Lake McDonald Boat cruise

Is this restriction issued by the National Park Service impacting this tour?

WEST GLACIER, MT – Starting on August 3, Glacier National Park will begin scheduling motorized watercraft inspections and sealing for those boaters wishing to launch on Lake McDonald after a 30-day quarantine period.

The quarantine process is designed to prevent invasive zebra and quagga mussels and other invasive species from entering park waters on motorboats. Glacier National Park sits at the headwaters of three continental scale watersheds, and the introduction of invasive mussels would have significant economic, ecological, and recreational impacts not only for the park but also communities downstream.

Thank you!

Comments

  • edited August 2017
    I'm sure all boats brought to the lake from somewhere else and "launched on Lake McDonald" are affected. I doubt it affects boats based on and never removed from the lake.

    In any case I suspect commercial boats have been carefully inspected to avoid any chance they might lose bookings/money! I doubt there will be any impact.
  • These AIS (aquatic invasive species) inspections are pretty common out here in the West. Lake Tahoe (Ca/Nev) has had this inspection for a while. The inspections are quite thorough, but once a boat is on a lake ( and, if it is not launched on another body of water), the inspection is good for a year. As Alan mentions, these commercial boats have probably been first in line for these scheduled inspections. By the way, Glacier Park is a wonderful park! So remote and interesting...right up there with Yosemite and Bryce as my favorites! Then again, each one I have visited has had some unique feature!

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