Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks unveiled the state’s first watercraft cleaning station as a one-stop shop to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
On a recent weekday at Lake Elmo in Billings, Ryder Paggen with FWP demonstrated how the cleaning station works by using its vacuum to suck up water from the bottom of a blue kayak.
The station is kind of like a portable self-serve car wash, with buttons to trigger the hose and an air blower. Also featured are a brush, tongs, and a tool to loosen drain plugs.
Montana’s aquatic invasive species program acquired the nearly $50,000-dollar station through Yellowstone Conservation District funding.
Paggen said boaters can use the station to protect state waters against invasive species that cling to boats and threaten local ecosystems - like the corbicula clam that popped up in Lake Elmo a few years ago.
“Lake Elmo would be a great spot to not only display this and kinda sell the department’s AIS program, but as well, we do have a lot of visitation and we have the documented corbicula from 2019,” said Paggen.
The station is currently open for use at Lake Elmo.