Meet the mussel-sniffing dogs that could save California from a Delta invader

One of the state s best investigators was on the hunt for golden mussels a dangerous new invader in California s waters with a reputation for destruction Wearing a collar and a tongue-lolling grin Allee a Belgian Malinois sniffed along the glittering hull of a bass boat at an inspection station in Butte County The dog s handler California Department of Fish and Wildlife Warden Mark Rose pointed at the outboard motor and the dog delicately nosed the propellers She stretched up on her hind legs to get a good whiff of the port side before Rose led her away She yawned Nothing here The dog was searching for any hint of the thimble-sized mussels hidden in the nooks and crannies of boats headed to Lake Oroville the state s second-largest reservoir or two smaller reservoirs nearby Her human counterparts at the Department of Water Support inspection station combed the boat s interior for standing water that could harbor larvae Mandatory boat inspections are among the scarce weapons in California s arsenal for protecting its thousands of lakes and reservoirs from the invasion The mussels prolific advance and voracious appetites can upend entire ecosystems encrust underwater surfaces choke off water supplies and damage dams and power plants We have been on high alert disclosed Tanya Veldhuizen special projects section manager in the California Department of Water Support environmental assessment branch which operates the state s water delivery system It s not just on our doorstep it s in our house Golden mussels sit inside a jar lid at Thermalito Forebay in Oroville Warden Mark Rose uses the saved mussels to help Allee a Belgian Malinois detect them on watercraft Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr CalMatters State water managers made the alarming discovery in October that golden mussels which are native to China and Southeast Asia had invaded the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta the core of California s massive water delivery systems It marked the first detection in North America To everyone s horror it was in various a great number of more places than we expected The further they looked the further they exposed them TED GROSHOLZ UC DAVIS COASTAL AND MARINE SCIENCES INSTITUTE The mussels first discovered encrusting a float near the Port of Stockton have already infiltrated California s two major state and federal water systems which export water from the Delta to supply million people and millions of acres of farmland Their larvae are spreading through the framework of pumps pipes and canals To everyone s horror it was in multiple various more places than we expected disclosed Ted Grosholz a professor emeritus with the UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute The further they looked the further they ascertained them Now the mussels are here to stay They cannot be eradicated Water suppliers bracing for the onslaught have instead turned their efforts to shoring up pipes pumps and therapy plants against the infestation The state s largest part immediate priority is protecting the small pipes at upstream pumping facilities that keep water deliveries flowing then they ll move their efforts downstream Veldhuizen announced It is a huge undertaking Veldhuizen revealed We re not looking at removing mussels from all the water because it s just not feasible The race is on to keep the mussels and their microscopic larvae from infesting untainted lakes by stowing away on hulls or inside damp internal cavities of boats But tools are stretched precariously thin There is no funding dedicated to fighting invasive golden mussels in the state s budget And each new infestation means one more place from which they can spread Boaters statewideare warned to clean drain and dry anything that touches water before moving it to another lake or river Microscopic larvae can survive in tiny amounts of trapped water Adult mussels may survive for a week or longer with no water at all Water managers in various lakes and reservoirs now require inspections quarantine periods and decontamination with hot water before boats can enter Others have closed or limited access to boating But a patchwork of oversight leaves multiple lakes with no protection at all Oh look what we located the hunt for mussels Allee with her sensitive snout and devotion to Rose is one of the state s more finely honed weapons against this invasion But she is one of only dogs with the wildlife agency trained to detect invasive mussels Rose announced And she is also tasked with sniffing out the guns ammunition and kills of wildlife poachers farther north in Tehama County where Rose is the only event warden for nearly square miles Warden Mark Rose guides Allee as she sniffs watercraft at Thermalito Forebay in Oroville to search for golden mussels Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr CalMatters Inspection teams examine boats at the Thermalito Forebay Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr CalMatters A state and federal mussels task force circulated recommendations in April including mandatory decontamination of boats in infested areas for longer than five days and prevention programs at all accessible uninfested waters But these are monumental