NEWS RELEASES
National Parks Employ Dogs To Help Protect Waters From Invasive Mussels
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through The National Park Service's website.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks announced they are employing trained dogs to help detect invasive zebra and quagga mussels that could cause irreparable damage to the parks’ ecosystems. The dogs, trained by the Working Dogs for Conservation non-profit organization based in Bozeman, Montana, to sniff out Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS), will visit the parks during July and August, both to assist the parks’ AIS boat inspectors and raise public awareness by interacting with park visitors. Currently, Yellowstone requires inspections of all watercraft before launching on park waters. According to the Working Dogs for Conservation website, the dogs in its Invasive Mussel Detection Project can identify 100% of the watercraft carrying mussels, while human inspectors typically find only 75%.
The invasive mussels were first detected in Montana in 2016, but so far have not been detected in the national parks. According to a press release from Yellowstone, “AIS can completely transform habitats for native species, introduce disease, out-compete native species, alter food chains, change the physical characteristics of bodies of water, damage equipment, devastate water-delivery systems, and negatively impact local/regional economies.” The mussels and their larvae stick to hard surfaces and are carried by boats and their bilge tanks. Once they establish themselves in a body of water they are basically impossible to eradicate.
For more on canine detection of invasive species and other dog-staffed conservation initiatives world-wide, visit the Working Dogs for Conservation website.
Environmental Issues, Health, National Parks, News, Open Road