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Below, the damage the mussels are capable of is shown on a pipe.
Freeman, five other biologists, and 35 technicians will be asking boaters if they have launched at Nevada's Lake Mead, Lake Powell or other U.S. waters that have been infected or where invasive species such as quagga and zebra mussels have been found.
The biologists and technicians are part of a $2.5 million program approved by the Utah Legislature to keep the fast multiplying mussels out of the state.
"This is the largest single threat to fisheries that I have seen in 30 years,"
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The mussels were introduced to North American waters about 20 years ago, probably transported from the Black or Caspian Sea on a large boat that ventured into the Great Lakes. They range from microscopic to up to two inches long and breed rapidly.
Because they eat the plankton needed by young fish, they are a huge threat to sport fisheries. In Lake Michigan, for example, 95 percent of a once-thriving lake trout population was lost after they
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Their pervasiveness also presents a threat to canals or pipes used to move water for culinary needs, for cooling electrical plants or irrigating farms. When the mussels clog such pipes, they create closures that can last for days and can cost thousands, even millions, of dollars to be cleaned.
While they can be killed with expensive chemical treatments, the mussels have no natural enemies in the U.S.
The closest threat to Utah are boats that have been launched at Lake Mead just over the border in Nevada where the mussels were first discovered in January 2007 and are now multiplying in numbers not seen elsewhere.
Lake Powell is the only Utah water where the mussels might exist: One test confirmed they had moved into that huge reservoir but two others proved inconclusive. That's why boats that have recently been at Lake Powell are part of the decontamination requirement. Since about 29 percent of Utah's 75,000 boats are launched at least once a year at Powell, it's potentially a massive problem.
The law enforcement-public awareness campaign to keep the mussels from spreading is ambitious.
"Help Stop Invasive Mussels" information will be placed on restaurant tables. An estimated 250,000 "Zap the Zebra" informational brochures have been distributed with another 250,000 printed. Some 8,000 signs and posters will be placed at boat ramps and in campground restrooms throughout the state. Twenty-six high powered decontamination units capable of killing mussels with scalding 140-degree water have been deployed all over the state.
Boaters using popular waters such as Lake Powell, Jordanelle, Strawberry, Fish Lake, Scofield, Quail Creek, Sand Hollow, Echo, Pineview, East Canyon and Rockport will be handed a self-certification checklist before launching.
If their boat has been at Lake Powell, Lake Mead or a number of other infected out of state waters within the previous 30 days, boaters will be asked if they have had their boat decontaminated.
Decontamination consists of either removing all plants, fish, mussels and mud, draining bilges, livewells and motors, and leaving the boat dry for seven days in the summer or 18 days in the spring and fall, or having a professional use the scalding water to wash a boat and trailer.
The latter can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the boat and whether a decontamination unit is on site or must be moved from another nearby location. While initially free in Utah, Lake Powell boaters can expect to pay $50 an hour to the concessionaire providing the service.
Freeman said that, while the big boating season has not yet started, compliance has been good.
"We've had one irate guy so far," said the biologist. "After we explained why we were doing this and what could happen if the water was infested, he calmed down and apologized. Most of the public is on board with this."
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials which manage Lake Powell also recently announced further expansion of their program to prevent mussels from being established there. Boaters will be required to display a certificate stating their boat is free of zebra or quagga mussels.
Two citations were recently issued for non-compliance with the Zebra Mussel Prevention Program including one issued to a visitor after failure to get a decontamination wash for a vessel which had recently been in infested Lake Pleasant in Arizona. Such violations are punishable by up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
wharton@sltrib.com
Prevent the spread
See a video showing how to inspect and clean your boat of quagga mussels at www.sltrib.com/outdoors.
