The Anaconda inspection station, west of Butte, is part of the state’s $5.27 million effort to keep aquatic invasive species from fouling one of the Treasure state’s greatest treasures: Its water resources.

Last year, the Anaconda inspection station, operated by Fish, Wildlife and Parks, caught half of the aquatic invasive species found on watercraft traveling in Montana, said Tom Woolf, FWP aquatic invasive species bureau chief. The Anaconda station found eight of the 16 boats carrying aquatic invasive species.