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State expands Mid‑Snake quarantine for quagga mussel treatment; agency declines to list two plant species but reclassifies Turkish thistle
Summary
The Idaho Department of Agriculture presented a temporary quarantine definition for the Mid‑Snake quagga mussel treatment and a separate noxious‑weed listing package; the committee approved the quarantine temporary rule and adopted weed list changes that reclassified Turkish thistle but did not add Palmer amaranth or myrtle spurge.
Deputy Director Lloyd Knight and Plant Industries Administrator Andrea Thompson presented separate but related rule dockets addressing aquatic invasive species response and noxious‑weed listings.
Knight described a temporary rule that defines the quarantine area for the quagga mussel treatment on the Mid‑Snake River in the Magic Valley and reported operational details: active quarantine and treatment work since the 2023 detection, inspection and wash stations already operating at Centennial Park, planned stations at Shoshone Falls Park and a planned access site in coordination with Idaho Power, and collaborative operations with Twin Falls County and local law enforcement. He said the temporary rule clarifies the quarantine boundaries and requires washing of watercraft and inspection of conveyances entering and exiting the quarantine area. "We are currently... enacting the quarantine since we first found quagga mussels in the area in 2023," Knight said, and described the department's approach of operating inspection and wash stations and contracting local partners where appropriate.
Members asked how "assigned entities" operating inspections are defined; Knight said the department may contract with soil and water conservation districts, counties, or use cooperating law enforcement and fish and game officers to extend the inspection footprint.
The committee adopted the temporary rule by motion and voice vote.
Separately, Andrea Thompson presented the noxious‑weed listing docket. Two petitions were considered during negotiated rulemaking in July for additions to the noxious weed list: Palmer amaranth (an agricultural weed) and myrtle spurge (an ornamental species). Negotiated meetings drew wide stakeholder participation, but no consensus emerged to list either petitioned species, so the department did not propose listing them. Thompson also noted a missed edit from the 2023 rulemaking that clarified the Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) classification language and proposed recategorizing Turkish thistle from the EDRR table to the control category because it appears more widely distributed than previously thought; that recategorization drew support or neutral response and was included in the adopted rule.
Committee members voted to adopt the listing and quarantine dockets as presented. The department emphasized continuing outreach and operational coordination with Twin Falls County, cities and Idaho Power to maintain inspection and wash stations and to enforce the quarantine while treatment and monitoring continue.
