Whereas invasive zebra and quagga mussels pose a serious threat to watershed ecosystems, drinking water quality, infrastructure, tourism and the broader economy; And whereas the estimated cost of managing infrastructure impacts from an established invasive mussel population in British Columbia exceeds 129 million annually, including damage to pipes, docks, water intakes and watercraft; And whereas British Columbia remains one of the few jurisdictions in North America without an established invasive mussel population, making prevention both critical and cost-effective; And whereas existing watercraft inspection stations at provincial borders are limited by seasonality and staffing, leaving critical points of entry unmonitored and watersheds at continued risk: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of British Columbia to take immediate and direct action to prevent the introduction of invasive mussels by implementing mandatory watercraft inspection protocols to ensure no key entry points are left unmonitored.
Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship The British Columbia BC government remains committed to preventing invasive mussels from establishing in BC through the ongoing delivery of the Invasive Mussel Defence Program IMDP. This is recognition that if introduced in BC, invasive mussels will impact businesses, utilities, tourism and British Columbians due to their impacts on infrastructure and waterbodies, costing the provincial economy approximately 64-129 million annually. 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. For the 2025 season, inspection crews completed approximately 27,100 inspections and interacted with more than 50,700 people to promote Clean, Drain, Dry practices a preventative step all boaters should take when moving between lakes in BC. During the inspections, 319 watercraft were identified as high risk and 6 watercraft were confirmed to have invasive mussels. 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. Funding largely comes from Columbia Basin Trust, Columbia Power, BC Hydro, Fortis BC and the Province. In direct response to reductions in partner funding in recent years, BC has increased support to maintain base operations. The federal government also plays an important role in preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species. Aquatic invasive species are provincially and federally regulated, and the Canada-US border is federal jurisdiction. 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. In spring 2025, the BC government passed amendments to the Wildlife Act making Pull the Plug mandatory and strengthen the authorities to stop and inspect watercraft. Amendments also included listing the golden mussel as a prohibited species in BC under the Wildlife Act. This puts BC as a leader in taking quick regulatory action to address the emerging threat of the golden mussel. Further, the Wildlife Act amendments also enable mandatory inspections of watercraft entering BC from another jurisdiction prior to launch. For this coming year, with its projected fiscal constraints, it will be important to keep resources focused on IMDP operations and identifying regulatory options for mandatory inspection prior to launch. Timelines for implementation will need to be balanced against the continued delivery of the IMDP operations and addressing emerging priorities e.g. golden mussels.