Another year free of invasive mussels for Okanagan, Similkameen lakes and rivers

For a third year in a row, Okanagan lakes have been determined to be free of invasive mussels.

The Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society (OASISS) has been monitoring Okanagan lakes for invasive quagga and zebra mussels for a dozen years now.

This year the program expanded north to Swan Lake near Vernon and west into the Similkameen Valley.

According to OASISS, 153 samples from eight lakes and one river showed a clean bill of health of the Okanagan and Similkameen regions.

“We were pleased to expand into the Similkameen this year, and work with both the Upper and Lower Similkameen Indian Bands,” says Lisa Scott, executive director of OASISS.

“Prevention efforts require strong partnerships.”

The discovery of quagga mussels in Idaho’s Snake River the past two falls increased concerns throughout the Pacific Northwest.

According to OASISS, the sampling location at Twin Falls is less than an 11-hour drive from the BC border.

However, to date, no invasive mussels have been detected in the province.

Zebra and quagga mussels have the potential to pose significant economic and environmental risk because of their ability to damage water infrastructure and outcompete native species, OASISS says.

The Society says the estimated cost of annual removal and management would range from $64 million to $129 million per year.

“Protecting our rivers and lakes from invasive mussels is vital to the health of our freshwater ecosystems and fish,” says Mason Squakin, tmixw community liaison with the Upper Similkameen Indian Band.

“Joining forces with OASISS this year was an important step to safeguarding the well-being of our communities.”

The Society encourages anyone travelling with watercraft to thoroughly clean, drain and dry before entering a new body of water.

All the sampling done in 2024, 2023, 2022 and years prior is made possible with funding through the ​​Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and the Province of British Columbia.

The monitoring efforts are part of a larger provincial initiative called the Invasive Mussel Defence Program, which received a $1 million funding boost this April.