Whereas bodies of water in British Columbia are at very high risk for infestation of invasive mussels, particularly following the discovery of quagga mussels in a tributary of the Columbia River in Idaho; And whereas an infestation of invasive mussels would cause significant economic and environmental losses, with economic losses alone estimated at 64 million to 129 million annually across the Province: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province of BC take action based on the Okanagan Basin Water Boards recommendations to the Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship for invasive mussel prevention, dated September 25, 2023, including requesting the federal government enhance inspections, increasing funding and staffing for the provincial Invasive Mussel Defence Program, introducing provincial pull-the-plug legislation, and updating the provincial Early Detection, Rapid Response plan; And be it further resolved that UBCM request the Province of BC work with the federal government to increase long-term funding and support to prevent invasive mussels from entering waterways in British Columbia.
Ministry of Water Land and Resource Stewardship The British Columbia government remains committed to preventing invasive mussels from establishing in BC through the ongoing delivery of the Invasive Mussel Defence Program IMDP. The IMDP is delivered by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship WLRS in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Parks Conservation Officer Service, program funding partners, and neighbouring jurisdictions across Canada and the United States US. The IMDP funding level is determined each year in response to known and probable funding partners, lessons learned from previous years, and to emerging threats. In direct response to reductions in partner funding in recent years, BC has increased support to maintain base operations. For the 2025 season, we are increasing the budget to maintain IMDP operations at existing levels by prioritizing and reallocating resources from other stewardship programs. We understand the importance of providing a stable presence along our provincial borders. We continue to request the federal government resume funding the Programs work at federal ports of entry and support our response preparedness should invasive mussels be detected in BC waters. We recognize the longstanding requests from the Okanagan Basin Water Board, First Nations, local governments and other partners for stronger regulatory tools to address the threat of invasive mussels. In response, a Pull the Plug General Order was issued in May 2024 under the Animal Health Act as a temporary fix. WLRS is proposing amendments to the Wildlife Act for Pull the Plug requirement and mandatory stops at open watercraft inspection stations which are targeted for the 2025 boating season. An additional amendment to enable mandatory inspection for watercrafts entering BC from another jurisdiction prior to launch into BC waters will take effect later. In June 2024, the Program team WLRS and BC Conservation Officer Service hosted a rapid response tabletop training exercise with our US counterparts in the Columbia River Basin. The exercise was focused on response actions if invasive mussels were to be detected in a shared waterbody between BC and Montana. The lessons learned from this exercise are intended to inform updates of the Zebra and Quagga Mussel Early Detection Rapid Response Plan.