It is not enough.
That is the message from the Okanagan Basin Water Board in response to an announcement from the federal government this week of $8.75 million over five years to the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund and up to $540,000 over three years to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.
The OBWB says while both funding initiatives were “a welcome addition,” neither will help detect or prevent invasive mussels from reaching B.C. lakes and rivers, a key imperative given the recent detection of invasive mussels in the Snake River, an Idaho river that feeds into the Columbian River system, which has a connection to the Okanagan Lake watershed.
In a public response issued Friday (Feb. 16), the OBWB called the $8.75 million funding a re-announcement of funding from last year, and the fund itself is accessible nationwide which requires B.C. to compete for available grants with other aquatic invasive projects across Canada.
As for the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation allocation, which was funding provided previously to administer to B.C invasive species groups to do mussel lake monitoring to be applied for, OBWB was successful in applying for one of these grants.
“This will go to funding water sampling in lakes throughout the province to detect if mussels are already present,” stated the OBWB in the news release.
“This is important and necessary work, but it is not a prevention tool.”
The OBWB also cited the intent of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to purchase two new decontamination units to help the B.C. Invasive Mussel Defence Program.
“This will provide a few more resources to respond if a high-risk boat is stopped. Again, this is a welcome addition, but does not help detect or prevent invasive mussels,” stated the OBWB.
James Littley, OBWB’s invasive mussel policy lead, said the water board’s calls for action, which included a boat moratorium for beyond B.C.’s provincial borders, still stand since the federal funding initiatives don’t address funding gaps or solutions to prevent invasive mussels.
For example, Littley says it does not include funding to support or expand B.C.’s mussel boat inspection stations, a critical program he says that is proven to stop infested watercraft from entering the province but needs to be expanded.
Anna Warwick Sears, executive director of the OBWB, added further to Littley’s comments.
“We believe the Government of Canada must become a funding partner of B.C.’s (Invasive Mussel Defence Program) with direct funding and resources to B.C.,” said Warwick Sears.
“Otherwise, federal officials (Canada Border Service Agents or DFO Enforcement Officers). need orders and resources to take over the prevention program on the federal border, leaving B.C.’s Conservation Officers to redeploy along the Alberta-B.C. border. As such, all our calls to action remain.”
READ MORE: Government funding to prevent invasive mussels in Okanagan lakes
READ MORE: Kelowna chamber leads regional push to keep invasive mussels out of B.C.