Wyoming Game and Fish Department prepares to close AIS check stations

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will be closing Aquatic Invasive Species check stations for the season. 

All AIS check stations will be closed by Sept. 27, according to Game and Fish Public Information Specialist Christina Schmidt. 

Should residents require a watercraft to be inspected after the stations close, call the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to schedule an inspection at your local office. 

Every year as the summer season begins, the Game and Fish assemble and staff AIS check stations strategically placed near Wyoming’s waterways and lakes.

Specially trained staff inspect and can decontaminate watercraft that may have invasive species hiding on or in the craft. The greatest threat to Wyoming’s waters are the zebra and quagga mussels, according to Schmidt. 

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse, Schmidt informed listeners on the process of the inspections and the reasoning behind them. 

According to the Game and Fish, the zebra and quagga mussel are closely related species in the genus Dreissena. They originated from the Black and Caspian seas in Eurasia. 

They were introduced into the Great Lakes region of the U.S. in the 1980’s and have since spread rapidly throughout the eastern U.S. In 2007, quagga mussels were found in Lake Mead, NV and have since spread to several western waters. 

Since 2010, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has sampled yearly for the larval form of the mussel. To date, neither species have been detected in any Wyoming waters. These mussels carry with them devastating impacts. They are very prolific and can completely infiltrate waters very rapidly. They remove nutrients from water, clog pipes and waterways, damage boats, and out-compete native mussels.