ANS News Articles
Mudsnails, aquatic weeds invade Eleven Mile
Outgoing boat inspections required at Eleven Mile Reservoir
Monitoring Finds Mussels Persist in Pueblo Reservoir
Mussel Infested Boat Prevented From Launching at Lake Powell
Mudsnails, aquatic weeds invade Eleven Mile
August 19, 2011
From theflume.com
Mudsnail closeup A closeup of a New Zealand mudsnail in 2004 shows reddish and white coloring at the opening to the shell. The mudsnail spreads by attaching itself to fishing gear, boats, trailers, or even fish and bait. Mudsnails consume aquatic vegetation, upsetting the balance of the aquatic environment. (Photo by D.L. Gustafson, Montana State University Bozeman, Department of Ecology; with permission from the Parks and Wildlife website) Wildlife monitoring crews have recently confirmed that two invasive species - New Zealand mudsnails and an aquatic invasive weed, Eurasian watermilfoil - have been found at Eleven Mile Reservoir, according to an Aug. 12 press release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The New Zealand mudsnail cannot be controlled, reproduces very rapidly and could lead to smaller fish in Eleven Mile, while the Eurasian milfoil can be controlled but not eradicated, and it could lead to dense weed mats in the reservoir that could make it difficult to navigate for swimmers or boaters, Elizabeth Brown, invasive species coordinator for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told The Flume. "Eleven Mile State Park is a fabulous place, and it will continue to be so. It's something we're going to have to manage," said Brown. "We're working on a strategy."
Eleven Mile State Park is of significant importance to Park County. In 2009, it drew 309,266 visitors, and between June 2008 and May 2009, $15.7 million was spent by non-resident visitors to Eleven Mile, according to survey results released Sept. 2, 2010. (See the Oct. 1, 2010, Flume.)
New Zealand mudsnails
With respect to the New Zealand mudsnail, "there are no control methods that we could use at Eleven Mile Reservoir, so really the goal is to prevent it from moving [to other bodies of water]," said Brown. The introduction of the New Zealand mudsnail into Eleven Mile Reservoir, which is in southeastern Park County, could possibly lead to smaller fish in the reservoir, said Brown. The mudsnail outcompetes native mollusks and invertebrates that are the base of the food chain for fish. But a fish can't digest the New Zealand mudsnail, so it provides no nutrition for the fish when it is eaten. Thus the fish might be smaller because of less nutrition.
The New Zealand mudsnail hasn't been in Colorado long enough to predict the possible effects, or the timing of the effects, on Eleven Mile, according to Brown. The New Zealand mudsnail is native to New Zealand and was first discovered in the United States in the late 1980s in Idaho. It was first discovered in Colorado in 2004, when it was found both in Boulder Creek and in the South Platte River below the Eleven Mile Reservoir dam, Brown said. It's not clear how the mudsnail got into Eleven Mile Reservoir. It could have been brought by a fish, because fish eat them but can't digest them, so they eventually come out of fish undigested. Or it could have been brought by waders of a fisherman, Brown said.
The New Zealand mudsnail is very small, about the size of a poppyseed, generally growing to about an eighth of an inch. Nevertheless, the New Zealand mudsnail is very troublesome due to its easily massive numbers and impressive resilience. A single snail can live for 24 hours without water. On a damp surface, however, it can survive for up to 50 days. Mud-snails reproduce parthenogenetically, which essentially means by cloning themselves. It only takes a single snail to produce an invasion. According to Gary Busteed of the National Park Service, a single snail can result in a colony of more than 40 million snails in less than one year. Kevin Tobey the park manager for Eleven Mile State Park, could not be reached immediately for comment.
Eurasian milfoil
For the Eurasian milfoil, the invasive weed that produced a final positive test on Aug. 7 as being present at Eleven Mile, there are "different ways to control it," and Parks and Wildlife is "exploring options," said Brown. "You're not going to eradicate it or get rid of it." It can "form a dense weed mat that can make it difficult to navigate through, whether you're swimming or boating," said Brown. She said she couldn't predict how fast the Eurasian milfoil might spread at Eleven Mile.
