Yellowstone National Park is reminding the public that in preparation to take advantage of the boating and fishing season, which began Saturday boaters and anglers should clean, drain and dry all boats and equipment prior to arriving in the park to minimize the risk of introducing aquatic invasive species into park waters.
Watercraft equipped with sealed internal ballast tanks are banned from all park waters as inspections cannot always detect aquatic invaders in these types of boats. Aquatic invasive species pose a grave and growing threat to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and surrounding economies. They can quickly and drastically transform habitats and food webs, causing permanent declines in sport fish and food resources for native wildlife.
Aquatic invasive species like nonnative quagga and zebra mussels have caused costly, irreversible damage to waterways in the Midwestern and eastern United States and in the Colorado River drainage, including Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
photo wgfd