tasks especially amid federal staff cuts and the state s billion budget deficit California s fish and wildlife agency for instance is severely understaffed with only of the information needed to fulfill its law enforcement duties and needed for habitat and species conservation according to a analysis mandated by the Legislature Even so Gov Gavin Newsom proposed cutting vacant positions at the department this year including wardens and other enforcement positions according to HD Palmer with the Department of Finance Lawmakers rejected the cuts for now but the finance department explained the budget does not provide funding to fight golden mussels Everybody s under fire UC Davis Grosholz explained It s not a great time for store agencies to suddenly have a brand new threat The initiative s literally working They re truly doing specific good to keep the mussels out of the water at Oroville Dyrr explained Don t know what they re doing with all the other thousands of lakes around that they re not monitoring thoughDEAN DYRR BOATER AT LAKE OROVILLE At the Department of Water Guidance Oroville inspection station last month trucks hauling expensive fishing boats and beat-up skiffs rolled over the dusty parking lot at the Thermalito Forebay a smaller downstream reservoir The boats that passed Allee s smell test and neon-vested inspectors were recorded and tagged then sent to the open ramps Boats that failed because they were still wet even wet cupholders and life jackets can trigger a failure were sent to a decontamination station where they were sprayed and flushed with steaming water Inspection stations set up by multiple agencies have already intercepted boats contaminated with golden mussels bound for lakes Tahoe Folsom Berryessa and Oroville Leaning against his sailboat at an Oroville boat ramp boater Dean Dyrr stated inspectors spotted mussels on the boat right next to his when his sailboat was checked at the Thermalito Forebay in May They were like Oh look what we determined and it was a handful of mussels Dyrr explained as his wife loaded up their boat with supplies and water Lake Oroville glinted against the dry oak-studded foothills and dozens of boats bobbed on its surface When mussels are ascertained the boat is pressure-washed and flushed with hot water then verified free of mussels before it can be launched at the lake The plan s literally working They re genuinely doing several good to keep the mussels out of the water at Oroville Dyrr explained Don t know what they re doing with all the other thousands of lakes around that they re not monitoring though Dean Dyrr prepares his sailboat at Lake Oroville He stated inspectors spotted mussels on the boat next to his Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr CalMatters Various leadership federal state local and private manage access to California s lakes and reservoirs Of particular concern are the lakes and waterways that are not fed by Delta water because they have the best chance of being spared infestations Around lakes and reservoirs have inspection programs and quarantine requirements of up to days and a handful have limited or barred access to boats according to the state s Division of Boating and Waterways analysis of a list they maintain The division warns however that the list is not comprehensive and is kept as a courtesy with the limited staff they have boaters are advised to contact lakes and reservoirs to confirm Among the biggest gaps in oversight are federally managed Whiskeytown and Shasta lakes Shasta Lake is the biggest reservoir in the state and both are popular with boaters Neither have mandatory inspection programs If golden mussels are detected in Shasta Lake we will reassess the current approach and consider additional measures a spokesperson with the U S Forest Function reported in an email The agency asks boaters to voluntarily dry their boats for five days between visits to local North State lakes like Shasta and Whiskeytown and days if entering the lakes from outside the area Laura Shaskey division lead of stock management and interpretation with the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area declared voluntary inspections are offered during peak visiting periods The inspection programs that do exist are costly and labor intensive Lake Tahoe s has been in place since after invasive quagga mussels breached California s borders But golden mussels are more ecologically nimble than previous invaders and can survive in a much bigger range of waters So the threat they pose to Lake Tahoe is even greater noted Jeff Cowen a spokesperson for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency There s just too numerous boats and too a great number of people out there to not miss them It s physically impossible MARK ROSE STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE WARDEN The agency has budgeted million this fiscal year for its mandatory inspection plan which now also requires decontamination for boats entering on trailers Boaters launching for the first time in Tahoe will need to pay a registration fee for the year plus to decontamination fees each time the boat returns from another lake Kayaks paddleboards and other hand-launched boats can skip the line and be decontaminated for free At Folsom Lake and Lake Clementine the U