It is scattered throughout the Front Range, is in quite a few Colorado reservoirs, and first entered the U.S. from Eurasia and northern Africa. It was first recorded in Colorado in 1999, Brown said. She said it could have an impact on water supply systems. It out-competes other plant life and could have an impact on cover and food for fish, according to Parks and Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton. The main message is that every fisherman can make a difference in helping to avoid the spread of invasive species, Brown said. They should be very careful to clean their waders to make sure no mud or plants are on them that might be taken to another body of water.
Invasive species
Both the New Zealand mudsnail and the Eurasian watermilfoil are invasive species, but what exactly is that? An invasive species is any type of flora or fauna that invades an ecosystem and throws the environment out of balance. A well-known example of this is the cane toad, which was brought across the ocean from South America to Australia. Once in Australia, the cane toads spread rapidly due to no natural predators and proceeded to consume massive amounts of resources, greatly damaging the ecosystem. Rusty crayfish (Orconectesrusticus), first discovered in 2009 in the headwaters of the Yampa River, have been recently confirmed in the reservoir at Stagecoach State Park, near Steamboat Springs. The rusty crayfish is an invasive species native to the Ohio River. It has had negative ecological effects on aquatic ecosystems in at least 16 other states and in parts of southern Canada.
"Rusty crayfish are a tenacious invasive species that have the potential to impact streams and lakes," said Greg Gerlich, the Colorado Division of Wildlife's aquatic section manager. The fresh-water crustacean, known for being extremely aggressive, will out-compete native species for food and habitat. Rusty crayfish will even displace native crayfish and weaker species from secure areas, making them more vulnerable to predators and potential extinction. They will often clear large areas of aquatic plants, reducing overall habitats.
In order to prevent the further expansion of the rusty crayfish, Colorado law prohibits the use of rusty crayfish as bait anywhere in the state. However, identification of rusty crayfish is very difficult and often requires laboratory analysis. Due to the identification challenge, it is unlikely that most anglers will be able to identify rusty crayfish from other crayfish found in a reservoir. "The fact that we're finding new populations means we have to work harder to engage the public to do their part to clean and dry all their gear and equipment as well as their boats to protect our waters," said Brown in the Aug. 12 press release.
In an effort to educate about invasive species, both Colorado State Parks and the Colorado Division of Wildlife started campaigns following the initial discovery of New Zealand mudsnails in Colorado. Earlier this year Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation that merged the separate programs of Colorado State Parks and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, partly in order to more efficiently provide education and solutions surrounding the invasive species problems. Now they are combined into a single division Colorado Parks and Wildlife, under the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. "We committed on our first day in office to making government more efficient, effective and elegant," said Hickenlooper in the Aug. 12 press release.
It says the most important thing anglers can do is to remove all mud, plants and organic material from their waders and equipment after every use. For maximum effectiveness, anglers should submerge waders and gear in a large tub filled with a mixture of half Kitchen Formula 409 and half water for at least 10 minutes. If such items are not available, water greater than 140 degrees Fahrenheit should suffice. Debris should be scrubbed from surfaces and a visual inspection should be done before rinsing. Wet items should never be taken from one body of water to another without first following these steps. More information is available about New Zealand mud snails here.
Outgoing boat inspections required at Eleven Mile Reservoir
September 2, 2011
From theflume.com
Colorado Parks and Wildlife will now require outgoing boat inspections at Eleven Mile Reservoir in an effort to prevent the spread of two invasion species to other waters from Eleven Mile, where the invasive species were recently discovered. Kevin Tobey, the park manager for Eleven Mile State Park, said outgoing boat inspections will provide an opportunity for boaters to see if they picked up either New Zealand mud snails or Eurasian water milfoil while on Eleven Mile Reservoir. New Zealand mud snails are tiny snails that can push out other invertibrates native to Eleven Mile Reservoir, which the fish rely on for nutrition.
Eurasian water milfoil is a weed that can grow to strands as long as 20 or 30 feet and push out plants native to the reservoir, said Tobey. After inspection, outgoing boats will be tagged. A certain seal will be given to a boat if the boater is leaving the area and expects to return to Eleven Mile Reservoir before going to any other waters. "It's a pretty quick inspection if they come back to that area," he said. Boaters would have to present the seal and the receipt from their last visit.
