Memorial Day Weekend Quagga Mussel update
Hot washes before and after are required at Centennial Park. Those coming in from out of state need to stop at a check station.
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —The kickoff to summer is near and that means many may have recreation plans.
One thing to remember is the invasive Quagga Mussel. The Idaho State Department of Agriculture is very much on the water. And they have protocols for the areas that were impacted last year.
Hot washes before and after are required at Centennial Park. Those coming in from out of state need to stop at a check station.
ISDA knows getting out on the water is important. And so is stopping the quagga mussel.
ISDA Director Chanel Tewalt says, “We like everyone are looking forward to Memorial Day and recognize how many people want to get on the water and you have such an incredible area right there in Twin Falls to recreate. The area from the Twin Falls dam downriver to Pillar Falls is close so a very small section of the river is closed while we continue to respond to the issue from last fall.”
Another thing they continue to do is wait for testing conditions to be right.
When the water is cold the Quagga is dormant. As the temperatures rise, they can resume testing.
“What we are trying to do is wait for the water to get warm enough and the conditions to be safe enough to get out on the water and do sampling. Sampling isn’t a one-and-done event we have seen as other states have gone through issues like this most notably Montana, is that you end up sampling and monitoring for a long time after detection. You will see us with a greater presence on the river,” said Tewalt.
That presence will be in the form of sampling and monitoring. Along with additional hot wash stations in the future.
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