Battle against the quagga mussel arrives at the Roundhouse

quagga mussels

The effort to hold the line against the invasive quagga mussel, scourge of the west’s waterways, has found its way to the New Mexico legislature with House Bill 536. The legislation would expand the state’s authority to try to prevent quaggas from hitchhiking into New Mexico on visiting boats, which is pathway by which the critter has been hopping from reservoir to reservoir around the west. From the bill’s legislature summary (pdf):

Bill 536 (HB 536) amends the Aquatic Invasive Species Control statute, Section 17-4-35 NMSA 1978, to grant the state greater authority to stop and inspect vehicles and vessels to prevent aquatic invasive species from entering the waters of the state. HB 536 authorizes the Department of Game and Fish (DGF) to require inspections of any conveyance or equipment a) at ports of entry, in cooperation with the Motor Transportation Division of the Department of the Department of Public Safety (DPS), b) prior to a vessel entering or exiting a water body in the state or c) under other reasonable circumstances to prevent, control, monitor and possibly eradicate such species.