Gene Seagle, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife invasive species coordinator, said the decontamination of boats can take as little as 15 minutes, or as long as several hours, depending on the size of the boat and the level of contamination. "When our inspectors find something on board that causes us concern, we have the boat go over to the shop area and they do a decontamination," he said. "It's not a cleaning. We kill biological things on the boat." The inspectors use hot, pressurized water to decontaminate the boats, he said. Some areas use chemicals to decontaminate, but not personnel at Eleven Mile Reservoir. Inspectors look for mud or plant life attached to the boat, and also mussles that have latched onto the hull. The plant life can be attached to the boat or the propeller, he said.
As for Eurasian water milfoil, it's generally suited better to lower elevations with warmer water temperatures, but it's made its way to Eleven Mile Reservoir. Seagle said it has the dubious honor of being the highest body of water with confirmed cases of Eurasian water milfoil. He wasn't sure how the snails or milfoil would adapt to the reservoir in the long-term, though. "There's not been a lot of research to how adaptable these species are," he said.
Monitoring Finds Mussels Persist in Pueblo Reservoir
Denver – Recent testing has confirmed the ongoing presence of quagga mussel veligers at the reservoir at Lake Pueblo State Park. Although no fully developed mussels have been found at the reservoir, the presence of veligers, the microscopic offspring of adult mussels, does indicate that mussel reproduction is occurring.
Testing originally found a zebra mussel veliger in Pueblo Reservoir in 2007. Monitoring also detected both quagga and zebra veligers in 2008 and 2009. No veligers were found in 2010. The most recent quagga mussel veliger was collected during routine sampling in May and was confirmed by microscopy and DNA testing conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The results were reported to Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists on July 6.
Colorado's early detection program is designed to find juvenile, free-floating, veligers in the water before adult populations become apparent. Reservoirs in other states have shown that it may take many years for an invasive mussel population to establish a large reproducing adult colony. Lake Cheney in Kansas had a positive veliger detection followed by several years of negative results, before the population size was large enough to appear on the shorelines.
"Our annual monitoring program confirms that the invasive mussels are persistent in Lake Pueblo," said Elizabeth Brown, invasive species coordinator for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "Through the mandatory boat inspection program, we will continue to stress that boaters clean and fully drain their boats before leaving Lake Pueblo State Park to help limit the spread of these invaders."
Like all of the popular boating waters in the state, Lake Pueblo State Park has a thorough inspection process for boats that enter the reservoir. Because of the presence of quagga and zebra mussel veligers at Lake Pueblo State Park, boat owners are also required to have their boats inspected and possibly decontaminated on exit from Pueblo Reservoir.
All boats that have launched on any Colorado lake or reservoir where mussels have been detected, including Lake Pueblo, are required to pass an inspection before launching at a new location. In addition, out-of-state boats and resident boats that go out-of-state and return to Colorado must pass a state-certified inspection for aquatic nuisance species prior to launching in any Colorado lake, reservoir or waterway.
"Mandatory boat inspections have proved successful in other states at stopping the spread of invasive mussels," said Gene Seagle, invasive species coordinator for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "We want to ensure that boats coming from other states are being inspected prior to launching anywhere in Colorado. It's also extremely important that containment efforts continue on the reservoirs where mussels have already been detected."
Inspection facilities also check trailered watercraft at 27 other state parks and 84 other locations outside of the state parks system. Boaters can also get boats pre-inspected and green sealed at Parks and Wildlife offices in Denver at 6060 Broadway, Grand Junction at 711 Independent and in Hot Sulphur Springs at 346 Grand County Road 362. Hours and days of operation at inspection stations vary so boaters should check times and dates in advance at http://wildlife.state.co.us/Fishing/MandatoryBoatInspections.htm or by visiting an individual state park page at www.parks.state.co.us.
In addition to the state's inspection and decontamination program, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will continue its effort to educate boaters to stop the spread of aquatic nuisance species in the state. A series of short, easy to understand videos on how boaters can prepare for inspections is available at www.parks.co.state.us under the "Boating" tab. Boat owners can find more information about preventing the spread of aquatic nuisance species at http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/InvasiveSpecies/WatercraftCleaning.htm.
