NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/644631
42 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2016 indications was that it was a successful treatment. In order to contain the infestation, motorboats have not been allowed on the lake since 2008 except boats owned by the lake for rental by the public. Unfortunately, unless you kill 100 percent of the mussels they will continue to reproduce, which was the case in this lake as a new infestation was confirmed in 2014. Lewis and Clark Lake One live adult zebra mussel was discovered in Lewis and Clark Lake in northeastern Nebraska in November, 2014 on the South Dakota side of the lake. In the summer of 2015, adult mussels were found on docks and boats in the lake, on floating docks at the Midway boat dock on the South Dakota side, the private marina on the northeast corner of the dam, Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area's Weigand Marina and in the Missouri River below Gavins Point Dam. South Dakota and Nebraska will continue to monitor the infestation, and signage will be installed in the infested areas alerting boaters to take preventative measures to contain the infestation. Outreach and media will also be employed to spread preventative information to a wide reaching audience. The infestation includes areas of the Missouri River; however it will take time to determine the extent of the infestation and how the mussels will tolerate areas with high flow rates. Modifications to the Gavins Point hydropower facility operation will be required to ensure mussels do not damage equipment. Water being pulled from the infested waterbodies by pipes will require monitoring to ensure municipal water systems and irrigation systems are not clogged by mussels. Lake Zorinsky Lake Zorinsky, in Omaha, is one of the few successful eradications of an established zebra mussel infestation in the U.S. When the mussels were discovered in November, 2010, Zorinsky was drawn down 20 feet that winter, exposing the mussels and freezing out the entire population. There are no longer zebra mussels in Lake Zorinsky. It was officially reclassified in 2016 as a zebra mussel free waterbody. Its success came from it being a flood control reservoir with a gate structure – one that allowed such significant water manipulation. Lakes like Zorinsky have a chance, unfortunately this reservoir type is not typical of reservoirs built prior to the 2000s. Most of Nebraska's larger reservoirs were built for irrigation purposes, making it highly unlikely they would be drawn down for zebra