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Opinion
LAKE TAHOE — Despite boat inspections and outreach efforts during the past decade, zebra mussels have found their way into one of Minnesota's largest lakes, according to a Wednesday statement from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
But the ineffectiveness of inspections at Lake Minnetonka does not doom Lake Tahoe to a similar fate, said Jeff Cowen, spokesman for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
A resident of the Lake Minnetonka area discovered a small number of zebra mussels at the Minnesota lake earlier this week and reported his findings to the Department of Natural Resources, according to the statement.
Department staff do not know how widespread zebra mussels are in the lake, but the age of the zebra mussels suggest a reproducing population has likely been in the lake for a least a year, according to the statement.
“For many years, the DNR has worked closely with the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District and others to inspect boats and educate lake users in an effort to prevent the spread of invasive species into Lake Minnetonka,” according to the statement from the Minnesota DNR. “The DNR focused significant efforts on Lake Minnetonka because of the high amount of recreational boating and angling use at the lake.”
“Unfortunately, zebra mussels still found their way to the lake,” added Luke Skinner, supervisor of DNR's invasive species unit, in the statement.
The rapidly reproducing mussels attach themselves to just about any submerged surface — including boats and piers — drastically altering ecosystems, interfering with recreation and clogging water supply intake pipes.
The proliferation of zebra mussels has caused millions of dollars in damages to Midwestern waterways and has, so far, proven impossible to stop.
TRPA, along with several partners, has sought to prevent the introduction of quagga mussels, a close relative of zebra mussels, to Lake Tahoe since they were discovered in Lake Mead in January 2007.
The discovery marked the first time quagga or zebra mussels were found west of the Continental Divide, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. Quagga and zebra mussels have been found in numerous California water bodies since.
Boat inspections for invasive species, largely funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, began at Lake Tahoe in 2007 and became full-time, year-around affairs in 2009.
Boat inspections at Lake Minnetonka took place only on a part-time basis.
In 2009, 16 inspectors at the Minnesota Lake spent 3,560 hours at nine sites on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays between May 23 and Sept. 7, according to an article in the Lakeshore Weekly News.
Inspectors invest the same amount of time at a single Lake Tahoe boat ramp during the course of a year, Cowen said. Lake Tahoe boat ramps are also closed in the absence of inspectors.
TRPA will look at what happened at Minnetonka to determine what can be learned, Cowen added.
Water samples taken from near Lake Tahoe launch points in June do not show the presence of mussel DNA. The finding equates to a “clean bill of health” for the lake related to mussels, Cowen said.
But the ineffectiveness of inspections at Lake Minnetonka does not doom Lake Tahoe to a similar fate, said Jeff Cowen, spokesman for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
A resident of the Lake Minnetonka area discovered a small number of zebra mussels at the Minnesota lake earlier this week and reported his findings to the Department of Natural Resources, according to the statement.
Department staff do not know how widespread zebra mussels are in the lake, but the age of the zebra mussels suggest a reproducing population has likely been in the lake for a least a year, according to the statement.
“For many years, the DNR has worked closely with the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District and others to inspect boats and educate lake users in an effort to prevent the spread of invasive species into Lake Minnetonka,” according to the statement from the Minnesota DNR. “The DNR focused significant efforts on Lake Minnetonka because of the high amount of recreational boating and angling use at the lake.”
“Unfortunately, zebra mussels still found their way to the lake,” added Luke Skinner, supervisor of DNR's invasive species unit, in the statement.
The rapidly reproducing mussels attach themselves to just about any submerged surface — including boats and piers — drastically altering ecosystems, interfering with recreation and clogging water supply intake pipes.
The proliferation of zebra mussels has caused millions of dollars in damages to Midwestern waterways and has, so far, proven impossible to stop.
TRPA, along with several partners, has sought to prevent the introduction of quagga mussels, a close relative of zebra mussels, to Lake Tahoe since they were discovered in Lake Mead in January 2007.
The discovery marked the first time quagga or zebra mussels were found west of the Continental Divide, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. Quagga and zebra mussels have been found in numerous California water bodies since.
Boat inspections for invasive species, largely funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, began at Lake Tahoe in 2007 and became full-time, year-around affairs in 2009.
Boat inspections at Lake Minnetonka took place only on a part-time basis.
In 2009, 16 inspectors at the Minnesota Lake spent 3,560 hours at nine sites on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays between May 23 and Sept. 7, according to an article in the Lakeshore Weekly News.
Inspectors invest the same amount of time at a single Lake Tahoe boat ramp during the course of a year, Cowen said. Lake Tahoe boat ramps are also closed in the absence of inspectors.
TRPA will look at what happened at Minnetonka to determine what can be learned, Cowen added.
Water samples taken from near Lake Tahoe launch points in June do not show the presence of mussel DNA. The finding equates to a “clean bill of health” for the lake related to mussels, Cowen said.