"Educating boaters about mussels and how to inspect their own vessels is an important part of our effort to prevent the further spread," said Brad Henley, Park Manager at Lake Pueblo State Park. "We greatly appreciate the continued support and cooperation of the boating public."
Quagga and zebra mussels are non-native species introduced to the Great Lakes in the 1970's, probably through the ballast water from an eastern European port where the mussels are native. In the last 23 years, the mussels have spread from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and into the western United States, damaging beaches, aquatic life, municipal water systems and hydroelectric facilities. There is currently no known way to rid a water of the mussels without significant environmental damage, so prevention is the best alternative. The fingernail-sized mussels attach to anchor lines and boat hulls and their microscopic veliger young can be transported in any water transported on a boat or in a bait bucket.
Aquatic nuisance species, such as zebra and quagga mussels, rusty crayfish, New Zealand mud snails and numerous invasive water plants and weeds can create a number of ecological and economic problems due to their rapid reproduction. Because invasive mussels attach to hard surfaces like concrete and pipes, they can clog pipelines at reservoirs and lakes, boat engines, fish ladders, hydropower turbines and municipal water delivery systems.
To protect Colorado waters, Colorado Parks and Wildlife encourages all boaters to take a few simple, precautionary steps every time they go to a lake, river or reservoir. Before leaving a lake or other waterway, boaters should:
DRAIN the water from the boat, live well and lower unit of the engine.
INSPECT all exposed surfaces.
REMOVE all mud, plant and animal material.
CLEAN the hull of the boat.
DRY the boat, fishing gear, and equipment.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
Mussel Infested Boat Prevented From Launching at Lake Powell
March 29, 2011
From nps.gov
Adult quagga mussels, simiilar to the one pictured above, were found on a boat during a routine inspection on March 24th at Antelope Point Marina. After further inspection, live quagga mussel larvae (veligers) were found in the vessel's engine cooling wat.
On March 24th, a vessel infested with live adult quagga mussels was prevented from launching on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The mussels were discovered by an employee at Antelope Point Marina during a routine inspection. Park staff decontaminated the vessel and placed it in quarantine for 30 days to ensure that all associated mussels will die before it is launched.
In addition to the adult mussels found attached in small crevices on the hull and outdrives, numerous quagga mussel larvae (veligers) were detected in water held in the engine and other systems of the boat. Movement was evident in the microscopic body masses within the tiny veliger shells during laboratory examination indicating that the veligers were alive. "These microscopic veligers are a real threat to Lake Powell. This example reinforces our sense of duty and provides clear evidence that even water, while seemingly harmless to the naked eye, can have a huge impact on park resources," said Glen Canyon's Chief of Resource Management Chris Hughes.
The vessel had been moored in a lower Colorado River reservoir that is infested with quagga mussels, a type of invasive mussel commonly referred to as zebra mussels. The infested boat had received a decontamination treatment prior to leaving the lower Colorado reservoir, but it is nearly impossible to find and remove all of the mussels. At Lake Powell, the vessel was treated again and placed in quarantine for 30 days, assuring that all associated mussels will die. While quarantine is undoubtedly inconvenient for park visitors, keeping Lake Powell mussel-free is essential to maintaining the economic and ecological vitality of the resource and surrounding communities and region.
Glen Canyon began a proactive zebra mussel prevention program in 1999 and continues to be one of the leaders in zebra mussel prevention in the western United States. Since 2003, the park has required all vessels identified as having a high risk of transporting zebra mussels to Lake Powell to receive a specialized boat and equipment wash before launching in Lake Powell. This service is provided at the park for free. Glen Canyon’s program has been successful through these efforts combined with the cooperation of visitors, partner agencies and park concessioners.
Mark Anderson, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area's Aquatic Ecologist said "Hopefully this finding will help all boaters understand how important it is to clean, drain, and dry their vessels." Boaters are reminded to make sure that any vessels being moved from infested waters to non-infested waters are properly decontaminated prior to launching.
For additional information on Glen Canyon's efforts to keep Lake Powell mussel-free, please visit Zebra Mussel Advisory. Information on the impact of invasive mussels can be found at www.protectyourwaters.net and www.100thmeridian.org.