Okanagan Basin Water Board wants more federal support to combat invasive mussels

“Has the federal government given up on us?” asked Okanagan Basin Water Board executive director Anna Warwick Sears.

An Okanagan organization dedicated to fighting invasive species is urging the federal government for more support.

This week, the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) issued a statement, saying it’s concerned to hear that federal funding for B.C.’s invasive mussel defence program may be reduced or cancelled this year.

“This, despite recent news that invasive quagga mussels were discovered in Idaho’s transboundary Columbia Basin and are now closer than ever to spreading into Western Canada,” said the OBWB.

In May 2023, the federal government established the Canada Water Agency, which has a goal of protecting the nation’s waterways.

The announcement said the government would invest more than $750 million, with $650 million going to major waterbodies like the Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg and the Fraser River.

Another $22 million would be earmarked for provincial coordination.

That the Okanagan — which is currently free of invasive mussels — wasn’t mentioned got the attention of the OBWB

“Has the federal government given up on us?” asked OBWB executive director Anna Warwick Sears. “Have they accepted defeat before we’ve even had an infestation here? That’s what it feels like.”