What’s a Quagga Mussel? Not a body building phenomenon but an aquatic pest that has invaded the United States from Europe, making it as far west as Lake Mead near Las Vegas. Now, California waterways brace for the pests which can disrupt an entire ecosystem through invasion of the food chain. They eat what other aquatic critters need. Right now, the LADWP and others are scrambling to come up with rules to avoid the Mussels as fishing season draws near.

Tuesday, the DWP Commission expected to consider a policy for Crowley Lake. Other California lakes have adopted the requirement for boat inspections to make sure the Quagga and Zebra Mussels aren’t strongly attached and ready to invade local waters.

DWP spokesmen said that the mussels clog intakes and outlets and boat motors, take nutrients out of water and generally cause big trouble. Of course, Inyo-Mono was invaded earlier by another pest, the New Zealand Mud Snail. Life has gone on with the snails, but no one much wants to tempt the Quagga or Zebra Mussels that apparently arrived in the U.S. from Europe, to the Great Lakes and now west.

DWP’s Chris Plakos said that the agency is working with Crowley Fish Camp’s John Frederickson on a boat policy. DWP is working with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission on a free training course on the inspection and detection of Zebra/Quagga mussels April 16th at the Tri-County Fairgrounds Home Economic Building at 9am.