By Clark Corbin; Idaho Capital Sun Idaho Capital Sun Idaho state officials are hopeful that the approximately $3 million effort to kill invasive quagga mussels detected in the Snake River in September was successful. But they don’t expect to know if they wiped out all of the mussels until waters warm up and water sampling surveys resume next spring. The plan to kill the mussels involved treating a 16-mile section of the Snake River near Twin Falls with a copper-based chemical that was hazardous to mussels and fish and required state officials to airlift boats into otherwise inaccessible portions of the river. Some state employees even camped on tiny islands and river banks for days on end in an effort to kill the mussels before they could reproduce rapidly, which…
By Jude Binkley; KTVB Quagga mussels. TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Crews are on the Snake River working to treat and eradicate quagga mussels. It has been just over two weeks since the invasive mussels were found in a section of the river near Twin Falls. Since then, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) has done extensive sampling around the mid-Snake River, finding veligers - the larval form of the mussels - between the Twin Falls Dam area and Centennial Waterfront Park. A plume with an adult quagga mussel was also found near Shoshone Falls. Crews are working to deploy containers full of a copper-based formulation called "Natrix" as a treatment to eradicate the mussels. The ISDA says they are acting fast and aggressively to stop an issue that has…
By Kara Valentine; KTVB Quagga mussel infestation from Lake Michigan. NOAA. TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A fishing ban on a stretch of the Snake River was put into effect Friday, Sept. 22, in response to the detection of quagga mussels in Twin Falls. "This is more than a local Twin Falls issue because so many people from the Treasure Valley use the Snake River," a public information officer wrote. As part of the emergency declaration, Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG), along with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, closed fishing of any kind on the Snake River from Twin Falls Hydroelectric Dam to the bridge crossing the Snake River at Highway 46. On Monday, Sept. 25 the Idaho State Department of Agriculture said people are not staying off the water.…
Scripps News A new study from Environmental Working Group scientists found that eating just one freshwater fish could be the equivalent of drinking a month’s worth of water contaminated with PFOS. That’s a set of “forever chemicals” in the same family as PFAS. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are found in nonstick and water-resistant consumer products. PFAS are commonly referred to as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the environment. “For anyone consuming freshwater fish, we actually think this is likely their largest source of exposure to these compounds,” said David Andrews, EWG senior scientist and one of the study’s lead authors. The scientists analyzed data from over 500 fish fillet samples that were collected across the U.S. from 2013 to 2015 under monitoring programs by…
Capital Press State and regional water issues are to be discussed in a joint seminar slated as part of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s Dec. 6-8 annual meeting in Boise. The seminar is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 6 at the Riverside Hotel, 2900 Chinden Blvd. The Farm Bureau, the Idaho Water Users Association and the state Grain Producers Association will host it. It is expected to be well attended as it will provide important updates and background information on major water issues, said Sean Ellis, a Farm Bureau spokesman. The Nez Perce Agreement and issues in the Snake and Columbia river basins — including legal challenges to a fisheries-related biological opinion on the four Lower Snake River dams — are among topics to be addressed. A 2004 agreement between…
By Patrick Whittle; Associated Press Wildlife agencies are finding elevated levels of PFAS checmicals in game animals such as deer, prompting new restrictions on hunting and fishing. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) This photo provided by the National Wildlife Federation shows a sign warning hunters not to eat deer because of high amounts of toxic chemicals in their meat, in Oscoda, Mich., March 26, 2021. (Drew YoungeDyke, NWF). PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Wildlife agencies in the U.S. are finding elevated levels of a class of toxic chemicals in game animals such as deer — and that's prompting health advisories in some places where hunting and fishing are ways of life and key pieces of the economy. Authorities have detected the high levels of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in deer…
The Water Resources Seminar Series is open to all interested professionals, legislators, water supply managers, local government representatives, attorneys, students and interested public. Join us from anywhere on Zoom at: https://uidaho.zoom.us/j/88575032383
By Carli Baum; East Idaho News SALMON RIVER — On a chilly morning, I’m awake and alert as I can be. I’m strapped into a helicopter seat, flight helmet on, doors off, safety checks done, GPS in one hand, radio in the other and a data sheet secured to my thigh. The excitement grows as the rotor blades pick up momentum and start humming loudly. We lift off from the ground and begin our trip into the backcountry. As I look over the wilderness mountains, my heart is pounding, I feel like a fish out of water and think, “How did I end up here? I’m a fish biologist!” As fisheries biologists, we are used to walking along a streambed looking down to see what fish we can find. However,…
By Joel Mills; Lewiston Tribune The Little Goose Dam is seen Feb. 2 along the Snake River near Riparia, Wash. Pete Caster. Several Lewiston city councilors got behind a proposed resolution in favor of retaining the four lower Snake River dams after a presentation Monday from members of Citizens for Preservation of Fish and Dams, but one councilor said he wants a similar presentation from the other side before he casts a vote. Marvin Dugger, Dick Sherwin and Dan Caldwell from the dam preservation group offered their take in opposition to Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson’s $33 billion proposal to breach the dams to improve fish habitat. Several other area governmental entities have gone on the record in opposition to the plan, including Nez Perce County. And several city of Lewiston…
