Per revised code of washington (RCW) 77.135, the state of washington department of fish and wildlife (wdfw) is the lead state agency to manage invasive species in the animal kingdom, including aquatic…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $121,011 Project Grant under the CFDA 15.608 Fish and Aquatic Conservation - Aquatic Invasive Species program to the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW). The grant funding will support WDFW's statewide efforts to monitor, control, and prevent the introduction of prohibited and regulated aquatic invasive animal species in Washington's freshwater and marine habitats. Key activities include: 1) implementing emergency measures in response to the European green crab statewide emergency, 2) early detection and monitoring for quagga and zebra mussels, and 3) federal engagement with the EPA and USCG on the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act. Additionally, WDFW will undertake a variety of actions to implement the state's Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan across the approximately 8,000 lakes, 70,000 miles of streams, and 3,500 miles of coastline under its jurisdiction. The grant period runs from September 1, 2024 through October 31, 2025.

Per revised code of washington (RCW) 77.135, the state of washington department of fish and wildlife (wdfw) is the lead state agency to manage invasive species in the animal kingdom, including aquatic nuisance species (ANS) and aquatic invasive species (AIS). The wdfw AIS unit, within fish program administration of the wdfw fish program bureau is tasked with statewide monitoring and control of prohibited and regulated aquatic invasive animal species to prevent their introduction and to manage established populations. The scope of this work includes freshwater resources (approximately 8,000 lakes and 70,000 miles of streams) and marine resources (approximately 3,500 miles of shoreline) across multiple state, federal and tribal jurisdictions, and tribal CO-management agreements. Washington state faces unique challenges to ANS in the diversity of both freshwater and marine habitats, 19 deep water ports where vessels discharge more ballast water than any other pacific state, many shared large water bodies with canada (e.g. salish sea and columbia river), and need for close coordination between state, federal, and tribal authorities. Within this performance period, the three key issues are 1) implementation of emergency measures in response to governor JAY inslees european green crab statewide emergency, 2) early detection and monitoring and response readiness for quagga and zebra mussels, and 3) federal engagement with the U.S. Environmental protection agency (EPA) and U.S. Coast guard (USCG) around the federal vessel incidental management act (vida). In addition to these three key issues, the washington department of fish and wildlife (wdfw) will undertake a variety of actions related to implementing the washington state aquatic nuisance species (ANS) management plan.