Inspection station

An inspection station, near Midway in the Boundary Country east of Penticton, is manned by conservation officers checking boats and boat trailers to make sure they’re not carrying an invasive mussel into the province. The program has received a $1.1 million funding boost. Handout photo

A further contribution of $150,000 is also being provided by the BC Wildlife Federation, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. 

The new funding will be directed into the Invasive Mussel Defence Program, which works to keep zebra and quagga mussels out of B.C. lakes and rivers through checks at the border of vessels being towed into the province, water monitoring, and public education. 

“The province has made fighting invasive mussels a priority and we will keep taking action alongside our partners and communities,” Nathan Cullen, minister of water, land, and resource stewardship, said in a Tuesday release. 

The new investment of more than $1.1 million is in addition to ongoing provincial funding for the mussel defence program. 

Photo Credit Neil Bousquet