01-23-2007, 08:48 PM
[unsure][font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]An aquatic army has moved westward and California is on high alert to prevent its invasion.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]If unsuccessful, state waters could be devastated.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The Quagga mussel, similar to the invasive zebra mussel, was discovered January 6 in Lake Mead at the Las Vegas Boat Harbor and subsequently at Lake Mead Marina.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The finding immediately prompted the Incident Command System in California to form a task force led by the Department of Fish and Game to prevent the mussels from entering the state.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"They haven't been found in California and our goal right now is to do everything we can to ensure they don't show up here," DFG spokesman Steve Martarano said. "That entails a lot of different activities, education and outreach."[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The Quagga mussel originated in the Ukraine. It was first found in the U.S. in Lake Erie in September 1989, a year after the zebra mussel was discovered.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]It is believed to have been transported to the Great Lakes region in the ballast water of ocean-going ships.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The mussels produce quickly and in large amounts. They can clog water intake pipes and underwater screens. When eating, they filter the water. The result is clearer water, but they disrupt the food chain by eating the planktonic algae.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Martarano said Quagga mussels have infested much of the Great Lakes region, the St. Lawrence seaway and the drainage systems of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"That's why it's a shock to find them in Lake Mead, this far west," Martarano said. "It was this gigantic leap from the Great Lakes to Lake Mead."[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The mussels traveled about 2,000 miles, most likely on the bottom of a trailered boat, its primary transportation mode.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The task force of state and federal agencies are working on plans to eradicate or control the mussels at Mead, prevent their spread into the lower Colorado River and other waterways, and educate the public on how to prevent spreading them.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]One option being discussed is an emergency regulation empowering DFG to inspect and decontaminate boats.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Today, divers at Mead will try to determine the density of the mussels and how widely they are spread.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Monitoring of the lower Colorado River has already begun, Martarano said.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Boaters leaving any lake, river or other body of water are urged to:[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Remove any mud, plants, fish or animals before transporting equipment.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Eliminate water from equipment before transporting.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Clean and dry anything that came in contact with water (boats, trailers, equipment, clothing, dogs etc.).[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Never release plants, fish or animals into a body of water unless they came out of that body of water.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The New Zealand mud snail, another invasive creature, has already been found in the state, though its impact to fisheries remains a mystery, Martarano said.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"Most people I've talked to said these mussels are potentially a lot worse," he said.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][size 3][green]MLPA not final:The perception is that the Marine Life Protection Act's first set of marine reserves on the Central Coast is final. But Martarano said that is not the case.[/green][/size][/font]
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[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]If unsuccessful, state waters could be devastated.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The Quagga mussel, similar to the invasive zebra mussel, was discovered January 6 in Lake Mead at the Las Vegas Boat Harbor and subsequently at Lake Mead Marina.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The finding immediately prompted the Incident Command System in California to form a task force led by the Department of Fish and Game to prevent the mussels from entering the state.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"They haven't been found in California and our goal right now is to do everything we can to ensure they don't show up here," DFG spokesman Steve Martarano said. "That entails a lot of different activities, education and outreach."[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The Quagga mussel originated in the Ukraine. It was first found in the U.S. in Lake Erie in September 1989, a year after the zebra mussel was discovered.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]It is believed to have been transported to the Great Lakes region in the ballast water of ocean-going ships.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The mussels produce quickly and in large amounts. They can clog water intake pipes and underwater screens. When eating, they filter the water. The result is clearer water, but they disrupt the food chain by eating the planktonic algae.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Martarano said Quagga mussels have infested much of the Great Lakes region, the St. Lawrence seaway and the drainage systems of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"That's why it's a shock to find them in Lake Mead, this far west," Martarano said. "It was this gigantic leap from the Great Lakes to Lake Mead."[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The mussels traveled about 2,000 miles, most likely on the bottom of a trailered boat, its primary transportation mode.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The task force of state and federal agencies are working on plans to eradicate or control the mussels at Mead, prevent their spread into the lower Colorado River and other waterways, and educate the public on how to prevent spreading them.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]One option being discussed is an emergency regulation empowering DFG to inspect and decontaminate boats.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Today, divers at Mead will try to determine the density of the mussels and how widely they are spread.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Monitoring of the lower Colorado River has already begun, Martarano said.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Boaters leaving any lake, river or other body of water are urged to:[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Remove any mud, plants, fish or animals before transporting equipment.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Eliminate water from equipment before transporting.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Clean and dry anything that came in contact with water (boats, trailers, equipment, clothing, dogs etc.).[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Never release plants, fish or animals into a body of water unless they came out of that body of water.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The New Zealand mud snail, another invasive creature, has already been found in the state, though its impact to fisheries remains a mystery, Martarano said.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"Most people I've talked to said these mussels are potentially a lot worse," he said.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][size 3][green]MLPA not final:The perception is that the Marine Life Protection Act's first set of marine reserves on the Central Coast is final. But Martarano said that is not the case.[/green][/size][/font]
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