From Deseret News archives:

DWR will inspect for mussels

Officers can detain vehicles, boats that may be infested

Published: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 1:19 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has another tool to fight small but dangerous creatures.

A new law allows law enforcement-officers to inspect and detain vehicles and boats that may be infested with quagga mussels or zebra mussels. The Legislature approved more than $2 million to implement a program that began in 2007.

"This gives us more teeth to actually encounter boats. That's the big deal, that's given us the bite behind the bark," said Evan Freeman, a state invasive-species biologist.

Officers will be at major water bodies and checkpoints, asking questions and spraying boats with extremely hot water, if necessary.

"The big problem with quaggas are people can ship them and transport them and they are so small you wouldn't know if they were there," said Mike Fowlks, the DWR's chief of law enforcement.

"A year ago, if we saw a boat traveling down the road and we expected it had been to a place infested with mussels, we couldn't stop a boat unless there was actually quagga mussels seen," he said.

Under the new law, officers with reasonable suspicion can stop anyone and have the boat decontaminated. Boats from California, Colorado and Nevada — places that have the mussels — frequently visit Utah.

According to a survey at quagga-infested Lake Mead in Nevada, boaters ranked Utah's Jordanelle Reservoir, Bear Lake and Willard Bay among their top 20 places to visit, Freeman said.

The mussels attach themselves to boat hulls, motors and water-system intakes. They plug pumps, pipes and outboard motors. They have no natural predators and reproduce rapidly, creating layers of shells.

The mussels filter water and consume plankton, which can destroy fish populations. In one of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie, mussels can filter the entire lake in 36 hours, Freeman said.

"They're incredibly dangerous. ... It totally alters the food chain," he said.

The creatures can live up to 18 days out of the water and can be transported alive. A single breeding pair can lead to a huge colony.

The experts said anyone who uses lakes or reservoirs for recreation, irrigation or drinking water should be concerned.

"We're not looking to prosecute people — just decontaminating their boats and getting them on their way," Fowlks said.

Recent comments

I think it's stupid that we don't have any laws protecting us from...

Lisa | Sept. 16, 2008 at 11:10 p.m.

Is it true that water fowl cary quagga larva?

Lagan | May 6, 2008 at 2:55 a.m.

Image
Natalie Muth, Associated Press

Quagga mussels cover a boat's hull at Lake Mead, Nev., in April 2007. A new Utah law says officers can stop, inspect and detain vehicles and boats that may contain a quagga or zebra mussel.

Related content
previousnext

Latest comments

Letters: Liberal because LDS

In response to the 9:41 post: No where is it taught that an individual is...

Aggie 'D' holds BYU to season low

Not enough quick ball movement on offense. That is BYU's problem. They were...

re -- true conservative | 9:07 a.m ["Abortion should not be legalized,...

"The Utes can stop with their "holier than thou" attitude. It gets annoying."...

Aggies shoot past Cougars

The reason why YBU's home streak was so good is because everytime someone...

Letters: Liberal because LDS

My Grandmother was born and raised in Orderville, UT, where she practiced...

Thank you Jerry. We are lucky to have such a great coach. It will be sad to...

N.Y. Senate rejects gay marriage

"I sincerely hope that we can learn to live with a situation in which gays...

Sloan gets 1-year extension

Who in their right mind would take Byron Scott over Jerry Sloan - what has...

Luke 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest...

Advertisements