Mollusks could not sound like a menace — till you study zebra mussels. This invasive European selection has been spreading via the U.S. for many years, threatening native species, clogging water infrastructure, and slicing open swimmers who step on their razor-sharp edges.
And now they’ve come to the Colorado River.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife officers found traces of the species in a number of sections of the river this month. Scientists first discovered proof of the invasive species within the Authorities Highline Canal close to Clifton. Every week later, the mussels’ larvae confirmed up once more upstream from the Grand Valley Water Customers Canal.
Colorado officers rapidly sounded the alarm. They’ve initiated the Invasive Species Speedy Response Plan and are asking all recreationists to wash, drain, and dry boats and tools earlier than leaving the river. Nevertheless it might not be sufficient. In keeping with wildlife officers, zebra mussels are “troublesome or not possible to eradicate.”
“This information is devastating,” stated Tina Bergonzini, Grand Valley Water Customers Affiliation common supervisor. “From irrigation to ingesting water, the ramifications can’t be underestimated or overstated.”
A Harmful Species
When zebra mussels seem in a waterway, they will unfold quick. Females of the species — often known as quagga mussels — can produce as much as 1 million eggs in a single spawning season.
In consequence, officers stated they pose an “excessive danger” of ecological impacts to Colorado. They’re more likely to affect native fish populations via filter-feeding methods that take away plankton — a vital prey for a lot of fish — from the ecosystem. Slower-moving sections of the Colorado River, reminiscent of swimming pools, eddies, and backwaters, are particularly susceptible to invasion.
“We’re upset within the scenario we discover ourselves in,” stated Ed Warner, Space Supervisor, BOR Western Colorado Space Workplace. “We all know how a lot effort CPW has put into protecting the Colorado River away from zebra mussels. That is a particularly troublesome state of affairs.”
Discovering Zebra Mussels in Colorado: ‘It Was Sickening’
First found within the Nice Lakes in 1988, the mussels have since unfold to 33 states. In Austin, Texas, the mussels have develop into a persistent drawback since arriving in native lakes in 2017. At Tempo Bend State Park, a preferred space for swimmers, climbers, and boaters, the mussels cowl the rock partitions and riverbanks, slicing open the pores and skin of anybody who occurs to the touch or step on one.
Much more considerably, the Metropolis of Austin needed to put money into new infrastructure to filter them out of the water in 2022. By attaching to grates, screens, pipes, and valves, the mussels intervene with water therapy, even affecting the style and odor of ingesting water.
When the species appeared in a Colorado reservoir final yr, officers have been shocked. Wildlife managers had labored exhausting for 15 years to cease the invasive mussels from taking over residence in a state well-known for outside recreation.
“It was sickening,” a Colorado park official informed the Colorado Solar. “At first, I used to be in denial: This could’t be taking place right here.”
Clear, Drain, and Dry
Zebra mussels usually arrive in new waterways by hitching a journey on boats. Slowing their unfold means asking recreationists to take duty for cleansing their vessels after each use, officers stated.
For our bodies of water with a excessive danger of contamination, Colorado Parks & Wildlife affords skilled watercraft inspection and decontamination companies. However there’ll by no means be sufficient assets to have boat inspections on each ramp within the state, officers stated.
That’s why boats have to be cleaned, drained, and dried between every use. Yow will discover detailed directions for cleansing on the Colorado Parks & Wildlife web site.