Lake Roosevelt Invasive Mussel Response Exercise

Introduction

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Quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are non-native freshwater mollusks that originated in eastern Europe and are well known for their destructive properties. Once established, quagga and zebra mussels form thick colonies that can clog the pipes and filters of power and water plants, possibly costing infested states more than $500 million each year to manage. Invasive mussels can limit recreational opportunities by colonizing boat docks and equipment including boat engines and threaten fisheries like salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. Zebra mussels also attach themselves to native Washington species, such as western pearlshell mussels (Margaritifera falcata) and signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), impeding their abilities to move and reproduce. 

Quagga and zebra mussel outbreaks in the United States are most commonly caused by mussels hitchhiking on recreational boats that pass through multiple water bodies across the states. The Columbia River Basin is the last basin in the United States and Canada to remain free of these invasive mussels. By working together across the Columbia River Basin, partners have kept invasive mussels at bay through coordinated watercraft inspection stations. Yet, it is likely invasive mussels will eventually establish in the Columbia River Basin and Washington, based on how successful they have been at invading water bodies throughout the U.S. 

In 2019, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), National Park Service, Spokane Tribe of Indians, Colville Confederated Tribes, and Washington Invasive Species Council conducted a first-of-its-kind field exercise to a potential quagga and zebra mussels invasion in Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in Washington with the help of the Incident Command System and the Washington State Dreissenid Mussel Response Plan. This exercise was built upon regional tabletop exercises, which are discussion-based sessions where personnel discuss their roles and responses to particular emergency situations, led by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. 

The Incident Command System is a hierarchical management system created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is typically used to respond to emergencies of all types and scales such as natural disasters, oil spills, political rallies, and infectious disease outbreaks. This response exercise had many moving parts with multiple teams and roles. The Incident Command System structure structure
Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.

Learn more about structure was well suited for this exercise because of how it efficiently divides up roles and responsibilities.

Key Issues Addressed

Previous planning exercises that only used tabletop-scenario activities made it difficult for the exercise planning team to anticipate all potential obstacles that could be encountered in an actual field response. Further, there is no single recipe to successfully respond to mussel detections as each waterbody has different environmental factors and legal jurisdictions. Therefore, there is a need to continually train, plan, and hold exercises to practice techniques for detecting and containing, and eradicating mussels at a wide variety of locations. 

In order to implement a successful state-wide rapid response to invasive mussels, project partners needed to be prepared to navigate these complex legal jurisdictions and relationships. The exercise planning team chose Lake Roosevelt as the site to orchestrate the response exercise because it is one of the most legally complex water bodies in the Columbia River Basin. The Spokane Tribe of Indians has legal jurisdiction over the east side of Lake Roosevelt and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have legal jurisdiction over the west side, in addition to U.S. federal lands. To further this intricacy, Reclamation operates the Grand Coulee Dam that creates Lake Roosevelt and the U.S. National Park Service administers the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. By conducting the rapid response exercise in Lake Roosevelt, project partners could better prepare for the legal complexities that come with a real state-wide invasive mussel response. 

This was the first-ever rapid response field exercise for invasive mussels on the West Coast of the U.S. Other states were unable to prepare once mussels arrived due to their ability to be prolific breeders and rapid colonization. This state response exercise enables the participants to plan a rapid field response if and when invasive mussels are found in a waterway. If the response is unsuccessful, populations will spread rapidly, leading to long-term management to keep agricultural water systems and hydroelectric facilities running.

Project Goals

• Perform and test the effectiveness of the Washington State Dreissenid Mussel Response Plan by holding a rapid response exercise in Lake Roosevelt
• Provide Incident Command System training to all participants and employ system hierarchy to ensure safety and security to all responders
• Develop short and long-term plans for delineating the infestation, containment, and eradication or long-term control of invasive mussels
• Engage and include all organizations having legal jurisdiction, response partners, and the public about the rapid response exercise and the potential negative consequences of quagga and zebra mussels to the economy and environment
• Evaluate the response exercise to determine where gaps in preparedness, policies, and programs exist with the overall goal to improve response readiness

