Latest news with #zebra mussels
CBC
10 hours ago
- General
- CBC
N.W.T. to add boat wash station in effort to keep invasive species out
The N.W.T. government is ramping up its efforts to keep invasive species such as zebra mussels out of the territory with plans to install a boat washing station near the Alberta border next spring. The station is part of the territory's effort to collaborate with Canada's western provinces in order to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species throughout the country, said Rob Gau, the manager of biodiversity conservation for the N.W.T. government. "Our jurisdiction is a part of several national invasive species working groups," Gau explained. "We work as close as we can with other jurisdictions and monitor their efforts." Gau described the washing station as a "nifty little unit" powered by solar energy that is equipped with an air blower, a wet vacuum, and a grabber to easily remove plants stuck in a propeller or underneath the boat. It will be installed at the 60th Parallel Territorial Park next spring, and will continue to show up at the park each year between May and September. The park is close to the Alberta border and gets a lot of traffic, making it an ideal location for the wash station, according to Gau. Similar wash stations are already being used in many other parts of the country. Many provinces have implemented a protocol called "clean, drain, dry," which encourages boaters to clean their watercraft after use, drain any standing water and completely dry the boat before transporting it to another body of water. Following this protocol drastically reduces "almost all the risk" of introducing invasive aquatic species to new environments, said Megan Evans, the executive director of the Alberta Invasive Species Council. The N.W.T. doesn't currently require boaters to use wash stations, Gua said. But in places like Alberta and B.C., it's legally required. Both provinces have boat inspection stations to ensure that people wash their boats properly and stop the spread of invasive species. Invasive aquatic species harm infrastructure, ecosystems While all invasive species present risks to aquatic ecosystems, zebra mussels and quagga mussels are particularly dangerous when it comes to competing with native plants and animals. Described by Evans as "public enemy number one," these mussels are "very destructive" and "very damaging." A single zebra mussel, roughly the size of a fingernail, can filter a litre of water in a day. This means the mussel strips the ecosystem of much-needed plankton and algae which would otherwise provide food and nutrients to native species. These invasive mussels also damage aquatic infrastructure, clogging up hydroelectric pipes and destroying irrigation networks, due to their propensity to stick onto hard surfaces including boats. Zebra and quagga mussels have not yet made their way to the rivers and lakes of N.W.T., and a boat washing station is a proactive step to stop the spread of these species before it even begins, said Gau. Once a species invades an ecosystem and becomes established, it can be "extremely difficult and quite costly to control or remove," explained Katie Church, the aquatic plant coordinator at the Ontario-based Invasive Species Centre. "Prevention is 100 per cent more cost effective than introduction." While this is the first time the N.W.T. government will be installing a wash station, if invasive aquatic species become a more significant threat in the N.W.T., Gau said he could see wildlife management officials installing similar machines throughout the territory.
CBS News
6 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
Invasive zebra mussels making their way east in Colorado's high country. Find out why you need to be paying attention.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife let Coloradans know that zebra mussels have been found in a private body of water in Eagle County this month. That marked progress from the creatures' first spotted location on the Western Slope is a big step for the mussels in their effort to spread, and bad news for everyone else. The Colorado River District's Lindsay DeFrates explained we still have the oppurtunity to turn this around, but the window to act is closing. "I think right now is a moment in Colorado's history with water that is going to be defining how we handle this," DeFrates said. "We really have to be focused on the long game right now." The CRD is hosting a webinar specifically about the mussels, because the organization understands what's at stake should the mussels continue to end up in other bodies of water, and multipy. "Infrastructure impacts," DeFrates said, to start. "These diversions, canals, whether it's for irrigation or drinking water, are essential lifelines for all of our communities across the Western Slope, and mussels impact on infrastructure is well known and well documented, and it's not cheap to fix." The other issue? "Water quality, people hear 'filtration' and they think, 'oh, that's great.' But the reality is our rivers are used to carrying a pretty high silt load, which basically provides shade and lowers the temperature for fish and ecosystems." Too much heat, fish die. Too few nutrients in the water because the mussels are eating it all, other ecosystems collapse. DeFrates said mussels are an added blemish on an already aggressive acne meltdown, to keep with the skincare metaphor. "The municipal, the recreation, agriculture, the environment, they're already facing tremendous pressure from hotter, drier summers and the lower stream flows," DeFrates said. "You add that to the fact that a lot of our infrastructure for water in this state is close to 100 years old, and we're seeing this compounding effect that mussels are going to bring where the issues that we're already dealing with are now even more urgent, and they're going to have to find ways to manage and upgrade their systems to reflect this new situation." Tom Hogeman, Marina Service Manager over in Frisco said his team has been checking for invasive species on boats for more than a decade at this point, but zebra mussels are a threat he hasn't seen the likes of. "They can cause tremendous damage to the ecosystem, infrastructure ... that could shut down recreational boating if, you know, Denver Water decides that they present enough of a threat." "So that's a big deal," Hogeman said. "My livelihood depends on it," he added, glumly. But it's not a time to throw in the towel, according to DeFrates. Quite the opposite in fact. "If there's one uniting factor in our very, very divided landscape of politics, socioeconomic experience and everything going on in our country, water is a place where so many of us come together," DeFrates said. "All of these different interests find common ground, and that's where these solutions are built. But I don't want to make it sound like it's that easy: this will not be easy." But a big fight starts with simple steps, like Tiffany Hays, a paddleboarder prepping to take on Dillon Resivor. She also happens to know about the zebra mussel infestation, and that it's up to people like her to make sure they aren't spreading the infestation. "I wipe mine down really good, after each use with a towel," Hays said. "I inspect all the different parts just to make sure there's not something on there that shouldn't be there." She believes if we all do a little effort, we can keep this from getting any worse than it already has. "if we can get ahead of it and keep it from going to some of the other lakes, that we can have some success," Hays said.
CBS News
21-07-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Colorado Parks and Wildlife find invasive zebra mussels in high country
Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently discovered a large group of invasive aquatic animals during a survey. A statement from CPW said they were taking samples in various locations when they discovered multiple zebra mussels in a privately owned body of water in western Eagle County. "This news is a direct result of increased sampling efforts, " said CPW Director Jeff Davis. "This discovery is a significant step toward identifying a potential source of zebra mussels and advancing our efforts for eradication. It would not have been possible without the commitment to protect Colorado's bodies of water by our Aquatic Nuisance Species staff." Zebra mussels are a freshwater mollusk native to Eurasia but have rapidly spread through the United States in the last few decades. According to the USGS, they can be found in the Great Lakes region and the large rivers of the eastern Mississippi drainage, as well as Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. CPW has discovered zebra mussel veligers in the Colorado River near New Castle, Mack Mesa at Highline State Park and Highline Lake, where the first adult zebra mussel in the state was found. Veligers are the larval stage of zebra mussels, and were first found in Colorado in 2008. The animals filter out algae that native species need for food and can incapacitate native mussels. Power plants in the U.S. spend millions to keep zebra mussels from clogging water intakes. CPW said they're evaluating the next steps needed to eradicate the mussels. "Understanding the current extent of zebra mussels in western Colorado is a critical step in stopping their spread into new locations," said CPW Invasive Species Program Manager Robert Walters. "Every new detection puts us one step closer to achieving this desired outcome." Officials said good boat hygiene can help control the mussels' spread. They suggested washing boats with warm, soapy water after use and advised boaters and anglers not to transport water from live wells and bait buckets from one body of water to another.
