The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has confirmed the presence of zebra mussels in Beltrami Lake, near Bemidji.
Zebra mussels are invasive mollusks that alter food webs, kill native mussels and are sharp to step on. They can also clog water intakes for industrial plants.
Wearing water shoes or gloves can help avoid injury from the zebra mussels’ sharp edges.
“We will be investigating or looking into some of the other lakes that Beltrami Lake flows into, or even the ones that are flowing into Beltrami,” said Gina Kemper, a DNR aquatic invasive species expert.
Kemper said 370 lakes and wetlands in Minnesota currently have zebra mussels, but the rates of infestation are slowly declining as awareness builds.
“People are starting to do a better job when they’re out and about with the lakes,” she said. “They don’t want them in their lakes and or being the one that's spreading it to other lakes.”
Kemper noted that so far, zebra mussels have not been eradicated on any of the lakes where they’ve been confirmed.
“There have been 11 lakes that had treatments done on them, but in all 11, they’ve returned, and only one of those they can assess slow rebound after the treatment,” she said.
Steps to avoid the spread of zebra mussels include cleaning watercraft, trailers and equipment to remove aquatic plants and invasive species and draining the watercraft and equipment properly.
