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In This Issue
November 30, 2008Writers, Photographers, Designers - We need your help! We want to improve this newsletter by adding new stories, pictures and information. If you are able to help with this we would love to hear from you. Send us stories (or even story ideas), photos, links, videos or any other materials you would be willing to let us publish. We also want to develop new Clean Angling products but to do so we need people with design talent to send us ideas for T shirts, and other products. Put on your creative cap on and send us your images, slogans or computer graphics. Send your stories, graphics, ideas or comments to Newsletter@stopans.org. Mussels Continue to Spread Across the West Zebra and Quagga Mussels continue to spread across the western United States despite serious efforts to contain them. The newest discovery is Utah's Electric Lake where the presence of zebra mussels has recently been confirmed. The state had been concerned about mussels and has put an extensive effort into trying to prevent their introduction and spread. However, the discovery in Electric Lake came as a big surprise as this high elevation lake is little used by boaters and was considered a very low risk site. Electric Lake is in the headwaters of the Huntington River and is the main water source for a power generation plant located about 15 miles downstream, raising the possibility of significant impacts on power plant operations. Since being discovered in Lake Mead in early 2007, new mussel discoveries have been much too common. Many western states have begun mandating boat inspection prior to launch in their state. Recently, in Colorado, some lakes have been closed to boating and on Lake Tahoe new boat inspection rules have been put in place that restrict use of the lake by boaters and anglers. There is no way to control most invasive species after they become established. Therefore, the only possible way to protect our waters is to prevent the introduction of new species. This means that there will be increasing regulations regarding cleaning and use of gear. Please
Help
This newsletter, the
Clean Angling Pledge and all
of our efforts to
prevent the spread of ANS are financed by donations. Please
help us with a tax deductible donation of any amount.It has always been assumed that mussels were being moved to new lakes by boats. However, in this most recent case, officials believe that they were most likely introduced by industrial operations. This means that efforts to prevent introduction must be targeted to a much larger audience than just boaters. There is some good news about mussels. As we reported in the last issue of the Clean Angling News, there is new hope for a more natural method of controlling them. Pseudomonas fluorescens is a naturally occurring bacteria that the mussels readily eat with no difficulty. Researchers have discovered that when consumed in a high enough concentration the bacteria becomes lethal to the mussels without impacting anything else. As commercial supplies become available there is a lot of hope that this will be an effective control method. Read more about this promising biopesticide. Great Lakes Update Last issue we featured the problem of Asian carp migrating up the Mississippi River toward Lake Michigan. Historically, there was no connection from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi drainage. However about 100 years ago Chicago officials determined that it would be best for them if there was a downstream flow from Chicago that would carry away industrial wastes rather than putting them into Lake Michigan. The canal that was built was effective at promoting shipping and carried away massive amounts of pollution. Today the problem is that the artificial connection is providing transportation corridors for invasive species. Zebra mussels, round gobies and other invasives have already migrated downstream from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi and the newest threat is that Asian carp will move upstream through the same pathway. An innovative electric barrier has been installed that should keep the carp away. However, opposition to the use of the barrier has resulted in it not being operated. The Alliance for the Great Lakes has just released a new report that calls for the man made connections between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River be severed to reduce the spread of invasives species. The report suggests several methods for accomplishing the separation but urges immediate action to begin the studies needed to reach a sound decision. This is an unconventional approach to the problem but there is no doubt that this would significant help the fight against invasives. Here is an article that describes the issue to read the complete 106 page report go here. It is expected that there will be significant opposition to this plan as there are many businesses that are dependent on the current canal and river system. Economic harm arguments are always expected but there are also voices being raised that maintain there are possible environmental damages that could come from the plan. Read about the Disconnect Opposition.  photo
credit: EPAThis Round Goby does not look very threatening but, after having a dramatic impact in the Great Lakes, they are now threatening the streams that feed the lakes. Round Gobies are small bottom dwelling fish that are similar in form and function to sculpins. However, this eurasian invader has several characteristics that give them a big competitive advantage over our native species. They are aggressive feeders that consume all types of live foods. They have very highly developed sensory abilities that allow them to feed in total darkness and they aggressively defend their spawning sites which keeps other fishes from using prime territories and results in high fry preduction. A typical female will lay up to 5,000 eggs and will spawn several times each year. All of these characteristics allow them to easily out compete our native species. Since first being discovered in 1990, round gobies have spread throughout the Great Lakes and into surrounding waters. Reaching a maximum size of 10 inches they have replaced native species in many areas. Now they are representing a new threat as they move from the lakes into the rivers and streams that enter and leave the lakes. Round gobies have been found outside of the Great Lakes in all eight of the surrounding states and significant numbers are now being found in many rivers and streams. Although it is too early to fully predict the impact that they will have in these waters, there is no question that they will create problems. Read this article about Round Gobies to learn about how these small fish are beginning to affect river anglers. "Gonna wash Gonna scrub Gonna kill Bad Didymo Bad Didymo" Reading these refrain lyrics of the new Didymo Song is nowhere near as fun as listening to it. To alert the public about the dangers of invasives songs like this will help to popularize the message. This great song points to a new direction for invasive species outreach and we can only hope that more musicians will bring us their best efforts. New Rule Sparks Controversy A new rule proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources would allow wardens to enter private property, including residences, whenever they "reasonably" believe that there is an invasive species on the property. Invasive species introductions must be prevented to protect our waters and many states and agencies are adopting new laws and rules that give new authorities to officials. In many cases boats are now subject to routine inspections and more aggressive regulations are being considered. If adopted, this new Wisconsin rule will become the strongest in the country and it comes as no surprise that there is considerable opposition to the loss of privacy that the rule represents. This article about the new Wisconsin rule gives a good account of all sides of the proposal. Didymo Video In our last issue we provided links to a couple of videos about Asian carp. The response to these videos was strong so we have decided to offer a video link again this month. This time we are featuring a Didymo Video produced in New Zealand that really illustrates the threat that this nasty algae poses to our fishing resources. This short video has a real impact and serves as a warning that we all have to work together to fight the introduction of Didymo to any new waters. Promote the Clean Angling Pledge The Clean Angling Pledge is a personal statement of action to help protect our waters and we need your help to make sure that every angler is aware of this important program. The simple actions of Inspect - Clean - Dry can be done easily at the end of every trip and make a huge difference in reducing the spread of invasive species. You can help promote the pledge in a variety of ways and we have been working on providing some direct support to those who want to promote the pledge. Please help us grow the number of people working to protect our waters Promote the Clean Angling Pledge  The
Clean Angling News is regularly produced by the Center for Aquatic
Nuisance Species. If you have questions,
suggestions or would like to learn
more about ANS please contact us:
Center
for Aquatic Nuisance
Species
P.O. Box 1429 Livingston, MT 59047 406-220-2059 info@stopans.org |
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