Gov. Bullock visits Libby to sign bill combating invasive species

Gov. Steve Bullock, Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby, and Rep. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, met in Riverfront Park in Libby on Tuesday for a ceremonial signing of two bills — Senate Bill 363 (proposed by Vincent) and House Bill 622 — aimed at protecting Montana waterways from invasive species.

Named Protect Montana’s Outdoors and Combat Aquatic Invasive Species, respectively, the bills will pour $13 million into prevention programs over two years partly through fee increases, Vincent said at the signing.

Bullock said responsibility falls at both state and federal levels, and that upcoming interior and agriculture budget cuts have required the state to introduce fees to raise the necessary revenue. The bills’ proponents say a $2 prevention pass per license for in-state fishing licenses and a $15 prevention pass for out-of-state licenses, both implemented this year, will help finance additional watercraft inspections and other preventative measures.

The $2 and $15 dollar charges are retroactive, which means anglers who’ve already purchased a license for the season must still pay the additional amount.

Gary Halvorson, store manager at Libby Sports center, which sells fishing licenses, said customer reaction to the additional cost was mostly negative.

“We’ve had a lot of people come in and pay the retroactive $2 fee,” he said. “They want to take care of it, but they wish it could have been added to the license fee earlier in the season, the fact that it’s been added later gripes a lot of people.”

Some out-of-state anglers have opted out of buying a fishing license at all after learning of the $15 dollar prevention pass, according to Halvorson.

“The increase means a two day out of state license is now $50, and that’s put a lot of people off,” Halvorson said.

The bills were drafted after the larvae of invasive zebra mussels were found in the Tiber reservoir and an initial sample showed larvae in Canyon Ferry Lake, said John Tubbs, director of the department of natural resource and conservation. Both bodies of water are near Helena, which is within the Columbia River basin, the last major basin in the lower 48 without invasive mussels, Tubbs explained at the bill signing.

“Sixty percent of the state’s hydro power comes from the Columbia basin, so there are significant assets at risk if these mussels were to implant here,” said Vincent.

Vincent said authorities believe the mussels are contained to the two sites near Helena, though he added that a second sample is still needed to determine the presence of larvae in Canyon Ferry.

“So the best case scenario is that this funding is preventative, to stop the mussel from spreading,” he said.

Funding for the program is multi-pronged. Funding is slated to come from state and federal sources, from increased taxes to hydro-electric companies, whose industry would be negativley impacted if the mussels were take root , and from adding the cost of a compulsory prevention pass to fishing licenses.

To help combat invasive species from spreading further, Cuffe said authorities have doubled the number of boat check points and extended the hours and months they are open.

Tom Wolf of Fish, Wildlife and Parks employee is moving from Idaho to Helena to be aquatic invasive species administrator, a new position to result from the increased funding.

At the bill signing, Vincent said he believed Fish and Game would be more focused on compliance than on enforcement.

“Is that correct?,” Vincent asked the Libby, Troy and Eureka game wardens present. They nodded in agreement.