Jasper National Park shores up defence against 'huge threat' of invasive species

Rainbow trout occupy a pond at Rushing Waters Fisheries, Tuesday, July 3, 2012 in Palmyra, Wisconsin. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said whirling disease had been discovered in fish from Johnson Lake in Banff National Park. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ AP/Wisconsin State Journal-John Hart)

Jasper National Park is taking a tougher approach to protecting waterways from invasive species hoping to hitch a ride.

Parks Canada is building on a 2023 pilot program to increase the park's protection from harmful invasive species like whirling disease and zebra mussels.

Invasive species are commonly spread when mud, water, plants or fish are transferred between water bodies during human activities like boating, fishing, canoeing or kayaking.

"Aquatic invasive species present a huge threat to the ecological integrity of Jasper National Park," said Christopher Waldinsperger, from the aquatic invasive species prevention program at Jasper National Park.

"They can destroy all of our freshwater ecosystems, destroy native trout and fish populations."

Jasper National Park said there have been no high-risk aquatic invasive species detected in the park yet.

However, new cases were found in Yoho and Kootenay national parks last year, highlighting the ongoing threat to Jasper's lakes and rivers.

"It's much harder for invasive species to make their way upstream in any location," Waldinsperger said. "But once they start at the source of the water, which we represent, they can make their way all the way out."

To help protect waterways, the park will be increasing public engagement and education, and offering mobile inspection and hot wash stations at Maligne, Talbot, Pyramid, Patricia and Edith lakes.

A station will also be offered at Whistlers Campground.

Waldinsperger said it's extremely difficult to see invasive species, so it's important to follow guidelines and take watercraft and gear, like paddleboards, to inspection stations.

"The big message that we're really trying to push forward is people should be clean, drain, drying their watercraft every time they use it," Waldinsperger said. "That includes cleaning all mud, sand, plant material, anything from the hull [or] inside the boat after you're using any water body."

New sampling devices will also be installed at strategic locations, and the park will collaborate with the University of Alberta to use advanced DNA technology to improve detection.

Parks Canada has closed all bodies of water in Kootenay and Yoho national parks, and watercraft and fishing have been restricted in Waterton Lake National Park due to the detection of invasive species.

For more information on invasive species prevention in Jasper National Park, visit the Park's Canada website. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson