Minnesota Boat Inspections Hunt for Zebra Mussels - http://clapway.com/2015/05/25/minnesota-boat-inspections-hunt-for-zebra-mussels123/

Boaters in Minnesota should stand by for more Minnesota boat inspections in local lakes and rivers as part of the state’s plan to stop zebra mussels and other invasive species getting a grip on the local waters. Boaters need to be diligent in checking their vessels for the zebra mussels as the local authorities will be very aggressive in looking for them on all vessels that have been on travel in the affected waters.

 

Minnesota Boat Inspections Help Educate Boaters

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, there are nearly 150 DNR conservation officers out doing Minnesota boat inspections, especially during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, who will give out tickets to boaters that don’t follow the rules to check their vessels for the mussels and clean them off their boats.

The purpose of the Minnesota boat inspections is also to educate the boaters who travel in the Minnesota waters on why they have to make sure their vessels are cleaned of the invasive zebra mussels. The DNR lists over 500 waters in Minnesota that have infestations of invasive species, and 200 of them have zebra mussels in them.

 

Zebra Mussels Muscle Out Native Species

These mussels are bad for many reasons, including that they cut swimmers because they have very sharp shells, and they also attach to native mussels and cause them to smother and die out. Boaters who don’t follow the necessary rules and regulations to help get rid of the invasive species like zebra mussels will be fined and DNR has found so far during the Minnesota boat inspections about 17 percent of the boaters that travel in the area are not following the rules.

 

Minnesota Boaters Face Fines for Disobeying Rules

The rules for the Minnesota boaters who travel in the affected waterways are that they have to check over their vessels, get rid of weeds, drain the water from their bait buckets and live wells, and remove any mussels they find. If they don’t comply with this, and they end up facing Minnesota boat inspections, then they will have to pay a fine between $100 and $150 for not cleaning, etc., which goes up to $500 if the inspection teams actually find zebra mussels on the boat.

These new laws were put into place in 2010. Now, ever since that time, the authorities from the DNR are doing more Minnesota boat inspections to make sure the invasive species like zebra mussels don’t travel to more lakes and rivers and cause more problems for the environment.

Minnesota Boat Inspections Hunt for Zebra Mussels

U. S.: Hostile Zebra Mussels Still in Christmas Lake - http://clapway.com/2015/05/23/hostile-zebra-mussels-still-in-christmas-lake123/

Hostile zebra mussels are still showing up in Christmas Lake in Minnesota even after aggressive treatment to rid the lake of them in 2014. Divers searched the area in April and didn’t see any hostile zebra mussels in their travel around the lake, but now a month later, the divers have found 10 of the hostile zebra mussels in an area right outside the treatment area, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Zebra mussels come from Eastern Europe and Western Russia and are an invasive species in the Great Lakes area. They first started appearing in the Great Lakes in 1988 and came over from travel in the ballast of ships from these areas. It is very pricey, as well as dangerous for these hostile zebra mussels to appear as they clog up water intakes, cut swimmers’ feet, clog up boat motors, reduce the food supply for native larval fish, cause the growth of too much vegetation and cloud the water, as well as grow onto native mussels and smother them.

 

Hostile Zebra Mussels Affect Other Local Species, Hard to Kill Off

The 10 zebra mussels found were stuck to native mussels, which is a bad sign since they can smother and kill off the native mussels. None of the hostile zebra mussels were seen in the one acre area of Christmas Lake that was treated in three cycles to kill off the hostile zebra mussels during the travel of the divers.

The zebra mussels aren’t easy to get rid of. The DNR had to employ a biological pesticide called Zequanox, as well as use a special copper treatment, and then use potash. This is only the 3rd time Zequanox has been employed to get rid of the mussels in the US. The Watershed District reported that they were happy to see that no hostile zebra mussels were in the one acre area that had been treated, but were upset that there were a few found right outside of that area. They consider the treatment successful in the one acre area and said that the 10 mussels found could have been attached to the native species of mussels since sometime in the fall or summer of 2014.

Now, the DNR will be studying to see if there is any more need to keep up the treatments or other methods of getting rid of the hostile zebra mussels in Christmas Lake since this is still considered to be a local infestation only.

U. S.: Hostile Zebra Mussels Still in Christmas Lake