An inside look at Idaho's $3M fight against invasive quagga mussels

TWIN FALLS – Now in its third year, the effort to rid Idaho’s Snake River of invasive quagga mussels is a near 24/7 operation taking place both on the water and in a nearby laboratory.

Since Sept. 30, a team of about 25 Idaho State Department of Agriculture staff members and another 15-20 contractors have been applying a copper-based chemical called Natrix to every nook and cranny of a 3.5-mile section of the Snake River, as well as injecting the chemical into some of the underwater pools of the Snake River.

Not only is the Snake River the longest river in Idaho and a source of irrigation and drinking water, but it is also a major tributary of the Columbia River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean.

State officials’ goals are to stop the mussels from spreading beyond the infested area into other parts of the river system and to completely eradicate all of the mussels that have been detected here so far.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/10/07/repub/an-inside-look-at-idahos-3m-fight-against-invasive-quagga-mussels/