S Bureau of Reclamation and California State Parks require boaters to quarantine their boats for days after inspection before they can enter the water or pay a company for decontamination By mid-June staff braving sometimes sweltering weather had inspected more than boats in two months But for all the expense and effort there are still too numerous procedures for boats to leave the Delta with invasive stowaways and too inadequate materials to stop them There are also traces of DNA that suggest golden mussels had already invaded the Delta more than a year before they were first spotted near the Port of Stockton Veldhuizen mentioned There is the real likely that watercraft have moved golden mussels out of the Delta and my fear is that we will begin to see detections outside of that interconnected water Martha Volkoff environmental campaign manager for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife s Invasive Species Activity stated at a fresh webinar Still Volkoff advised CalMatters it is worth trying to slow the spread as much as doable California has done it before Quagga mussels are thought to have spread to only two unconnected bodies of water since they were first discovered in Southern California s Colorado River Aqueduct in There s so much to protect yet Volkoff mentioned Yes it s a lot of work but the long-term savings to the surroundings and to all the other strategies that it costs us is assets well spent even if we just delay new introductions Rose in his K- unit vest led Allee toward a pickup hauling an aluminum fishing boat when the driver rattled away kicking up dust The boat had not been inspected the lake he was heading to Collins Lake in Yuba County doesn t require them There s just too numerous boats and too a multitude of people out there to not miss them It s physically impossible Rose reported Another boat pulled up and Allee happily trotted over Boaters upset about long dry-outs About miles away in the Sierra foothills Collins Lake brimmed with campers on a Friday afternoon in June People lounged on the sandy beach and paddled on kayaks and floats A handful of fishing boats bobbed in the deeper water A sign at the lake s boat ramp warned DON T MOVE A MUSSEL CLEAN DRAIN DRY It was a precaution against the older threats of quagga and zebra mussels and hadn t been updated yet to include the state s newest invader A sign warns visitors about quagga and zebra mussels but not golden mussels at Collins Lake in Browns Valley Collins Lake does not have an inspection station for golden mussels Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr CalMatters Left Boats at a dock at Collins Lake Right A boater empties water from his boat at Collins Lake Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr CalMatters There was no one checking boats at the ramp though which had drawn Mark Mezzanares and his friend Sonny Steuart to the lake The retirees from Colfax were put off by the -day dry-out periods required at Folsom Lake in Sacramento County and Rollins Lake in Nevada County though boaters who want to fast-track entry can pay for disinfection I m not gonna go sit over there and have my boat sit in the freaking driveway for days and then go fishing once Mezzanares commented Rollins quarantine is an even more stringent days for boats with bilges ballasts and live water tanks that could carry stowaways You don t buy and spend on a boat to go to one lake he mentioned They wished the state offered a pass that allowed boats cleared for one lake to visit others It s a common refrain among boaters who chafe at the new restrictions Maggie Macias a spokesperson for the Department of Water Guidance revealed in an email they are discussing a pass campaign from Lake Oroville with other lake managers but will need to ensure that any feasible partners have rigorous inspections and don t already have mussels in the water themselves Those whose livelihoods depend on keeping lakes open for visitors are facing a challenging new reality Jacob Young the general manager of Collins Lake recreation area is leaving it up to the boaters to ensure their boats are clean drained and dry at least for now You can just sense a lot of that frustration that they re feeling like This is ridiculous Young announced And the same token you get selected people who might say Man you re not doing any golden mussel inspections How could you not be doing that and making sure you re staying safe At the boat ramp water poured from the motor of a cherry-red bass boat that visitor Dan Jacobs had just hauled off the lake Jacobs stated he wished California had a grid of courtesy decontamination stations like the ones offered in Minnesota to combat the spread of invasive zebra mussels instead of lengthy quarantines One of the rare times our tax dollars were spent wisely he commented For him the vulnerability to Collins Lake feels personal he and his wife camped there decades ago when he was stationed at Beale Air Force Base and now their children and grandchildren return for family camping trips As bad as the mussels are it makes you kind of nervous he reported All it takes is one person to screw it up for everyone CalMatters statistical journalist Natasha Uzc tegui-Liggett contributed to this article CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable