Copyright ©2008 Conservation Commission of Missouri. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
1. Missouri enters phase II of zebra mussel saga
2. Endangered species myths and facts
3. Gigging season opens Sept. 15
4. Outdoor Calendar
Available via Internet at: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/news/out
"There comes a time in every man's life when he is either going to go fishing or do something worse. It is a sort of safety valve that keeps him from exploding. So I often go regardless of weather and what the fish's point of view might be."Havilah Babcock, "Tales of Quail and Such"
The arrival of this alien invader is bad news, but no reason for panic.
ARNOLD, Mo.--News that Missourians have been expecting and dreading finally arrived Aug. 19 with the discovery of a zebra mussel in a tributary of the Mississippi River.
Chris Barnhart, an associate professor at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, reported finding an adult zebra mussel in the Meramec River near the I-55 bridge south of St. Louis. It was attached to the shell of a three-ridge mussel, a native species that is much larger than the zebra mussel.
Fisheries biologists hoped that swift, muddy water would prevent zebra mussels from moving up the Missouri River to the state's interior. But earlier this year one was found far up the Missouri River in Iowa, and now it appears that they will be able to colonize tributaries, too.
"This is a very sad, discouraging report," said the Conservation Department's Fisheries Division administrator, Norm Stucky. "I guess we knew it was inevitable, but hope springs eternal."
Serious zebra mussel infestations typically develop within two years of the first sighting. Missouri officials are reexamining monitoring strategies and funding to respond to the threat.
Zebra mussels made the jump from Europe to the St. Lawrence Seaway in the mid-1980s by hitching a ride in ballast water carried by oceangoing ships. Sweeping across the Great Lakes with astonishing speed, they reached the southern tip of Lake Michigan in five years. From there they spread into the Illinois River and downstream into the Mississippi River.
The first zebra mussel turned up in the Mississippi River in 1991. The Missouri River's strong current seems to have slowed their spread upstream, but they showed up on a power plant water intake structure in the Missouri River near Sioux City, Iowa in April of this year. To date, the Conservation Department has not received any reports of zebra mussels in the Missouri River within the state.
The problems created by zebra mussels stem from their tremendous reproductive capacity and their ability to filter large quantities of water. They can attach themselves to any solid surface. Within a few years their shells can encrust objects to a depth of several inches. This clogs water intake pipes, weighs down boat hulls and smothers larger native mussels.
The I-55 bridge site is of special concern because federally endangered pink mucket mussels inhabit the site. Many of the endangered mussels were relocated there in the early 1990's from another Meramec River site where bridge construction threatened their survival.
Fisheries Research Biologist Sue Bruenderman says the Conservation Department has increased the frequency of its pink mucket monitoring to four times a year to ensure that zebra mussels don't smother the native mussels. Any zebra mussels found on the muckets will be removed by scrubbing.
"If we document an increase in distribution or densities on individual native mussels or feel that scrubbing off the zebra mussels isn't working, we will have to resort to either moving the endangered mussels to an uninfested area upstream in the same basin and/or moving the endangered or rare species into captivity."
The Kansas City Zoo and Blind Pony Hatchery near Marshall are conducting pilot studies to see if holding the native mussels in captivity will work.
When zebra mussels die, they wash up on beaches where their decaying bodies and sharp shells make swimming unpleasant. City water plants and power generating plants spend tens of thousands of dollars annually to keep intake pipes clear. This ultimately results in higher utility costs.
Zebra mussels also have the potential to alter the ecology of lakes and streams. In the Great Lakes, they have suffocated populations of endangered native mussel species. They also gobble up the microscopic foods that game fish and other aquatic creatures need to reach adulthood.
Bruenderman says the arrival of zebra mussels in Missouri waters is not cause for panic. "They are going to be a fact of life," she says. "We're not going to remove any animals from their native stream habitats unless it is absolutely necessary. If there is not an upstream source of zebra mussels, and we continue to remove any adults that we see from the I-55 bridge downstream, we may be able to effectively keep zebra numbers down to a minimum. The possibility exists that they will not establish themselves, as long as they are not transported upstream."
The trick, says Bruenderman, is to make sure that boat owners are aware of the problem and that they check frequently and remove any adult zebra mussels they find. They also need to remove plants, which can carry microscopic zebra mussel larvae, called "veligers." Boat hulls, trailers and accessory equipment such as anchors, trailer hitchs, wheels, rollers, cables and axleseverything that gets wetshould be checked before leaving infested waters.
