Idaho State Department of Agriculture is sampling Quagga Mussels

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The temperature is rising and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture is back on the water sampling for the Quagga Mussel. Testing stopped when the water got below the temperature they go dormant. It was found late last year in the Snake River near Centennial Park; after that treatment was started, completed, and testing done up until the water was too cold. It is a process as areas are selected to target where the Quagga, if present, would be in the river.

Cole Morrison Invasive Species Program Manager, ISDA

“What we do is we come out to a water body and choose areas that are more susceptible to settling so we look for places where the water slows down, especially in a river. Where the water slows down it’s more likely that the babies are going to fall out of the water column and settle somewhere so we throw in the net in those areas and we drag along the water column in that area and everything that’s in that water is going to end up in this net.”

It’s that water at the bottom that’s taken and put into the sample cup, but it’s not that simple.

“It collects down at the bottom in this cup and then we consolidate that, put it into a bottle with some alcohol to preserve the sample and we do that three times across the river and that’s one sample. In this stretch between Pillar and Broken Bridge we’re going to pull five in total throughout the impacted area we’ll pull 20. And we’re going to do that every two weeks throughout the season.”

The samples are taken and sent away to a lab out of state and it takes about two weeks to get the results. ISDA reminds those recreating in Centennial Part they need to hot wash their boats and any equipment that’s in the water going in and out of the area.

For the latest on the Quagga Mussel, you can head to our website for more information and links to ISDA’s site.

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