Tag Archives: invasive species

UPDATE: DNR confirms finding two larval zebra mussels in Lake Winnibigoshish

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The Department of Natural Resources said this afternoon that two microscopic, larval-stage zebra mussels have been found in Lake Winnibigoshish in northern Minnesota.

Located in Cass and Itasca counties, 58,544-acre Winnibigoshish is the fourth-largest lake in Minnesota.

In a news release, the DNR said fisheries crews collected water samples from Winnie and other large lakes throughout last summer as part of a statewide program examining aquatic systems. During a recent examination, two larval zebra mussels, called “veligers,” were found in a sample collected in mid-July near the middle of Winnibigoshish.

“Although no adult zebra mussels were found, it is prudent and proactive to list Winnibigoshish Lake as infested,” Rich Rezanka, DNR invasive species specialist, said in a statement. “The size of the lake may delay locating an adult population, but the presence of veligers suggests there is likely a reproducing population in the lake. This listing will allow recreationists and other resource partners to be aware of the finding and take additional precautions to prevent inadvertent spread to other lakes.”

Winnie is part of the Mississippi River watershed. Connected waters include:

Cut Foot Sioux Lake.
Egg Lake.
First River Lake.
Little Cut Foot Lake.
Little Winnibigoshish Lake.
Pigeon River from the Pigeon Dam Lake’s dam to Lake Winnibigoshish.
Rabbits Lake.
Ravens Flowage, which includes an unnamed creek from Township 146, Range 29, Section 3 to Township 146, Range 29, Section 11 and Raven Creek.
Raven Lake.
Sugar Lake.
Third River downstream of Highway 33.
Third River Flowage, which is part of Lake Winnibigoshish.
Mississippi River from the Knutson Dam downstream to Little Winnibigoshish.

Further sampling will continue next spring and summer, including additional plankton tows, dives, shoreline searches, and coordination with resource partners on the lake and downstream waters to monitor for zebra mussels. The DNR is working cooperatively with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe on this veliger finding, the agency said.

DNR to announce zebra mussel finding in popular northern Minnesota lake

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The Department of Natural Resources issued an ominous news release this morning indicating “veligers,” or larval-stage zebra mussels, have been found in a “popular northern Minnesota lake.”

The DNR didn’t name the lake, but the agency is holding teleconference at 1 p.m. today to provide further information on the discovery and the “proactive measures being taken to designate affected waters as infested.”

Stay tuned for updates after the teleconference.

Confusion over AIS/ANS regs

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Laws to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species — or aquatic nuisance species, as they’re called in North Dakota — have generated angler confusion pretty much everywhere they’re introduced, but an upcoming proposal in Montana appears to take that to a new level.

A news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks indicates the proposal from the Montana Department of Agriculture has led some anglers to believe live bait will be banned on Fort Peck Reservoir and the Missouri River.

Not so, a department spokesman said.

“It certainly has the office phones ringing, but it’s not something under consideration,” Ron Aasheim, a spokesman for FWP in Helena, Mont., said in the news release.

The confusion results from the MDA’s proposal, set for release in April, designating Fort Peck Reservoir and lower reaches of the Missouri River as “invasive species management areas” because of the presence of Eurasian milfoil. According to the news release, the designation establishes mandatory boat inspections and also prohibits possessing any dead or alive “bait animal” — including leeches, crawlers and minnows — unless otherwise authorized by FWP.

As written, it’s understandable that anglers would interpret the proposal as banning live bait.

“That’s the point of confusion,” Aasheim said. “To be clear, FWP is not proposing rules to ban the use of any bait allowed in the fishing regulations. FWP will, however, work with MDA to address the issue and to develop a rule that allows the use of live bait while still reducing the risk of spreading milfoil.”

For better or worse, confusion over regulations is the new reality as natural resources agencies across the country work to battle the spread of invasive species. Look no further than the Red River, where it’s no longer legal to bring a frozen goldeye from the North Dakota side of the river into Minnesota, even if it came from the Red in the first place. Bring a frozen goldeye from Minnesota into North Dakota, though, and you’re perfectly fine.

Times are changing in the world of fishing regulations, and anglers are in for a rocky few years as they struggle to keep up with all the changes.