Watercraft inspections at the Alcan Port of Entry, 2017-2021

This spreadsheet includes watercraft inspection data collected by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Lacey Act from 2017-2021. The USFWS conducted a literature review and initial assessment of the risk of dreissenid mussel introduction via watercraft entering the U.S. at the Alcan Port of Entry (one of Alaska’s primary international entry points) in 2008 and 2009 and provided recommendations for subsequent prevention actions. Since 2016, the USFWS has partnered with the United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP), with technical input from State of Alaska agency representatives, to operate a watercraft inspection and decontamination station at the Alcan Port of Entry. Inspections occurred for a short period each year from 2017 until 2020 and for the entire summer in 2021. Dreissenid mussel incrusted watercraft have been encountered during this timeframe; fortunately, no live mussels have been detected. However, the risk of entry at other entry points or pathways has not been assessed due to lack of capacity and resources across partners, thus leaving lakes and rivers in Alaska susceptible to new aquatic invasive species (AIS) introductions. The data was collected by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff. The data format and selection of variables was modified from a data collection initiative by the Western Invasive Species Coordinating Effort which is a subcommittee of the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species: Building Consensus in the West Workgroup. More info can be found here http://westernregionalpanel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/WRP-BC-Activity-Report-FINAL.pdf