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ISDA details 2024 Snake River quagga response: sampling, 60,000 gallons of copper and extended treatment duration
Summary
The Idaho State Department of Agriculture told lawmakers it detected microscopic quagga mussel veligers on the mid-Snake in September 2024, ran delimiting sampling and coordinated a large October treatment that deployed roughly 60,000 gallons of chelated copper and extended contact time to 200 hours to suppress the small population.
The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) briefed the House Agriculture Affairs Committee on the agency’s 2024 response to quagga mussel detections in the Snake River basin, describing expanded sampling, laboratory verification, and an unprecedented river treatment performed in October.
Director Chanel Tewalt said ISDA found veligers—microscopic mussel larvae—on September 24, 2024. The department sought molecular confirmation before public notification and then launched intensive delimiting sampling to map the infestation. Tewalt described ISDA’s approach as layered: visual assessment, double-blind photographic verification, molecular confirmation and careful use of environmental DNA (eDNA) as an indicator rather than definitive proof of viable colonies.
Tewalt said the department doubled statewide water sampling and inspected about 50% more boats than the prior year. She framed the 2024 field response as a time-critical operation that…
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