The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has reported the discovery of invasive zebra mussels in Shawnee Twin Lakes for the first time.
The agency also has confirmed it has found the zebra mussels in 24 different bodies of water in Oklahoma.
The discovery of zebra mussels in Shawnee Twin Lakes is for the first time, the Wildlife Department said, along with Ardmore City Lake in southern Oklahoma.
Fisheries Biologist Katie Schrag, aquatic nuisance species coordinator for the Wildlife Department, said once these invasive mussels are present, there is no feasible way to eliminate them. The best strategy is to prevent them from spreading, she said.
Schrag explained they are typically found attached to surfaces, objects or other mussels. She points out zebra mussels affect ecoystems that they invade by clogging water intakes and pipes, costing taxpayers millions of dol lars.
They also damage boat engines, threaten native mussels, fish and wildlife, consuming available food, Schrag said.
She said ODWC’s Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) program has confirmed invasive zebra mussels in 24 different water bodies throughout Oklahoma, including Kaw, Sooner, Hefner, Keystone, Robert S. Kerr, Grand, Skiatook, Eufaula, Oologah, Claremore, Greenleaf and Texoma lakes, as well as in the lower Canadian, Cimarron, Arkansas, Verdigris, Washita and North Canadian rivers.
She warned that in only two or three years, zebra mussels can populate a body of water.