Protect Our Waters

We all like to think the biggest threat to Montana trout is somewhere in our fly box, but it’s not.

It’s wedged between the grooves on our wader soles. Hidden in the folds of our net. Clamped to the bottom of our boat.

Until we start taking aquatic invasive species seriously.

what’s the problem?

When creatures or plants alien to our waters arrive here from elsewhere, an absence of natural predators can leave them free to run amok.

If you want to know why quagga mussel and zebra mussel qualify as cuss words in Montana, check out this picture.

That kind of takeover doesn’t only threaten habitat and infrastructure; it also costs millions to control. If ‘control’ is still possible.

And if you think this is the only threat we’re trying to keep out, think again.

how do they get here?

As stowaways.

Mussels stick to the boats of visiting anglers, as do fragments of invasive aquatic plants like Eurasian water-milfoil, another trespasser that can overwhelm native aquatic flora.

Don’t have a boat? They can hide just as well in your fishing equipment. No matter when you last fished, if your gear stayed damp, those troublemakers can survive all the way to Montana.