Category: Biome

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Invasive Quagga Mussels-Help Needed

Quagga Mussels on Propeller Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer
Quagga Mussels on Propeller
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer

Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer

Watercraft Inspection Point. It is unlawful to drive past an open inspection station when carrying watercraft. Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer Watercraft Inspection Point
It is unlawful to drive past an open inspection station when carrying watercraft
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Technician Pressure Washing Watercraft with 140 F Water Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer Technician Pressure Washing Watercraft with 140 F Water
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Entering Decontamination Dip Tank Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Michael Christensen, Photographer Entering Decontamination Dip Tank
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Michael Christensen, Photographer

Nature lovers need to be concerned about invasive aquatic species, especially the devastating potential of quagga mussels and their close relatives zebra mussels. Although these invertebrates don’t move much as adults, it is important to understand how they traveled here, the reasons these mussels are dangerous, and the ways their proliferation can be prevented.

Dan Egan in his Death and LIfe of the Great Lakes explains that quagga mussels and zebra mussels migrated from the waters of the Black and Caspian seas to the Great Lakes in the ballast tanks of ocean-going freighters. Since 1989, these mussels have hitch-hiked on boats across the Great Lakes and throughout the Mississippi River drainage. They traveled up the Missouri into Montana and across the continental divide to Lake Mead, down the Colorado to California, and upstream to Lake Powell. Currently, they cover much of the United States except for parts of Utah and the Northwest.

The threat from quickly spreading, voracious, mussels is real. Quaggas reproduce better than most freshwater mussels, each spawning as many as one million microscopic veligers per year. Since mussels filter plankton from freshwater so well, little is left to nourish fish and aquatic insects. Mussels also grow quickly where water moves: piling on top of each other, clogging pipes, and fouling propellers. Unfortunately, the damage is not limited to watercraft. Water delivery pipes and power generation structures also suffer. Even death doesn’t get rid of them. Shells make beaches dangerous for bare hands and feet. Where quagga mussels take hold, the mitigation costs to private citizens and municipalities multiply dramatically.

Utah is using education, licensing, and assistance to keep invasives from spreading to other waters. Everyone operating motorized watercraft of any kind in Utah is required to take and pass the informative, mussel-aware boater course every year; pay an invasive species fee; affix stickers to watercraft; and display documents in each launch vehicle. The education effort emphasizes why watercraft surfaces, piping, and enclosed spaces must be thoroughly cleaned to prevent new infections. Although not licensed, rafts, float tubes, waders, and fishing equipment also require attention.

Stopping proliferation is the emphasis of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Aquatic Invasive Species Lieutenant, Bruce Johnson, reminds everyone to “Clean, Drain, and Dry” all watercraft. Then he explains how the DWR can assist owners navigating the mandatory statewide inspection and cleanout stations. There, wildlife technicians inspect all watercraft and have the option to pressure wash visible and hidden recesses with 140-degree water. Alternatively, they can apply a seal, sequestering watercraft from relaunch until after a mandated 7-30 day drying period passes. But pressure washing a boat and trailer takes about 45 minutes and drying takes weeks. So recently, to improve treatment quality, enhance safety, and speed up the process, the DWR installed decontamination dip tanks. Dip tanks take about 10 minutes, and are much faster than a lengthy power wash. As officials add more dip tanks across the state, only the invasive species come up short.

The threat posed by invasive mussels requires everyone’s attention. Cleaning watercraft is the beachhead. Making sure mussels don’t get carried to new waters is the quest.

I’m Lyle Bingham for Bridgerland Audubon and I’m Wild About Utah and controlling invasive species.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, PIO
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org
Text: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Lyle Bingham’s Wild About Utah Postings

Hellstern, Ron, Invasive Species, Wild About Utah, September 24, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/ron-describes-exotic-invasive-species/

Egan, Dan, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, https://www.amazon.com/Death-Life-Great-Lakes/dp/0393246434

Egan, Dan, How invasive species changed the Great Lakes forever. Zebra mussels, quagga mussels have turned the lakes’ ecosystem upside down, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 2, 2021, https://www.jsonline.com/in-depth/archives/2021/09/02/how-zebra-mussels-and-quagga-mussels-changed-great-lakes-forever/7832198002/

Dan Egan, Leaping out of the lakes: Invasive mussels spread across America. Officials at Lake Powell fought for a decade to keep out quagga mussels. They lost the fight., Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 2, 2021, https://www.jsonline.com/in-depth/archives/2021/09/02/leaping-out-lakes-invasive-mussels-spread-across-america/5562151001/

