Governor Brad Little signs Senate Bill 1372
The bill gives the department of agriculture over six million dollars to continue the fight against the invasive Quagga Mussel that was found last year near Centennial Park.
BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —Gov. Brad Little, Idaho State Department of Agriculture Director Chanel Tewalt and staff, along with legislators, gathered to sign Senate Bill 1372 on Wednesday.
The bill gives the Idaho State Department of Agriculture over $6 million to continue the fight against the invasive Quagga Mussel that was found last year near Centennial Park.
The allocation in FY 2025 allows the department to expand testing and add two new additional hot wash stations.
Gov. Little talked about what was done in the years prior to set up a fund that would handle any invasive species issues and the aggressive response that the Idaho State Department of Agriculture put in place to fight the quagga, including people from all over the department to jump in and help.
Governor Brad Little said, “what makes me proud of what we do here in Idaho is the fact that you plan for these things, you prepare for these things, you scale up for these things. Chanel had people who were doing water treatment that wasn’t in their job description, agriculture.”
Dir. Tewalt spoke about the future of the fight against the Quagga Mussel.
“We are so grateful for the initial creation of this program and the ongoing support from the Idaho legislature in terms of funding, in terms of the legislative authority that the body has given us to do this good work and this bill importantly allows us to enter the next chapter to make sure we can do good work for Idaho and I think the last thing I can say is ISDA is ready to get to work,” said Dir. Tewalt.
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