Kettle Falls in Voyageurs National Park - Photo credit jck_photos via Flickr

A program to prevent the spread of invasive species is resuming at Voyageurs National Park.

Staff are once again conducting a decontamination program at the Kettle Falls portage.

The portage links boaters to Rainy Lake and Namakan Lake.

Upon arrival, boaters will be required to drain their bait containers, live wells, ballast tanks, bilge areas, and others where water is held.

All vessels, including canoes and kayaks, will be washed down if heading into Namakan.

Boaters will also have to put on ice any fish caught in either lake.

The park says boaters may experience delays while staff perform their work.

In addition to the measures at the Kettle Falls portage, boaters using the Gold Portage will only be permitted to go from Kabetogama Lake to Rainy Lake’s Black Bay.

The measures were put in place following the 2021 discovery of zebra mussel larvae in Black Bay.

A single adult zebra mussel was found the year before.