Mull, Ann, Spears, Lori, Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis) and Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), Extension, Utah State University, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/research/quagga-mussel-and-zebra-mussel

Mull, Ann, Spears, Lori, Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis) and Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), Utah Pests, USU Extension, June 2021, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/research/quagga-mussel-and-zebra-mussel

Mull, Ann, Spears, Lori, Quagga Mussel and Zebra Mussel, Dreissena polymorpha Pallas and Dreissena bugensis Andrusov, Fact Sheet, USU Extension, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/factsheets/quagga-mussel-and-zebra-mussel1.pdf

Benson, Amy, Chronological history of zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissenidae) in North America, 1988-2010, USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, https://www.usgs.gov/publications/chronological-history-zebra-and-quagga-mussels-dreissenidae-north-america-1988-2010

Quagga Articles on USGS.gov https://www.usgs.gov/search?keywords=quagga

Quagga mussel – Water Education Foundation https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia-background/quagga-mussel

Zebra mussels: What they are, what they eat, and how they spread, Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, Grace College, October 7, 2020, https://lakes.grace.edu/what-are-zebra-mussels/

Invasive mussels Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, August 14, 2023, https://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/invasive-mussels.html

Quagga Mussels (AIS) | Utah State Parks https://stateparks.utah.gov/activities/boating/quagga-mussels-ais/

What are Aquatic Invasive Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://stdofthesea.utah.gov/ais/what-are-they/

New boat decontamination dip tank installed at Utah Lake; other locations announced, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, June 29, 2023, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/1699-new-boat-decontamination-dip-tank-installed-at-utah-lake.html

Other Ways to Prevent Invasive Species:
Don’t ditch a fish!, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://wildlife.utah.gov/dont-ditch.html

Don’t Let it Loose, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://www.dontletitloose.com/rehoming-a-pet/utah/


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Hands on Stoneflies and Sculpin

Hands on Stoneflies and Sculpin: Exploring the Logan River Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS) Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Exploring the Logan River
Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS)
Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Harvest Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS) Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer https://edithbowen.usu.edu/ Benthic Macroinvertebrate Harvest
Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS)
Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer

Merriam-Webster Benthic: of, relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water

Student with a Stonefly Nymph Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS) Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer https://edithbowen.usu.edu/ Student with a Stonefly Nymph
Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS)
Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer

Stonefly Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS) Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer https://edithbowen.usu.edu/ Stonefly
Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS)
Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer

Sculpin Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS) Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer https://edithbowen.usu.edu/ Sculpin
Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS)
Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer

I remember my father on wintery Saturdays mounting his fly tying vice on the kitchen table, and then, from the cavern under the stairs, he’d emerge with his hooks, pheasant and peacock feathers, and other magical threads. I’d watch him spin intricate flies but never realized as a child that they were imitations of creatures I would meet and teach in the wild. When he took me to lakes and rivers to fish, we just used worms and pink marshmallows.

On an animal adaptation learning journey at Wood Camp along the Logan River this fall, our Edith Bowen Laboratory School first graders turned over river rocks, sweeping up all sorts of aquatic critters with nets and buckets to then probe playfully with tweezers and bare fingers. Trip Armstrong, Assistant Director of the National Aquatic Monitoring Center at Utah State University’s Department of Watershed Sciences, led our young investigators and several adult volunteers in identifying these benthic macroinvertebrates, especially the stonefly nymphs we found in every scoop.

These especially intrigued the children because they resemble something from outer space scurrying about on six legs. Stoneflies, both the nymphs and the adult insects, are large compared to mayfly and other critters you find in a river sample, so they stand out in a crowd. The adults have long wings, thus the Greek name Plecoptera meaning “braided wings,” but they are known to be poor fliers. The larvae have two tails or what biologists call cerci, while mayflies have three. Stoneflies have two hooks on their legs; mayflies have one. Stoneflies like oxygen-rich water flowing through their gills along their thorax and under their legs. We noticed some doing push-ups in the bin of river water, indicating it was time to return them to their habitat. Both mayfly and stonefly nymphs are pollution-sensitive, so finding them in such large numbers indicated that this part of the river was very healthy.

When a student approached from the river’s edge with a larger specimen cupped in her hands, I was stunned and a little spooked. “It’s a sculpin,” Armstrong said. These are bottom-dwelling fish that some say are basically big mouths with tails and have unflattering nicknames like “double uglies,” yet I learned later they are quite common. I’d just never met one. In fact, although biologists have determined that the Utah Lake sculpin has been extinct since the 1930s, the native Bear Lake sculpin and sculpin living in the Logan River are sources of food for the Bonneville Cutthroat and other trout.

