South Dakota's invasive species effort needs more urgency: Brad Johnson

At the urging of Gov. Kristi Noem’s office, the 2020 state legislature declared the zebra mussel invasion an emergency in South Dakota.

Today, the invasive mussels infect more lakes, while state efforts remain stagnant and, in some cases, have retreated.

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That is a trend a newly formed South Dakota Lakes and Streams Association hopes to change by building a grassroots coalition to emphasize the importance of combating invasive species. The group met last week near Pickerel Lake.

Others see the urgency. On Jan. 28, 2020, Jason Simmons, policy advisor to Gov. Noem appeared before the House Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee.

“The governor herself takes this issue very seriously,” he said.

He said zebra mussels, a small snail-like mollusk that reproduce rapidly, are a grave economic and environmental threat. They damage surface water infrastructure, drinking water and irrigation systems as well as hydroelectric and industrial cooling systems.

“Zebra mussels increase the likelihood of toxic algal bloom,” he said. “ They alter aquatic food chains and habitats.”

Their “razor sharp shells, which cover the shores, can cut the feet of people swimming.”

House Bill 1033 passed the House 59-7 and the Senate 33-1. It requires boats to have their plugs removed and drained of water and boats and trailers cleaned of “visible organic material, including plants, animals and mud.”

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Surrounding western states are taking this very seriously – much more seriously than South Dakota.

A report to the South Dakota Lakes and Streams Association Board about a week ago put South Dakota’s $538,000 budget in context with the $1.3 million Wyoming spends to combat invasive species, the $3.25 million Utah spends, the $4.5 million in Colorado and the $6 million in Montana. Minnesota earmarks $10 million annually.

The economic impact is significant. A 2019 Montana study “estimates that if invasive mussels become established in Montana, it would cost the state economy $234 million a year to offset or fight the damage to three economic sectors that face the greatest threat: recreation, infrastructure and irrigation,” according to a Jan. 25, 2019, report in the Missoula Current.

“Of these, irrigation costs would be the greatest, running between $29 million and $60 million. The tourism sector would be out the most money, losing as much as $89 million a year.”

So how did South Dakota respond to the 2020 legislative emergency?

“In 2021 GFP spent $16,000 on (aquatic invasive species) roadside inspections in eastern and central South Dakota,” a report prepared by Dave Charron, a member of the lakes and streams association said.

“In 2021, GFP spent $258,000 on AIS inspections to protect six reservoirs in western South Dakota.”

That’s largely because most of the money in GFP’s budget came from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Legislative efforts in the 2022 to increase the state’s funding collapsed into a simple resolution passed unanimously in which the legislature strongly encouraged the governor and executive branch to “use all resources necessary to fight the spread of zebra mussels and other invasive species in our waters.”

That strong encouragement actually saw inspections on eastern South Dakota lakes decline in 2022 by 131 compared to the the same period in 2021, Charron’s report said.

It is the “other invasive species” that also concerns South Dakota Lakes and Streams Association President Dan Loveland, a Pickerel Lake property owner, noting the group is focused on all invasive species.

A Minnesota researcher told the organization that once a lake has one invasive species it is more vulnerable to others. The spread must be slowed, she said, to give researchers more time.

Simmons said as much back in January 2020.

“The longer we can keep zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species out of new waters, the more likely that we will have an opportunity in South Dakota to implement some of these new, effective and more affordable options,” he said.

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Then-South Dakota GFP Commission Chairman Gary Jensen sounded the alarm even before then.

In a July 25, 2019, letter to Noem, he urged her to “lead a statewide Call to Action for all South Dakota stakeholders, public and private, to develop and implement a comprehensive response to the significant environmental, social and economic threat presented by zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species in our state. Time is of the essence.”

Brad Johnson is a Watertown journalist and businessman who is active in state and local affairs.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Money budgeted to fight invasive species in SD far less that neighbors