Printable VersionIn the battle against the spread of aquatic invasive species like the quagga mussel, one state department is hoping knowledge can be the best defense.
“The goal of these meetings is to get that message across that this affects everybody and there’s a serious problem on our hands,” said Tom McMahon, invasive species program coordinator with Game and Fish. “Right now, we’re looking at listing the quagga and zebra mussel, and in the future, we might have to add others to that list unfortunately. But we wanted to start with what’s hitting us upside the head right now.”
The presentation will discuss measures, known as “director’s orders,” which were authorized by the Aquatic Invasive Species Interdiction Act passed in 2009 by the Arizona Legislature. The orders will give Game and Fish the authority to identify those species considered aquatic invasive, identify the waters that contain them and establish mandatory conditions for moving boats from those waters, according to a release from Game And Fish.
“They are basically decontamination procedures that people will need to follow,” McMahon said. “This is not meant to keep people from boating or fishing. The point is, we have something we have to deal with and here’s the best way to deal with it.”
The meeting tonight at the department’s headquarters at 5000 W. Carefree Highway in Phoenix can be viewed at www.azgfd.gov/webcast and at the Kingman regional office at 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road. The meeting should also be available on the Web site within a few days, McMahon said. Game and Fish will also host a public meeting in Lake Havasu City from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Lake Havasu BLM field office, 2610 Sweetwater Ave.
“We felt it was really important to see you guys in Lake Havasu because we’re trying to cover the bases of where the quagga mussels are and it’s no secret they’re in Lake Havasu, Lake Mead and Lake Mohave,” McMahon said. “We’re going to want as much input from the public at these meetings because we want to make sure we’re not missing anything and want to make sure these things are reasonable.”
The dangers of the quagga mussel persist in Lake Havasu, City Water Resources Coordinator Doyle Wilson said.
“Basically, the quagga is an extremely efficient bottom filter feeder,” Wilson said. “The mussels consume small algae and possible toxins, consuming the nutrients and expelling the toxins. “All those pollutants they expel turn into small pellets and they get eaten by small fish. And it works its way up the food chain into everything else in the lake.”
Quagga mussels were found in Lake Mead in early 2007, and are now found in several other Arizona waters. They originally came from Eurasia and became established in the Great Lakes in the 1980s. They colonize rapidly on hard surfaces and can ruin boat motors and clog water intake structures, such as pipes and screens, therefore impacting pumping capabilities for power and water treatment plants, according to the release. Invasive mussels, such as the quagga and the closely related zebra mussels, have cost Midwestern industries and businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in maintenance and damage repair, according to the release.
McMahon likened the procedure to a similar process taken against forest fires.
“It’s like 40 years ago with Smokey the Bear saying you’ve got to put out forest fires to get that word out,” he said. “And that’s what we’re doing here. We’re getting that word out because this is a problem that is just as serious.”
Public comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. Jan. 25. Those unable to attend a meeting or view the webcast may submit comments at quaggacomments@azgfd.gov.
For more information on invasive species, visit the Arizona Game and Fish Web site at www.azgfd.gov. For more information on the meetings, residents are asked to contact McMahon at tmcmahon@azgfd.gov.
You can contact the reporter at nbruttell@havasunews.com.
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