Idaho agriculture department details extended quagga mussel sampling and October 2024 treatment on Mid‑Snake River

Chanel Tewalt, director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, and Nick Zerflue, ISDA bureau chief overseeing invasive species response, told the House Agriculture Affairs Committee on Feb. 14 that the department increased inspections, expanded water sampling and carried out a large‑scale treatment on the Mid‑Snake River after quagga mussels were detected in 2023 and again at low levels in 2024.

Tewalt said Idaho’s 2008 Invasive Species Act called on the department to set up boat‑inspection stations and to run the state program. She told lawmakers the department inspected about 50% more boats statewide in 2024 than in 2023 and “doubled water sampling in every single one of your districts.” The department also launched a communication campaign and broadened laboratory support and subject‑matter expertise used to confirm detections.

ISDA said it uses a layered verification process. After an initial visual or plankton‑net detection of veligers the agency seeks genetic confirmation, cross‑checks images and samples with…