Document jBRqG2ZKXRoe27GnXGdjbQByR

To: Stephen Phillips[SPhillips@psmfc.org] From: Scott Cameron Sent: 2017-02-04T10:02:36-05:00 Importance: Normal Subject: Re: a few thoughts Received: 2017-02-04T10:02:44-05:00 Stephen, May I share this email with our interagency crew working on this topic? Thanks, Scott Scott J. Cameron Special Assistant Water and Science Department of the Interior Phone: 202 208 0969 Cell service 202 706 9031 Sent from my iPhone On Feb 2, 2017, at 11:57 PM, Stephen Phillips <SPhillips@,psmfc.org> wrote: Scott A few thoughts -- MT has two (2) veligers...two It's not an infestation. Other examples of initial veliger finds that did not turn into full blown populations are many (e.g. Colorado they built a state of the art watercraft inspection and decontamination program, led by Elizabeth Brown, starting 8 year ago. However, in 2017 Colorado will be a "mussel free state." What happened? The initial samples were either contaminated ..or the population died off. I do not mean to infer that the reaction to the MT infestation is not warranted ,,.we just need to have some hope! LI MT is about to receive a good dose of funding - both WRDA and state funding ..they should be covered for Watercraft Inspection Stations.what is needed in the Columbia River Basin in monitoring $$$$'s...as follows: Funding for Watercraft Inspection Stations/Monitoring (Columbia River Basin): The reauthorization of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA, 2014) and "Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act" (WIIN, 2016) included funding for watercraft inspection stations in the 4 Columbia River Basin (CRB) states to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (as well as provisions for monitoring and rapid response). Thankfully, the FY 2016 federal budget included $4 million for watercraft inspection stations. The Senate's FY 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill included $4,000,000 for watercraft inspection stations, and $1,000,000 for monitoring. For FY 2018 and beyond it is critical that WRRDA/USACE funds be appropriated to augment state watercraft inspection programs, and provide much needed support of early detection monitoring programs. Coordination: By now you have heard of coordination and prevention efforts of the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species (WRP) and its Building Consensus project. In the Columbia River basin we coordinate interagency efforts though the Columbia River Basin Team... I urge caution in developing additional coordination entities.please include us in these discussions! Quagga Zebra Action Plan - Though several years old, this plan still works, more importantly the annual USFWS "QZAP" grant funds have proven critical in reducing the threat from the lower Colorado River Basin as it's the #1 source of mussel contaminated boats entering the Pacific Northwest: The Quagga/Zebra Mussel Action Plan (QZAP) identifies and prioritizes strategies to address the invasion of quagga and zebra mussels in the West. The plan was developed at the request of Senator Dianne Feinstein by the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species. A QZAP grant program was begun in 2010 and has provided millions of dollars in critical funding to state and local agencies to prevent the spread of quagga and zebra mussels in the western US. QZAP grant funds have greatly reduced the threat of contaminated watercraft leaving the lower Colorado River Basin and are a critical element in preventing the further spread of quagga and zebra mussels in the West. Containment at the Source: We have been advocating for this for 10 years: The Department of Interior and National Park Service should require the implementation of mandatory inspections and decontaminations of watercraft before leaving federal and inter-jurisdictional waters of the lower Colorado River as called for by western states, QZAP and the National Park Service's Quagga/Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention and Response Planning Guide (2007). USDA Forest Service should also follow suit in preventing infected watercraft from leaving federal system lands. The financial and management responsibility of preventing the movement of quagga contaminated watercraft from federally managed recreation areas in the western US should be carried by the federal government rather than depending on the states to manage and help finance many of the prevention programs Call anytime, look forward to seeing you in a few weeks! Stephen