Project Highlights

• Clear Command Structure: The exercise planning team hosted multiple Incident Command System trainings in addition to holding a discussion-based exercise indoors. These sessions provided interagency responders with a clear command structure. For example, response organizations designated unified commanders and different chiefs to oversee logistics, operations, planning, and project finance. 
• Delineation and Containment: To practice determining the extent of an infestation during the exercise, the exercise team planted fake mussels along the shore of Lake Roosevelt, underwater, and in recreational boats. Two canine survey teams sniffed out mussels along the shore, and divers conducted searches for the mussels underwater. The containment team used this information to assemble and deploy a containment system to prevent further invasive mussel larvae intrusion and applied a biodegradable, non-toxic rhodamine dye to the containment area as a mock pesticide application. The exercise team also tested water quality inside and outside the containment system to determine its effectiveness.
• Infestation Prevention: The project team members promote the national campaign “Clean, Drain, Dry” in an effort to prevent invasive mussels from entering other bodies of water in Washington. This encourages recreational watercraft owners to clean their boats, drain all the remaining water, and completely dry their equipment. During the response exercise, responders set up mandatory watercraft inspection and decontamination stations for cleaning fouled watercraft in order to prevent the infestation from being spread to new waterbodies.
• Collaborate and Disseminate: The exercise team had to build relationships with all the organizations that had legal jurisdiction over Lake Roosevelt. Organizations such as the administrators of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, or the Washington State Department of Ecology issued permits allowing response activities. Some agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or the Alberta Ministry of the Environment and Parks did not have legal jurisdiction but were still given a role in the exercise due to their experience and capabilities. Additionally, all information on the exercise was disseminated to the public and other interested parties to spread awareness.

Lessons Learned

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Staying Prepared: The Washington Invasive Species Council has held several courses and workshops to build response skills, including a SCUBA Operations Workshop to cross-train regional dive teams. 

After a year of planning and training, the exercise team successfully executed the rapid response exercise with $150,000 funding provided by an agreement with Reclamation. Throughout the exercise, all 59 participants communicated and operated using the Incident Command System’s structure and processes and maintained a safe environment that resulted in zero injuries. All exercise objectives were achieved, and the response exercise successfully demonstrated a mock response to the detection of invasive mussels in Lake Roosevelt. 

During the planning process, the facilitators realized that there was no existing state National Discharge Elimination System permit allowing for the application of a non-toxic rhodamine dye to a water body. In response, the director of the Washington State Department of Ecology wrote a letter permit outlining how the non-toxic dye could be applied to simulate treatment. The department plans to modify the state permit with the Environmental Protection Agency to allow the application of the dye in the future, allowing for further mock treatments. 

It is impossible to plan for everything or have all the supplies and equipment required for a successful invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species response from a meeting room. The process of holding a field-based exercise provided value and insight to planning field operations. There were many unforeseen learning moments and elements not covered in the state and regional plans that could have led to failure in response to a real invasive mussel detection. For example, some field equipment, such as the containment system, was difficult to deploy quickly. Hence, it needs to be used regularly by trained staff in order to be successfully deployed in an actual emergency. 

The team also learned that such large-scale exercises are useful but require significant time and resources to develop – possibly best held every 5 or 10 years. Small-scale drills or workshops focusing on specific positions, such as Public Information Officer, or specific functions, such as deploying a containment system, should also be held to ensure that their capabilities are developed in a way that is time and cost-efficient.

Next Steps

• Revisit and make improvements to the regional and state response plans on a regular basis: This includes developing more detailed response frameworks for every water body in the state but offering more step-by-step processes and lists of pre-identified agencies that have jurisdiction and key stakeholders. This path offers more site-specific information for an initial response, containment, delineation, and eradication or control. This is similar to how the State of Wyoming is approaching its invasive species threat with site-specific plans for each waterbody in the state. 
• Conduct Incident Command System position-specific and function-specific training and drills to build capabilities to perform field activities, such as monitoring and containment, to ensure maximum response capabilities with the least amount of time and resources. 
• Continue educating the public about the negative impacts of invasive species such as quagga and zebra mussels and promoting simple actions that the public can take to be part of the solution, such as participation in the Clean, Drain, Dry campaign.

Funding Partners

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Resources

• Lake Roosevelt Invasive Mussel Rapid Response Exercise News Release
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Aquatic and Invasive Species
• After Action Report (AAR)
• Kettle Falls Marina Rapid Response Exercise StoryMap
• 2019 Lake Roosevelt Invasive Mussel Rapid Response Exercise Youtube Video

Contacts

• Justin Bush, Washington Invasive Species Council: justin.bush@rco.wa.gov
• Heidi McMaster, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: hmcmaster@usbr.gov
• Allen Pleus, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: allen.pleus@dfw.wa.gov
• Captain Eric Anderson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: eric.anderson@dfw.wa.gov

CART Lead Author

Tam Luong, CART Student Intern, University of California, Los Angeles

Suggested Citation

Luong, T., A. and Bush, J. (2022). "Washington State's Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Freshwater Invasive Mussel Response Exercise.” CART. Retrieved from https://www.fws.gov/project/lake-roosevelt-invasive-mussel-response-exercise.