Quagga mussels threaten Lake Powell

Tips provided to keep these "mussels on steroids" out of the lake

PAGE, ARIZ. — An aggressive shell fish has invaded several lakes near Lake Powell. And Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologists are concerned about the effect quagga mussels could have on the fantastic fishing at the lake.

Aggressive invaders

An aquatic nuisance species task force determined in 1999 that zebra mussels would eventually cross the Continental Divide and infest waters in the West. The task force determined that Lake Powell would be the likely place the mussels would be introduced because of the many boats that visit the lake.

Since 1999 an active program has been in place to prevent zebra mussels from invading Lake Powell. Any boater entering the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area from east of the Continental Divide has been stopped at the entry stations to see if mussels might be hitchhiking on their boat or trailer.

Any boat with questionable credentials was given the option of a free hot water wash to kill any lingering mussels.

The program seems to have worked and mussels have not been found in Lake Powell.

Mussels did finally arrive in the nearby area, however. They've now been detected in lakes Mead, Mohave and Havasu.

The mussel that's invaded these waters is a close cousin to the zebra mussel. It's called a quagga mussel.

What the heck is a quagga mussel?

Quagga's have been characterized as a "zebra mussel on steroids." They prefer deeper, cooler water and can attach to soft and hard substrate. And they can live in more places than a zebra mussel can.

The problem with both species of mussel is how prolific they are. They can cover the bottom of a lake and its structures with layer after layer of shell fish. They can even attach to slow moving animals, such as crayfish. Nothing is safe. They have been known to form a shell reef more than a foot thick and deposit enough shells to close off water pipes less than 12 inches in diameter.

These shell fish, that can number in the millions, eat by siphoning water through their shell. Lake productivity is soon affected as nutrients and plankton are siphoned off by these shell fish before other fish can eat them. This restructures fish populations. If mussels entered Lake Powell, the lake's smallmouth and striped bass fisheries would decline dramatically.

Mussels also discard waste in such a high volume that the bottom of a lake becomes fouled and its water chemistry changes.

Lake Powell is threatened by all of these drastic end results.

The mussel threat to Lake Powell has now increased beyond description. While mussels cannot climb over Glen Canyon Dam to enter the lake, the chance of boaters bringing larval mussels from the lower Colorado River basin to Powell is almost a certainty.

The only way Lake Powell can avoid this fate is if everyone who visits the lake knows about the problem and takes steps to prevent these invaders from making it to the lake.

Please do everything in your power to prevent mussels from altering the beauty and bounty that everyone currently enjoys at Lake Powell.

What you can do

For more information, please visit www.protectyourwaters.net and www.100thMeridian.org