Kelowna, B.C. – The Okanagan Basin Water Board welcomes the federal government’s recent funding announcement to address invasive mussels and is resending a prioritized list for more action, and requesting an in-person meeting.
“We are gravely concerned about the impact zebra and quagga mussels would have on the Okanagan and Western Canada,” said OBWB Chair Tracy Gray. Gray was referencing a letter sent by the Water Board today to newly appointed Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Jonathan Wilkinson, reiterating a call for federal funding made in April. “We need the federal government to take stronger action and help reinforce our defenses and contain these mussels where they are at, and work with Western provinces, states, and the U.S. government to protect our waters.
“We do not want to be in a situation, like we’ve heard from officials in Manitoba and elsewhere, where we are infested with zebra or quagga mussels and regret not doing more to prevent it,” Gray added.