Mussel veligers attached to boat hulls can be nearly invisible. So for
those of you that actually inspect your boats for dreissenid mussels, a
quick tip is to actually feel the boat hull to see if the surface feels
rough - a possible indication that veligers are present.
It's worth the effort - you don't want these things in your reservoirs.
They're partly responsible for massive ecological changes occurring in Lake
Michigan and other areas, and it's hard telling when it'll end.
cheers,
jay
Jay Glase
Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist
National Park Service
800 E Lakeshore Dr
Houghton, MI 49931
906-487-7167
|---------+---------------------------------------------->
| | "Tom Stokely" |
| | <tstokely at trinityalps.net> |
| | Sent by: |
| | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.|
| | davis.ca.us |
| | |
| | |
| | 08/18/2008 04:00 PM MST |
| | Please respond to Tom Stokely |
|---------+---------------------------------------------->
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| To: "Trinity List" <env-trinity at crank.dcn.davis.ca.us>, <tcrac at bonanza.tcoek12.org> |
| cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) |
| Subject: [env-trinity] Ruth Lake restricted to local boats |
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_10222722?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.
com-www.times-standard.com
Ruth Lake restricted to local boats
John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 08/16/2008 01:21:21 AM PDT
Water and wildlife officials are temporarily restricting boats that can
use Ruth Lake to those from Humboldt and Trinity counties in an effort to
prevent infestation of the regional water supply system by invasive
mussels.
The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, the Ruth Lake Community
Services District and the California Department of Fish and Game are
taking the measure to keep zebra and Quagga mussels from becoming a
scourge like they are in other parts of the state. Boats registered in
Humboldt and Trinity counties will be allowed to use the lake, with the
exception of those that have recently been in infested waters.
Ruth Lake is created by Matthews Dam on the Mad River, which is where some
80,000 people in Humboldt County get their drinking water through the
water district.
Nineteen reservoirs in California and others in the United States are
already rife with the freshwater mussels. The mussels spread by water
releases or by attaching themselves to boats or trailers -- larval mussels
can live in bilges, live wells and engines. It can be impossible to rid a
waterway of them once they take hold.
”At this time, there are no plans to close the lake,” water district
General Manager Carol Rische said in a news release, “but work is under
way with the Ruth Lake Community Services District to develop a prevention
plan.”
That will include closing unstaffed boat launches, initiating boater
registration and
developing an inspection process.
The invasive mussels multiply quickly, with each adult capable of
releasing a million eggs in a season. The mussels can clog pipes and
infrastructure and coat piers. The mussels can consume so much organic
material in a lake that the water becomes overly clear, the release said,
stimulating weeds and algae that can cause taste and odor problems in
drinking water.
”Quagga and zebra mussels pose a serious threat to all of California's
waters,” said Fish and Game director Don Koch. “DFG is committed to
providing local agencies like Humboldt County with the information they
need to protect local waters from these invasive species.”
Boaters are asked to:
* inspect exposed surfaces of boats;
* wash the hull of water craft thoroughly;
* remove plants and animal material;
* drain all water and dry all areas;
* drain and dry lower outboard units;
* clean and dry live wells;
* empty and dry buckets;
* dispose off all bait in the trash; and
* wait five days and keep watercraft dry between launches into different
fresh water.
(See attached file: 7513_matsen.gif)
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