Cottagers fear time running out for containing zebra mussels in Clear Lake

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This article was published 04/09/2024 (399 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Clear Lake cottage owners fear crucial time is being lost in efforts to contain invasive zebra mussels, after an underwater curtain was dislodged by the wind and waves two days after being installed.

About four weeks ago, a gap formed in a nearly two-kilometre-long curtain which was intended to contain the mollusks in an area where Parks Canada found a live adult mussel and a partial shell.

“Everyone was fine with (the curtain) because we assumed they were taking action to deal with this problem,” said Kyle Bazylo, a board member with the Clear Lake Cabin Owners’ Association.

“Within days, it blew in. We were disappointed, and we hoped it would be fixed immediately. There is a good 200-foot gap right where the zebra mussels were found, which makes it utterly useless.”

A contractor finished installing the curtain — a waterproof membrane secured with weights at the lake bed — Aug. 6. It was “pushed out of place” by wind and waves, said Parks Canada spokeswoman Mireille Kroeker.

“Since then, Parks Canada has been working with the contractor to resolve the issue,” she wrote in an email.

“Pieces of the curtain were assessed. The curtain did not remain anchored to the lake bed as expected, and some sections became disconnected from each other. Those issues are being investigated.”

Bazylo fears it may be “too late” for Clear Lake, given zebra mussels are active in the summer, and a single female can produce up to one million eggs in a breeding season.

The association sent a letter to Parks Canada president and CEO Ron Hallman on Tuesday to express “deep concern” over the federal agency’s management of the mussel situation in Riding Mountain National Park, where Clear Lake is located.

The letter, signed by association president Christian Robin, cited a “growing disconnect” between Parks Canada and the local community, while requesting “regular and meaningful” consultation.

“Members of our association have diligently complied with (aquatic invasive species)-related regulations, actively educated visitors, and promptly reported violations,” Robin wrote. “However, these efforts seem to be unappreciated, and worse, unreciprocated — the perceived lack of urgency and commitment from (Parks Canada) to contain or eradicate zebra mussels has only heightened our concerns.”

Bazylo said the association has been “in the dark” since the Boat Cove discoveries on July 17. He questioned whether the area could have been isolated sooner.

Freshwater zebra mussels, which are native to Europe and Asia, are established in Lake Winnipeg. They have negative effects on fish and native mussel populations, algal blooms, shorelines, water intake systems and boat engines.

In November, Parks Canada said a clump of 48 live zebra mussels in Boat Cove was the first discovery of its kind in Riding Mountain.

The federal agency in May banned all pleasure watercraft for the 2024 season to help battle the suspected invasion.

After the adult mussel was found in mid-July, water samples tested positive for environmental DNA from zebra mussels, a sign the species is building a presence in Clear Lake, Parks Canada has said.

Much of the Boat Cove area was closed to swimmers to make way for the curtain.

“It’s disappointing, because we thought this would be a viable solution for the summer,” James Plewak, a senior official with the Coalition of First Nations with Interests in Riding Mountain National Park, said of the curtain.

He said the coalition — seven First Nations with traditional and ancestral territory in Riding Mountain — takes part in conference calls with Parks Canada staff usually once a week.

“The last we heard is Parks Canada is looking for a sturdier curtain to be installed next summer,” said Plewak. “The First Nations are supportive of the efforts of Parks Canada to mitigate, limit or even eradicate zebra mussels, if there is an established population.”

Ongoing mussel monitoring is key to determining how to proceed, said Plewak.

Jamie Moses, who is Manitoba’s natural resources minister, said the federal government must “do a better job” of listening to communities, including cottagers, who are affected by the situation.

The Manitoba government opposed Parks Canada’s watercraft restrictions. Moses wouldn’t say whether the province would lobby for specific containment measures or for the restrictions to be lifted for the 2025 season.

He said provincial staff are working with, and being updated by, their Parks Canada counterparts.

Manitoba has stepped up inspections of watercraft and public awareness, and it is testing water downstream from Clear Lake, said Moses.

“That’s the approach we’re going to take,” he said. “It’s very proactive.”

For Scott Higgins, a senior research scientist with the International Institute For Sustainable Development’s Experimental Lakes Area, the fact Parks Canada has not reported new discoveries of live adults or “veligers,” free-floating microscopic young mussels, is good news.

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The bad news is that water samples contained environmental DNA, which suggests there could be some living mussels, although likely in small numbers, said Higgins.

“We don’t know for sure, but the data suggests it’s not too late for Clear Lake,” he said.

Underwater curtains are not often used to manage zebra mussels, he noted. Higgins described the curtain dislodgement as “highly unfortunate.”

Water temperatures will soon drop to a point where zebra mussels stop reproducing, he said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.