Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks lifted boating restrictions on Canyon Ferry Lake after three years of testing for invasive zebra mussels.
FWP installed the restrictions in 2016 after a water sample was found to contain zebra mussel larvae. Since that time, all boats coming off the lake had to be inspected and decontaminated unless the owners took part in a “certified local boater” program that waived inspections for boats that weren’t used on other bodies of water.
“With no further evidence of mussels in Canyon Ferry, we can comfortably release those restrictions,” Thomas Woolf, chief of FWP’s aquatic invasive species bureau, said in a statement.
FWP said it will still continue to conduct inspections at the lake, but on boats being launched. The goal is to keep invasive species from being introduced and to continue educating the public about the importance of cleaning, draining and drying their boats.
“Every time a boat leaves the water, just make sure you clean anything off of it — weeds, plants — and make sure all the water’s drained and the boat’s dry,” Woolf said. “That helps prevent the spread of invasive things.”
