New Melones Staff Participate in the First Annual Race for the Ribs

Written by: Sarah McBride

Natural Resource Specialist Sam Sosa and Park Ranger Geoff Sherrard participated in Tuolumne County Sheriff Posse’s Search and Rescue Team’s Race for the Ribs event at Westside in Tuolumne City On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, Mid-Pacific Region staff from New Melones Lake participated in the First Annual Race for the Ribs event at Westside in Tuolumne City. The event was a fundraiser for the county’s search and rescue team and highlighted local places of interest for residents of Tuolumne County. Tuolumne County is one of two counties where New Melones Lake is located.

Natural Resource Specialist Sam Sosa and Park Ranger Geoff Sherrard staffed the Reclamation booth and made contact with approximately 30 members of the community. They shared with participants about quagga and zebra mussel prevention at New Melones Lake, including the “Clean, Drain, and Dry” campaign for all aquatic invasive species prevention.

Both quagga and zebra mussels are invasive species originating from Ukraine and Russia. It is believed they arrived in the U.S. from trans-Atlantic cargo ships emptying ballast water in the Great Lakes; they arrived in the Western U.S. through personal watercraft. Environmentally, these mussels are excellent filter feeders who have the ability to displace native species including sport fish. Economically, the mussels can attach to any hard surface in waterways, including agricultural irrigation equipment, hydrologic power plant equipment, boat hulls, and other recreational items. Once the mussels become established in a water body, it is very difficult - and very expensive - to eradicate them.

Though the mussels are not currently found in New Melones Lake, the lake’s first line of defense is prevention through the use of public outreach campaigns such as the “Clean, Drain, and Dry’’ campaign and the Mussel Self-Inspection Form. The “Clean, Drain, and Dry” campaign asks all water-based recreation users to ensure their equipment is clean and free of all debris, their equipment is properly and completely drained of all water, and their equipment is dry. Recommended drying times vary by location and weather; however, for non-infected waterways, we recommend drying for at least five days, increasing that time to at least 30 days for infected waterways. The Mussel Self-Inspection Form is a tool that helps remind boat operators to inspect their equipment; a signed copy must be posted on the dash of the vehicle before launching into the lake. Boaters can pick up the form from the visitor center at New Melones Lake.

More information on invasive mussels and the “Clean, Drain, and Dry” campaign can be found on the Bureau of Reclamation’s website at http://www.usbr.gov/mussels/prevention/index.html and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Invasives/Quagga-Mussels .

Public outreach support is funded in part by California State Parks, Division of Boating and Waterways’ Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Fee Grant.

Published on November 02, 2016