Legislative Committee get Quagga Mussel update before legislative session starts
Wednesday, JFAC heard department budgets for fiscal year 2025.
BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —Several legislative committees are meeting this week before the legislative session kicks off January 8th.
On Monday the Natural Resources Committee heard from leadership with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture about the Quagga Mussel treatment. As the state moves forward with what’s next in the quagga saga funding will need to be a part of the big picture moving forward.
When the mussel was found in the Snake River at Centennial Park, Idaho Governor Brad Little declared it an emergency. By doing that it allowed ISDA to access existing funds through a separate account as far as ongoing costs that’s still being determined.
Wednesday, the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee heard department budgets for fiscal year 2025 and any changes to fiscal year 2024.
Janet Jessup with the Legislative Services Office said, “The agency is still in the process of determining the total fiscal impact of what was done down on the river the last couple months. The total costs are not known. The total personnel impact is not known at this point and I would remind the committee that not only was Department of Agriculture staff involved in the effort but so was Fish and Game, the Department of Environmental Quality, ITD and others.”
Fish and Game and the Department of Agriculture will have updates on the cost of treating the river for the invasive species in time for the upcoming legislative session that begins in January.
As far as the effectiveness of the treatment that happened the first two weeks of October, testing will be on hold until spring, as temperatures will be too cold to properly access whether there are any Quagga adults or larva because they go dormant in colder water.
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