Beautiful warm waters. Hot sandy beaches. Great fishing. The lure of the lakes. It’s what the Okanagan is known for.
Now imagine not being able to launch your boat because your favourite spot is closed to boat traffic. The reason: to prevent an invasive mussel infestation – or worse – because invasive zebra mussels have been discovered in the waters and a natural resource emergency has been declared. It’s not far-fetched. As of March 2017, Parks Canada has banned the use of power boats and trailer-launched watercraft from Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta to protect its waters. Why? Invasive mussels were discovered in Montana last fall, a halfday’s drive to Waterton. Until now, Montana was considered part of our Northwest perimeter defence against the mussels. And the Okanagan, like Waterton, is only a few hours from Montana.