After what had been a quiet season for zebra mussel detection in North Dakota lakes, officials are going into winter with a disappointing discovery.
Reporter Todd McDonald has details…
Ben Holen is Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator for North Dakota Game and Fish. He says throughout the summer season, he and Game & Fish crews are out on lakes around the state. The crews implement what Holen calls plankton tow nets.
Water samples are gathered in the process, and then the lab work begins...
"We got down to our last few samples at Lake Sakakawea, and of course we saw a positive sample."
Holen says the discovery occurred a few days ago, and prompted a call to investigate conditions in the eastern end of the lake.
"...We got out in some pretty cold water, put on wetsuits, went and looked at thousands of rocks in that area, and we did end up identifying two adult mussels east of that Sportsman, Centennial area, basically closer to that Highway 83 embankment on the north side."
Holen says with the colder weather, the zebra mussel veligers are not likely to spread farther this year. That gives crews some time to get additional searches in this fall, as well as additional search and possible control measures in the spring.
"...Because there's lots of guys that will fish the east side of the lake, and then the next day, or even later that day, drive up to Van Hook, Newtown, or Parshall, and then recreate in those areas. So in between each and every use on Lake Sakakawea, we've really got to be diligent about clean, drain, dry, making sure that we're pressure washing boats and trailers and doing all the right things before we're moving to the next location."
In May of this year, Game and Fish crews found zebra mussels in Lake Smishek in southern Burke County.