I guess the lesson, as a wise first grader reminded me this week during our opinion writing session, is “Don’t yuck somebody’s yum.” Stoneflies and sculpin: flyfishers and bigger fish love them. I’m thankful for opportunities to teach in Utah’s wild places because every time I do, I learn something new.

I am Shannon Rhodes, and I’m wild about Utah.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Edith Bowen Laboratory School (EBLS)
Experiential Learning Eric Newell Director & Photographer https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Audio: Courtesy & © J. Chase and K.W. Baldwin
Text: Shannon Rhodes, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Shannon Rhodes

Additional Reading

Beaudreau, Andrea. 2017. Why I Love Sculpins (and Why You Should Too). Coastal Fisheries Ecology Lab. https://annebeaudreau.com/2017/09/05/why-i-love-sculpins/

Bouchard, R.W. Jr. 2004. Guide to Aquatic Invertebrates of the Upper Midwest. 2004. https://dep.wv.gov/WWE/getinvolved/sos/Documents/Benthic/UMW/Plecoptera.pdf

Curtis, Jennifer Keats with Stroud Water Research Center. 2020. Arbordale Publishing. https://www.arbordalepublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=CreekCritters

Dickey, Amy. Water Quality and Macroinvertebrates. https://deq.utah.gov/communication/news/water-quality-macroinvertebrates

Larese-Casanova, Mark. 2013. Aquatic Insects, Harbingers of Health. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/aquatic-insects-harbingers-of-health/

Leavitt, Shauna. 2017. Bear Lake Sculpin. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/bear-lake-sculpin-cottus-extensus/

National Aquatic Monitoring Center. https://qcnr.usu.edu/research/namc/ (was https://namc-usu.org/)

Pennsylvania League of Angling Youth. 2006. PLAY. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/fishandboat/education/activities-education-portal/aquatic-macroinvertebrates.html (formerly: https://www.fishandboat.com/LearningCenter/PennsylvaniaLeagueofAnglingYouthPLAY/Documents/AquaticMacrosEnaElpaMayflyPondstream_Allpages.pdf)

Stroud Water Research Center. Macroinvertebrate Resources. https://stroudcenter.org/macros/

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Five Aquatic Species You May Not Know Live in Utah. Mottled Sculpin. https://wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks/962-r657-29–government-records-access-management-act.html

Utah State University Extension. Bugs Don’t Bug Me. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/1170/ (formerly: https://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/files-ou/Publications/AllBugs.pdf)

Zarbock, William. 1952. Life History of the Utah Sculpin. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8659%281951%2981%5B249%3ALHOTUS%5D2.0.CO%3B2

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Haunted in the Forest

Haunted in the Forest: Witchy Ghost of a Plant Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer
Witchy Ghost of a Plant
Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer

Leaf Skeleton Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer Leaf Skeleton
Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer

Jaw Bone Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer Jaw Bone
Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer

Tree Canker Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer Tree Canker
Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer

Costume Change Chrysalis Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer Costume Change Chrysalis
Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer

When life throws scary at you, what do you do? As we increasingly consider mental and emotional health issues and strategies, I find that my answer is that I go to the forest. Of course, I go there when things are going smoothly too, but I agree with Henry David Thoreau when he wrote, “When I would recreate myself, I seek the darkest wood.” He, in fact, recommended the “most dismal swamp,” but that is a little too slimy for me. I will stick with solid soil.

A few weeks ago I spied a bat dangling from the bricks on my front porch as I gazed at the moon just as I had asked my young students to do. It reminded me of how in Janell Cannon’s picture book Stellaluna, a young bat survives a predatory owl’s attacks, falling “down, down…faster and faster, into the forest below.” She clings to a branch until her strength gives out, then “down, down again she dropped” into an unlikely predicament. Bats and harvest moons are iconic figures of this season, and as I ventured out for a sanity walk in the Cache National Forest, everywhere I looked I saw more.

Fall forests are full of chilling scenes, and I was first struck by a gruesome sap bleed from a gaping evergreen canker. The yellow ooze seeping seemed beautiful somehow. I don’t remember ever being so captivated by a wounded plant, and because I lingered, I also spotted a chrysalis containing a caterpillar’s costume change on a neighboring tree. Next to that were the witchy remains of other withering forbs.

