By Times Chronicle Staff
The Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society (OASISS) is seeking the support of community dock owners for a citizen science project aimed at protecting Okanagan lakes from invasive mussels.
The project is hoping to enlist residents who own private docks on Kalamalka, Wood, Okanagan, Skaha and Osoyoos lakes who will be provided with a pair of monitors to attach to their docks and will be required to check them for invasive mussels every two weeks from July through September.
The introduction of invasive mussels to local lakes would impact everyone in the Okanagan warns Lisa Scott, Executive Director of OASISS.
“This project offers a chance for people to actively participate in combating an important environmental issue that would affect us all. Our lakes are central to our communities and protecting them has never been more imperative.”
Zebra and quagga mussels have infested more than 800 lakes in North America since they were first introduced to the Great Lakes in the late 1980s.
And while there has been no reported introduction of live zebra or quagga mussels into BC lakes or waterways the threat is ever present through the risk of contamination by visiting watercraft.”
The consequences of an invasion would be dire, causing irreversible damage to lake ecosystems, water quality, recreation and tourism, and municipal water infrastructure,” Scott warns.
OASISS has been on the lookout for invasive mussels in Okanagan lakes for 12 years. This project presents a unique opportunity to expand the society’s monitoring efforts to locations that are not currently monitored or publicly inaccessible.
The project is being funded by the Okanagan Basin Water Board as part of its “Don’t Move A Mussel” campaign.
For those interested in this citizen science project, contact [email protected] and for more information on the threat invasive mussel post to the Okanagan and get prevention tips at DontMoveAMussel.ca
