Mandatory Mussel inspection not keeping boaters away from Blue Mesa reservoir

Inspections to last as long as mussel threat

Despite the new launch restrictions and mandatory checkpoints for motor boaters at Blue Mesa Reservoir, attendance at the surrounding Curecanti National Recreation area remains high.

Curecanti and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park superintendent Connie Rudd says boaters visiting the reservoir have been very understanding of the restrictions and inspection since many of the state’s reservoirs are taking extra precautions to keep the mussels out.
“Local boaters who come frequently to the lake arrive ‘clean, drained and dry,’ which speeds up the inspection process immensely.  Visitors tell us over and over that they are supportive of the program, because they know the consequences of not complying,” she says.
The danger is from the tiny but prolific quagga and zebra mussels, which first made an appearance in Colorado in Lake Pueblo in 2008. Since that time, reservoirs around the state have been keeping a close eye on incoming boats.
Since the inspections started this spring, Rudd says inspectors at Blue Mesa have spotted four boats that have had mussels. Those boats, she says, were thoroughly washed and decontaminated and then allowed to go on their way.
The concern is that the mussels, which reproduce exponentially and can attach themselves to almost any smooth surface, will work their way into infrastructure associated with reservoirs, like municipal water intakes. Once inside they could layer on top of one another and eventually shut the system down or at least cause costly damage.
Because the tiny mollusks also filter the water, it is also possible that their number could grow to a point where they are filtering out all of the tiny microorganisms that form the base of the lake’s food chain.
The possibility that quagga mussels have already invaded Blue Mesa Reservoir was closer to reality for Rudd and her staff in March when an analysis of water samples came back from two separate laboratories indicating that there was genetic material from a mussel in one of the samples.
“That could mean anything… So there is nothing to indicate that we’re infested with a breeding population in the reservoir,” according to Ken Stahlnecker, chief of resource stewardship at the park. “But they did pick up enough of an indication that something was there at the time when the water was sampled.”
Shortly after the discovery of the genetic material, however, the National Park Service took steps to close all but three of the reservoir’s launch areas to motorized boats, allowing only human- or wind-powered craft to enter the water without first being inspected.
“There is only so much we can do. Non-motorized boats, like kayaks, tend not to sit in the water, when they could collect mussels. They also don’t have the space to store standing water that could transport larvae,” Stahlnecker said, “so we’re focusing our resources on the boats that pose the greatest risk.”
Not only are boats now being inspected as they enter the water, they have to go through a similar inspection by park service inspectors after leaving the water.
Testing for mussels is also happening twice a month at the reservoir, instead of once a month.
Last year, the park service instituted a self-certification program that allowed people to check their own boats and wash them if the boats had been in mussel-infested water.
With the increased presence of mussels in neighboring reservoirs, boaters aren’t going to be given that freedom this year.
Rudd said, “This has thrown us into an entirely different operation of both prevention and potential containment. We’re going to behave as if we’re containing a mussel infestation although the state has agreed that we’re not there yet.”
For more information on the changes in rules and access points at Blue Mesa Reservoir, visit www.nps.gov/cure or call (970) 641-2337.