Bruenderman warns against throwing zebra mussels or plant material back in the water, where the alien mussel will be back in business. Instead, place plants and animals in a plastic bag and toss them in the trash.
To check for zebra mussel larvae, rub your hand along the boat hull. A sandpaper-gritty feel is indicative of the presence of veligers on the boat exterior.
To avoid transport of hitchhiking veligers, drain live wells, bilge water, transom wells and empty bait buckets on land, never into the water, before leaving the water access area. Wash your boat, tackle, downriggers and trailer with hot water (110-140F) at a commercial car wash or with a garden hose when you get home.
Flush water through your motor's cooling system, live wells, and bilges in addition to exterior surfaces. Be sure to treat minnow buckets, water skis, life jackets and any other items that spend time in infested waters. If possible, let everything dry for three days before transporting your boat to another body of water.
If you find zebra mussels attached to your boat or on bridge pilings or rocks, contact the nearest Conservation Department office immediately.
Diving ducks, muskrats, raccoons, catfish, freshwater drum and other mollusk-eating fishes feed on zebra mussels. But the mussels are so prolific that these predators have little effect.
To learn more about zebra mussels, pick up a copy of the "Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations," available wherever fishing permits are sold. You can also pick up a copy of the "Zebra Mussels Come to Missouri" brochure at any Conservation Department office.
The Sea Grant National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse has websites, <http://www.entryway.com/seagrant/> and <http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/sgnis/home.htm>with zebra mussel information
Zebra mussel sightings should be reported to the nearest Conservation Department office. If you aren't sure if a mussel is a zebra mussel, put the specimen in a jar of rubbing alcohol, enclose a note telling what water body the specimen came fromcounty, nearest highway crossing or townand send it to: Sue Bruenderman, Missouri Department of Conservation, 1110 S. College Ave., Columbia, MO 65201.
- Jim Low -
Landowners have flexibility in dealing with endangered plants and wildife.
JEFFERSON CITY--1999 marks the 25th year of the federal Endangered Species Act. Conservationists are celebrating with the removal of the peregrine falcon from the list. The bird, along with the bald eagle, has made a startling recovery since the ban on the use of DDT in the United States. Peregrine falcons are the twelfth species to be recovered and removed from the list of federally threatened and endangered species.
The Endangered Species Act protected habitat needed by peregrine falcons, but just as important was the broad-based public involvement in the raising of thousands of falcons in captivity for their eventual reintroduction to the wild. It was estimated that, at one point, only 39 pairs of breeding falcons existed in the United States. Conservationists now estimate some 1,650 breeding pairs live in North America. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will continue to keep an eye on the birds and make sure their recovery continues apace.
But successes like the peregrine falcon aside, there are still many misunderstandings about the Endangered Species Act, or ESA. The Act is intended to provide special protection and recovery plans for species endangered by various forms of development. About 1,200 U.S. species are listed as being in danger of extinction. The list includes mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, snails, clams, crustaceans, insects, arachnids and plants.
The No. 1 myth about ESA is the fear on the part of landowners that, should an endangered species be found on their property they will be subject to strict regulations. The allegation is that when the FWS declares "critical habitat" for an endangered or threatened species, private landowners are prevented from developing their land. The myth is that critical habitat designations prevent all economic development.
In fact, the FWS is required by the ESA to offer "reasonable and prudent" alternatives that will protect the habitat while permitting projects to proceed.
"There is no impact on private land unless the landowner is using federal money for a project or seeking a permit for something such as altering a wetland or diverting a stream," says Amy Salveter, endangered species coordinator with the Missouri Department of Conservation. "The idea that we are watching all of the land uses across Missouri is untrue, and landowners are largely free to manage their land as they see fit."
According to the FWS, the ESA provides for habitat conservation plans (HCPs) to give flexibility to private landowners who have listed species on their property. Under an HCP, the landowner receives a permit that allows "incidental take" of listed species in the course of certain activities, such as development, provided the landowner follows certain other steps to provide for conservation of the species.
An example might be a company that owns timber land that harbors an endangered woodpecker. An HCP might allow them to cut trees in one area if they agree to conduct work in another area to improve habitat for the birds.
Salveter adds that animals are afforded more protection than plants under the ESA. "A landowner can knowingly destroy endangered or threatened plants on his property without getting into any trouble," Salveter says. "The only time they would be in violation of the ESA is if they transported that plant material off of their property. If the plant had some kind of commercial value, the ESA would prevent them from profiting from it.
