Quagga mussels spotted in Lake Powell

[rcturbos]

Read more here:
https://www.ksl.com/?sid=24568339&nid=14...featured-2
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[fish_fear_me2]

That is not good news. We can only hope that these were on the boat and not something that attached itself after the launch.
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[cpierce]

From the article:

"Early this week, National Park Service divers found 14 adult quagga mussels attached to boats and docks at the Wahweap Marina.
"Somehow or another, mussels have slipped into (Lake Powell). They may have come attached to a boat that got missed," Dalton said.
The mussels weren't close enough together to mate, and all were removed.
"It puts us on alert all over the state of Utah, because they could be moved by an unsuspecting boater," Dalton said."
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[fish_or_die]

Booo[frown]
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[DKStroutfitter]

Unfortunately this doesn't come as a surprise to me.
For whatever reasons, there are too many people that simply don't care about our environment.
To them, rules are for everyone else.

I hope that it won't spread but I'm not holding my breath.
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[TheScout]

So will this mean a change in the online certificate course and a change for the questioning at the boat ramps???
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[riverdog]

Saw that. Not sure why Utah doesn't require inspections of boat entering the state with emphasis on those from Nevada. Cut corners and it was going to be sooner rather than later.
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[RoyalBull]

The online certificate does not work for Lake Powell. You can not launch down there without getting inspected by one of the people down there. They can ticket you if you do launch when you are not supposed to.
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[TheScout]

I understand that, and thanks for the reminder, I was just wondering if it was going to affect the questions that were asked on the online tutorial. There are quite a few questions with regards to Powell and what I felt was a little bit of "tooting their horn" about how well they have done to keep the mussel out of Powell. Don't get me wrong, they have done an amazing job thus far at keeping Powell mussel free seeing as how it is so close and accessible to other lakes that are affected. I truly hope they don't find any more in there... news either way.
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[RoyalBull]

Ya it will be really interesting to see how it plays out. I hope if they do harder longer checks down there that they get more help or more pumps washing boats. Some times the wait can get long during the busy times of the year down there. I just hope there not more in there and they can keep stopping them from entering other lakes.
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[TheScout]

I agree completely!
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[Coldfooter]

Be it man or beast, nature finds a way.
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[PBH]

My guess that we have a while before anything changes.

First, the Park Service is not recognizing a "breeding population" in Lake Powell. My own belief is that they've now found both veligers (larval stage of the mussel) and adults in Lake Powell. Add the two together.

What will this mean for us?

At Powell, I would suspect the only change will be for boats leaving the lake -- possible mandatory boat washing? I don't know. Business opportunity? Sure thing -- I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing a few boat cleaning services pop up around Page and St. George. Lake Mead has numerous concessioners that provide boat cleaning services for a fee.

Other waters, especially those in Southern Utah will probably step up their inspections, especially with boats that have been to Powell.


But, the biggest thing for people to remember is to clean, drain, and dry your boat! Remember the drying periods: 7 days in summer, 18 days in spring/fall, and 30 days in winter. If you follow the recommended decontamination instructions, you shouldn't have an issue launching at any of our waters. Of course, you may have a small delay while your boat is checked -- but I can live with that.
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[albinotrout]

I knew it was only a matter of time after the find last year. [frown]
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[riverdog]

They have reduced self certification for Lake Powell but not eliminated it completely. It's separate than Utah's program and just allowed at a few remote sites now. Should have done it completely and much sooner. Maybe they need to train the inspectors better as well.
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[RoyalBull]

Thanks PBH that is a great reminder about clean, drying, draining your boat out.
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