Zebra mussels multiplying

Hopes are dimming that the few zebra mussels found in Zorinsky Lake in early November were isolated cases.

First there was one, then five.

By Tuesday, when the first public meeting on the problem was held, a lakeshore survey had yielded 31 mussels, said Karie Decker, coordinator of the Nebraska Invasive Species Project.

“We keep finding them,” she said “They are aquatic cockroaches. They're so tough.”

Native to Russia, the mussels can take over a North American lake within a few years, disrupting life in and around it.

In many infested lakes, fish populations have plunged, shorelines have become unusable as the mussel shells piled up, and anything in the lake becomes a mass of the cement-like shells.

The mussels thrive here because they have no natural predators.

The infestation in Zorinsky Lake has become the top priority of those assigned to it by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and other agencies, said Jolene Hulsing, spokeswoman for the corps.

A task force met for the first time last week and again this week, Decker said. The group is moving as rapidly as it can, she said.

Options for dealing with the infestation include doing nothing, poisoning the lake, lowering the water level and freezing out the mussels, and bringing in predatory ducks and fish.

However, any action taken must be in accord with laws protecting the environment. That means an official environmental assessment must be made, examining the best available science for each option.

The first step for Zorinsky Lake is to settle on an option, Hulsing said.

Hundreds of lakes in the United States have become infested, and no lake of any size has succeeded in eradicating the mussel. For the most part, efforts have focused on slowing its spread.

Eighty to 100 people attended Tuesday's meeting.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1102, nancy.gaarder@owh.com

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