You may have heard that various kinds of invasive plants and animals create problems for the species that are native to an area. In the case of the quagga mussel, which only grows to the size of a thumbnail, its effects extend beyond the natural ecology and into the built environment. Not only can it take food away from juvenile salmon and other fish, but the mussels can clog all sorts of water systems, from municipal water to irrigation and hydropower.

The quagga and the related zebra mussel came from Eastern Europe to the Great Lakes in the 1980s. In the last dozen years or so, quagga been found in California, Nevada and Utah. They also appeared in Idaho last year along the Snake River. Rick Boatner, the invasive species coordinator at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, says inspections and monitoring could keep the quagga out of the Columbia River Basin, but probably not for more than a few years. He says once they get in, quagga mussels will forever change how we use water in Oregon. He joins to tell us more about what’s needed to slow their spread and to highlight a few of the other invasive species on the agency’s radar.