It’s been a year of a couple of firsts in the world of NorthDakota outdoors – and not in a good way.
Last fall the state Game and Fish Department confirmed thefirst-ever case of chronic wasting disease in the deerpopulation.
Last week came word of the first evidence zebra mussels have madetheir way into state waters.
Zebra mussels are an aquatic nuisance species that is native toRussia but was accidentally introduced to North America and firstdiscovered in the great Lakes in the late 1980s.
The discovery of the zebra mussel came in the Red River nearWahpeton during a routine plankton sampling taken at KidderDam.
Lynn Schlueter, aquatic nuisance species coordinator for the Gameand Fish Department, said the sample is what is known as a veliger,or a microscopic free-swimming stage of the bivalve.
Schlueter said while disappointed in the find, he was notsurprised.
“The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources found them in theRed River watershed in the Pelican Lake chain well upstream ofWahpeton-Breckenridge last fall,” he said.
“And again this spring, new mussel infestations were documented inMinnesota upstream of the Red River, including in LakeLizzie.”
Schlueter said zebra mussel veligers can float along in rivercurrents for weeks before eventually attaching to hard structuresand growing into dime-sized mussels.
When they become established, they can reproduce at incrediblerates, causing major problems for municipalities and industries andothers who reply on stable water supplies.
One female can produce up to 1 million eggs a season and each egghas the potential to develop into an adult.
Although relatively small in size, zebra mussels can grow sodensely they can clog water intakes for power plants and municipalwater systems and block pipelines.
Adults can range in size from 0.25 inch to 1.5 inches in length,about the size of a nickel or a dime.
They can attach themselves to virtually anything with threads thatprotrude from the hinged side of their D-shaped shell.
Nationwide, billions of dollars are spent annually on aquaticnuisance species prevention.
Adult mussels attach to hard surfaces such as rocks, submergedtrees, bridge abutments and docks. Schlueter said as filterfeeders, they can alter the food chain in waters and eventuallychoke out native plant and animal life.
They also are thought to contribute to avian botulism that haskilled tens of thousands of birds in the great Lakes in the pasttwo decades.
Zebra mussels do have some natural predators including crayfish,waterfowl, some species of fish and to a lesser extent,muskrats.
As siphon feeders, zebra mussels are thought to contribute toimproved populations and size of some fish species in the GreatLakes, filtering out pollutants by improving water clarity andsunlight penetration.
It’s thought the spread of the zebra mussel into western statescame from trailered boats and the Game and Fish Department began anaggressive campaign in recent years to make boaters and othersaware of the potential for problems.
ANS species also include a variety of plants that can overtakebodies of water.
“Zebra mussels, like most aquatic nuisance species, are extremelydifficult and costly to eliminate once they are established”Schlueter said.
“But what we can do is minimize the potential for people totransport them elsewhere. We can’t stress enough the importance offollowing the laws that are already in place to preventintroduction of ANS into new waters.”
A new regulation including ANS species has been developed by Gameand Fish and likely will be effective Oct. 1.
In effect, the new regulation will mean anglers will not be able totransport fish, including bait fish, in a livewell containingwater.
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Plant and animal species on the North Dakota ANS watchlist
ANIMALS — Zebra mussel, new Zealand mudsnail,common carp, silver carp, rudd, ruffe, goby, northern snakehead,spiny water flea and hooked tail water flea.
PLANTS — Eurasian water-milfoil and curly-leafpondweed.
They’re here: Zebra mussels found for first time in N.D. waters