"We might tell a landowner that he has a nice population of an endangered plant on his property and encourage him to let it flourish," Salveter says. "If the owner has no desire to protect it, that's completely their decision. We try to get to the sites that we know about and get landowners interested and excited that they have this neat, unique plant on their property.
"Most people are proud to learn they have something like that. More often than not, landowners with an endangered plant or animal are interested in making sure that it is conserved and protected to the extent that they can. They see it as something that nobody else has and that they are doing something right, and that maybe they are a better steward of the land than anyone else."
According to the FWS, a 1992 General Accounting Office audit found that of 18,211 consultations between 1988 and 1992, 99.9 percent of projects went forward unchanged or with minor modifications. Of more than 200,000 projects considered over the last 15 years, only 37 were stopped because of major impacts to an endangered species. In most cases, even those projects went forward once the design was modified to protect the species in question.
The myth that the ESA has brought development across the country to a halt is untrue, and a study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology challenged the myth that the ESA caused a decline in property values.
One myth suggests the ESA is a failure, but the revival of eagles in Missouri flies in the face of that contention. The Conservation Department played an important role in restoring eagles to Missouri, and the day when eagles come off the endangered species list may not be far off. In 1963, researchers counted only 417 bald eagle pairs in the lower 48 states. In Missouri, 1960 marked the last year that bald eagles successfully hatched young.
In 1972 the pesticide DDT was banned in North America. The Conservation Department began reintroducing bald eagles to the Show-Me State in 1981. Biologists traveled as far as Alaska, where eagle populations were healthy, to secure chicks for rearing and release in Missouri. Since that time the number of successful eagle nests in Missouri has grown from two in 1985 to 47 this year, and the birds are continuing to increase.
Another myth suggests that people should not let government employees on their land because no matter what they say, they are looking for endangered species. "Some people are convinced that we are looking for ways to either completely control what they can or cannot do or just take their land from them," Salveter says. "I want people to understand that Conservation Department biologists are honest people and that they clearly state what the intent of their visit to a site is.
"If we say we are out there looking for a small sedge that has no law protecting it, we are just interested for reasons of documenting what's left of the biodiversity in the state and that's why we are there. Or we might say there is a cave on your property that has Ozark cavefish, and we would just like to go in and see if this population is still here. If that's why we are there, we will say it, and we don't go on private property without permission."
Another myth is that once a species is on the list it is never removed. Species that have been removed from the federal endangered list include the American alligator, the brown pelican, the gray whale and the peregrine falcon. The bald eagle is proposed for delisting.
Missouri has its own state endangered species list. The peregrine falcon will probably remain on it, because the ESA calls for monitoring a species for five years once it is delisted. According to Salveter, peregrines currently nest on tall buildings in urban settings in Missouri, but not in any natural habitats. Peregrine falcons may have never been plentiful in Missouri, but some pairs nested in bluffs fronting the state's big rivers.
"If we could see that again, we might move more toward taking peregrines off the state list," Salveter says.
- Jim Auckley -
The aroma of deep-fried sucker soon will waft across gravel bars as Missourians renew an Ozark tradition.
JEFFERSON CITY--Cool nights and clear waters are conditions that lure many anglers to Missouri streams mid-September through January. They are drawn by opportunities to capture nongame fish with multi-tined gigs.
The regular gigging season opens Sept. 15 on most streams. Gigging is not permitted in the designated trophy trout waters of the Current and Eleven Point rivers or on Roubidoux Creek. The hours for stream gigging are from 10 a.m. until midnight. On lakes, the season opens Sept. 15 and runs through Feb. 15, with daily hours of sunrise to midnight.
Gigging allows Missourians to take advantage of a little-used resourcenongame fish. The limit is liberal20 nongame fish daily and 40 in possession. On the Current River from Cedar Grove downstream to the Arkansas state line, no more than five of the daily limit may be hogsuckers.
"Nongame fish" includes only those not defined as game fish in the Wildlife Code of Missouri. The fishes synonymous with gigging are suckers, torpedo-shaped bottom feeders that thrive in clear, gravel-bottomed Ozark streams. In terms of size, they are well worth pursuing. The state-record redhorse sucker weighed 14.5 pounds. They are tasty, too. Properly prepared and deep-fried, sucker meat is well worth the late-night labor required to obtain them.
- Arleasha Mays -
Copyright ©2008 Conservation Commission of Missouri. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use