that outreach not only helped secure funding for whirling disease research, but got the public thinking about ways to mitigate the risks presented by the parasite.
“I think at that time people were not engaged in the AIS threat,” Kumlien said on Tuesday. “The whole issue of awareness was part of a strategy to reach out to the public about the issue.
“Without the public pressure, that government funding might not have come to support research,” Kumlien said. “By the time that federal funding ran its course; we had a much better understanding of whirling disease.”
The challenge today is redoubling those efforts in the fight against a long list of aquatic invaders poised at the doorstep of Montana waters.
“In terms of priority for Montana, zebra mussels and Asian carp are big ones,” Ryce said. “For plants it would be Eurasian watermilfoil, for virus it is viral hemorrhagic septicemia.”
Zebra mussels, and the closely related quagga mussels, are members of the mollusk family. They have a propensity for rapid reproduction and can blanket large areas of water quickly. The mussels cause dramatic ecological changes in freshwater environments by consuming massive amounts of phytoplankton and microzooplankton resulting in an imbalance in the food web of aquatic species.
Zebra mussels have caused extensive ecological and economic damage in the Great Lakes Basin. Along some lakeshores, massive windrows of shells have washed up. The sharp shells make walking on the beach impossible which has hurt local economies.
Ryce said zebra mussels can clog pipes and irrigation systems, and cause significant problems for municipal water supplies. The mussels out-compete other native mollusks. They are typically transported in bilges, live wells, boat motors and boat trailers.
Asian carp rank highest on FWP’s list of invasive fish. The carp we imported from China to control aquatic weeds in several Southern states before escaping during periods of flooding. Since that time the fish have moved upstream in the Missouri and Mississippi river systems.
Last week, fishermen in Illinois discovered an Asian carp beyond an electrical barrier just 25 miles south of Lake Michigan. Environmentalist and lawmakers in that state have suggested closing commercial waterways into Lake Michigan to prevent the fish from reaching the Great Lakes. That proposal has been met with staunch resistance from the shipping industry that argues closing the locks would devastate commerce in the Great Lakes region.
Asian carp, which can grow to more than 50 pounds, feed heavily on plankton. They are capable of consuming up to 40 percent of their body weight daily and have out-competed entire populations of fish in the Mississippi River
“I went on a field trip to the Illinois River and it looked like you could walk across the water on the backs of these fish,” Ryce said. “You can’t imagine the densities until you see it firsthand. They out-compete everything.”
Ryce said the presence of Asian carp in Montana could threaten sensitive species such as paddlefish and sturgeon as well as sauger and walleye.
Among the most alarming AIS is viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) which first showed up in the Great Lakes in 2005. The virus causes fish to bleed through the skin and internally resulting in death. It has been linked to heavy fish mortality in the Eastern U.S. and a more than 90 percent decline in the St. Lawrence River’s muskie population.
“Over 50 species of fish are known to be susceptible,” Ryce said. “It pretty much kills any fish it comes in contact with – walleye, perch, pike, bass, all the salmonids.
“VHS is of huge concern to us.”
Ryce said that most AIS have a propensity to spread rapidly in introduced ecosystems because those ecosystems lack the natural checks that keep AIS in a sustainable balance. She also said the ease of air travel and the mobility of recreationists makes the spread of AIS more likely.
Once an AIS is discovered in a water body, it can be incredibly difficult or impossible to remove. That fact emphasizes the important role anglers, boaters and water-based recreationists play in preventing the spread – and thus, the key role of public awareness.
“(Awareness) really is important because these things don’t get here on their own,” said Gretchen Rupp, director of the Montana Water Center on the campus of Montana State University. “AIS get here hitchhiking on our waders and wet wells in boats. It is important that people who work and play in aquatic environments understand the risks and the steps they can take to mitigate those risks.”
Recognizing the threat of AIS, several states have introduced legislation to prevent their spread. Alaska and Vermont have passed laws that will ban the use of felt soled wading boots in coming years. Felt soles are suspected as a prime culprit responsible for the spread of AIS because they are difficult to clean and dry.
Dianne Bristol, director of marketing and brand management for Bozeman-based Simms Fishing Products, said the industry is experiencing a shift toward gear that takes the spread of AIS into account. As of 2010, Simms has phased out the production of felt soles replacing them with a patented StreamTread sole that is easier to clean and does not absorb water.
“We understand that there are a lot of different ways (AIS can be spread), but first and foremost we look at out own products,” Bristol said. “We really support the clean angling pledge of inspect, clean and dry. It is really going to be something that people have to think about the same way they think about catch and release.”
Ryce said the stakes have risen in recent years with the mobility of water-based recreationists. She said public awareness is of utmost importance in combating AIS because anglers and boaters represent the first line of defense.
While the task is daunting, Kumlien, Ryce and others battling AIS are hopeful we can stem the tide.
“The threat of moving AIS is greater than it has ever been and I doubt it is going to slow down,” Kumlien said. “It is a big deal and we definitely need to remain vigilant.”
For more information about what you can do to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species visit http://fwp.mt.gov/fishing/guide/ANS/default.html.
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