The government of Alberta is seeking public feedback on a plan to require an annual pass for the use of boats, jet skis, canoes, kayaks and other watercraft in the province.
In a press release on Friday, the department of environment and protective areas portrays the initiative as “an initiative to keep dangerous invasive mussels out of the province” and it is seeking public feedback on the plan by asking Albertans to fill out an online survey.
Among the questions the survey asks is what type of watercraft should require a permit and whether the requirement should be one for each watercraft or one per operator.
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Among the questions the survey asks of participants is what the definition of a watercraft should be and whether owners should be required to purchase one pass per watercraft or one pass per operator.
The department claims Alberta is currently free of zebra and quagga mussels, an invasive species from Europe that has already spread to many parts of Canada and the United States.
The invasive mussels, which have already spread to many other parts of Canada and the U.S., are nearly impossible to eradicate once they are established.
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Once established they can spread rapidly, attaching themselves to things like water pipes and irrigation infrastructure, outcompete other native species for food, cause millions of dollars in damage and are nearly impossible to eradicate.
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The are mostly spread through the overland transport of boats and other watercraft, that haven’t been properly cleaned, from one body of water to another.
An Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer uses her mussel detection dog to inspect a boat for invasive zebra and quagga mussels.
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Earlier this year, the government of Alberta implemented mandatory watercraft inspections, including K-9 detection teams and decontamination equipment, for every boat, whether powered or paddled, entering the province from high-risk areas to the east and south.
The cost of the initiative is estimated at $18 million over five years.
The government claims all revenue from a potential watercraft pass would be used to protect the province from invasive species.
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