Thumbnail-Sized Mussels Found In Another Oklahoma Lake

NewsOn6.com

WAGONER COUNTY -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says Zebra mussels have now been found in Fort Gibson Lake.

This is the third lake in Oklahoma with zebra mussel infestation to be confirmed within the past year, said Everett Laney, biologist for the Corps of Engineers.

The mussels were first found in Oklahoma in 1993 in the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System.

5/25/2008 Related story: Oklahoma Lakes Being Invaded

In 2003 they became established in Oologah Lake in Oklahoma and El Dorado Lake in Kansas.

Since then they have been found in Kaw, Keystone, and Skiatook, Eufaula and Texoma Lakes.

The thumbnail-sized mussels have spread throughout large portions of the American waterway system since they were brought to the Great Lakes by trans-Atlantic ships in 1986.

In a news release from the Corps, officials say the mussels have caused great economic impact to federal, state, municipal, industrial and recreational water users.

The mussels are known to attach themselves to any hard surface including boats and can cause clogging and damage.

Some simple precautions the Corps of Engineers says can help slow the spread of the zebra mussel to other lakes and protect watercraft: 

• When pulling the boat from the water, drain the bilge water, live wells, and bait buckets. Don't dump unused bait into the water if it did not come from that body of water.
• Inspect the boat and trailer. Zebra mussels may feel like grit on the surface – scrape them off, but do not return them to the water.
• If practical, store the boat and trailer out of the water for at least a week before entering another waterway.
• If the boat will be put into another body of water within a week, wash boat parts, accessories, the bilge, live well, pumping system, and bait buckets with a high-pressure sprayer.
• A 10 percent solution of household chlorine bleach and water, or a hot saltwater solution can be used to wash the boat. Do not wash your boat at ramps where the solutions could drain into the lake.