Genetic traces of zebra mussels found in Clear Lake

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Riding Mountain National Park staff are on high alert for invasive species in Clear Lake, after genetic traces of zebra mussels were found in a recent water sample.

The positive test result for environmental DNA of the mollusks came back Jan. 23, Parks Canada said Thursday. Zebra mussels themselves have not been found in the Manitoba park, and three subsequent tests for the DNA came back negative.

Regardless, tests will continue for a lengthy period of time. Similar situations have resulted in waters being tested for zebra mussel environmental DNA for years, Parks Canada resource conservation manager Borden Smid said.

“It’s really the red flag that something’s going on here, and it’s not normal,” he said.

“(Environmental) DNA can just be DNA that’s washed off of a boat, and the fact that this is at our boat launch, we are cognizant that that’s the most likely spot we might be picking something like that. But we have to have some assurance that we don’t have zebra mussels present, at this point, so we can keep on testing negative.”

The park authority said the DNA does not pose a threat to the lake or its ecosystem but can serve as an early warning of invasive species.

Staff will conduct scientific monitoring on the ice of the lake beginning Monday, the authority said, and members will be diving in the water as part of the testing.

They will also construct a temporary laboratory building on the shore at the local boat cove, Parks Canada said.

Conversations will begin within the next few weeks with Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation, business and tourism stakeholders, environmental NGOs and nearby municipalities on how the long-term testing process with proceed, officials said.

Parks Canada works with nearby Keeseekoowenin on the maintenance of Clear Lake. The First Nation has reserve land on its shores, and there are community members who harvest fish from it.

“We want to definitely have them by our side as we’re starting those conversations,” Riding Mountain National Park external relations manager Dameon Wall said.

Parks Canada is asking people to stay aware from the research and dive sites on Clear Lake, which is about 100 kilometres north of Brandon.

This is not the first time genetic traces of zebra mussels have been found in the national park.

Traces were flagged in Whirlpool Lake, about 15 km northeast of the Wasagaming town site, in December 2017. That lake and its campground were closed as a precautionary measure for all of 2018.

That doesn’t mean the two bodies of water will follow the same testing process, Smid said Thursday.

“It would be nearly impossible to implement something like that on the scale of Clear Lake (the park’s largest and most heavily trafficked) and the multitude of users — First Nations in the area having a right to use Clear Lake. So we’re not considering… a closure like that was done at Whirlpool Lake,” he said.

Whirlpool Lake is located along Highway 19 and east of Hwy. 10, which runs north-south through the park, located some 250 km northwest of Winnipeg.

Smid said the best way for boaters to do their part to prevent the spread of zebra mussels in Manitoba is the “clean, drain, dry” process: inspect and clean watercraft and any gear, drain any sitting water, and let them dry completely between trips.

“That’s our first line of defence in terms of controlling zebra mussels in this province,” he said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca