Official suspects mussels have arrived in Utah
By MIKE STARK, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 6:06 PM CST
SALT LAKE CITY - Invasive, damaging mussels have likely arrived in Utah waters but it probably won’t be confirmed until next summer, according to a state wildlife official.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources - bracing for the arrival of quagga and zebra mussels - began testing state waters for the aquatic hitchhikers this summer.
Some tests showed signs of microscopic creatures that appeared to be the mussels in their tiniest, earliest forms. DNA tests, though, provided a conflicting view.
The mixed results came from Lake Powell, Red Fleet Reservoir in northeastern Utah, Electric Lake in southeastern Utah and the portion of the Colorado River near Moab, according to state officials.
“My professional guess is that there’s enough science to say, probably” the mussels are in Utah, said Larry Dalton, aquatic invasive species coordinator for the agency.
Zebra and quagga mussels were inadvertently introduced into the Great Lakes about 20 years ago. They reproduce and spread rapidly, threaten food sources for fish and can clog machinery and water pipes.
The mussels often move between water bodies by hitchhiking on boats. They’re difficult to remove from boats and, once established in a lake or reservoir, nearly impossible to eradicate.
Last year, Lake Powell became the first Utah water body with a suspected case of the invasive mussels.
If they infest the whole state, it could cost $15 million in extra maintenance to keep Utah’s water delivery systems working properly, Dalton said.
“So every year we hold this back, it saves you and I, as citizens of Utah, some money,” Dalton said.
The mussels, though, are closing in. They’ve been found in Lake Mead, lower portions of the Colorado River and elsewhere in the West.
“We’re surrounded with infested waters and that’s a scary thing,” Dalton said.
This summer, Utah launched its first-ever round of tests for invasive mussels and began a campaign to educate voters about how to keep the mussels from spreading.
State officials made contact with more than 50,000 boats and helped decontaminate about 800 boats.
In the four waters where mussels are suspected to be, state officials have switched to a “containment” strategy, namely by more aggressively targeting boaters leaving those waters to talk to them about the importance of cleaning, draining and drying boats between trips.
Comments »
Comment on this story
Comments will be approved within 48 hours
|