Beneath my hiking boots was a toothy jaw grinning amid fragile leaf skeletons scattered on the forest floor. Even as I swapped away the cobwebs I didn’t see ahead until it was too late, the eerie beauty of nature eased the tormenting worries in my life. There’s a Chinese Proverb that says, “You can only go halfway into the darkest forest; then you are coming out the other side.”

A good walk outside is great for the distressed heart and mind. I needed to find the unlikely power in autumn icons. As Mary Shelley wrote for Frankenstein, “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” Next time you are frightened by the unknowns or scarred by the realities, consider falling into a forest.

I’m Shannon Rhodes, and I’m wild about Utah.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer
Text & Voice: Shannon Rhodes, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Shannon Rhodes

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah Posts by Shannon Rhodes https://wildaboututah.org/author/shannon-rhodes/

Cannon, Janell. 1993. Stellaluna. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company. https://www.amazon.com/Stellaluna-Janell-Cannon/dp/0152062874/ref=sr_1_1

Shelley, Mary Woolstonecraft. 1818. Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/84/84-h/84-h.htm

Thoreau, Henry David and Brooks Atkinson. 2000. Walden and Other Writings. New York: Modern Library. https://www.amazon.com/Walden-Other-Writings-Modern-Library/dp/0679600043

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Inside Look at Fire, Water, Wind

Inside Look at Fire, Water, Wind: 2022 SAQA Quilt Exhibition: WILD! Brigham City Museum of Art & History
View exhibit brochure in a new window:
2022 SAQA Quilt Exhibition: WILD!
Brigham City Museum of Art & History

Kodachrome Reflections Quilt Art Copyright Kimberly Lacy Courtesy Mary Heers Kodachrome Reflections
Quilt Art Copyright Kimberly Lacy
Used By Permission
All Rights Reserved
This Image Courtesy Mary Heers

A Terrible Beauty, Quilt Art & Image Copyright Sara Lamb, Photographer & Quilt Artist All Rights Reserved, This Image Courtesy Mary HeersA Terrible Beauty
Quilt Art & Image Copyright Sara Lamb, Photographer & Quilt Artist
Used By Permission
All Rights Reserved
This Image Courtesy Mary Heers

The Untamed Wind Quilt Art Copyright Jeannette Schoennagel, All Rights Reserved This Image Courtesy Mary Heers The Untamed Wind
Quilt Art Copyright Jeannette Schoennagel,
Used By Permission
All Rights Reserved
This Image Courtesy Mary Heers

One of the most important lessons I learned during last summer’s long hot afternoons was that the best place to appreciate Utah’s natural beauty can sometimes be inside an art museum.

As I stepped off the blistering hot sidewalk and through the doors of the Brigham City art and history museum, I breathed a sigh of relief. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. A magical place where I could go inside to commune with nature. I had arrived at “Wild,” a juried quilt exhibit featuring some of the best work of fiber artists in the Intermountain West.

A quick glance around the room and I was immediately drawn to a silhouette of a mountain cabin Sunrise I thought, with the brilliant yellow and orange sky. Each quilt came with a typed note from the artist about the piece. I started to read. This was her cabin in the woods. Then came the shock. She had watched the breaking news on tv as wildfire licked the edges of her cabin and then engulfed it in flames. Suddenly the velvet strip running along the edge of the piece looked red hot. The bits of black yarn hand stitched off the nearby tree practically crackled with heat.

Somewhat cautiously I approached the next quilt. What looked like a kaleidoscope of soft sunset colors on a quiet pond turned out to be just that. I breathed a sigh of relief. The freehand swirling of the stitching made the water ripple. The setting sun bathed the air and water in deepening shades of pink. I actually had to resist the urge to run home, grab my fishing pole, and cast my line into the quilted watery pool.

Making the final turn around the room, I saw the piece I liked the best. Here was a tree with a painted white bark with bits of confetti leaves flying off. The rolling waves of stitching created a windy look that practically breezed through my hair. This piece was festive – the leaves dancing their way from one season into the next.

Fire, water and wind. I had felt the presence of these three cornerstones of the natural world inside this cozy museum.

But before I could get too comfortable, I heard a warning cry from one last artist. Her quilt was a strange patch of peacock blue in the middle of a rubbly hillside. Puzzled, I read her story. She loved to romp with her dog up and down this hillside close to her home. Then the patch of blue appeared. She approached it and discovered it was not an exotic bird. It was a stake driven into the heart of the hill. Within weeks the bulldozers and front end loaders arrived and ripped the earth apart.

As I stepped back into the hot outside world, I shouted out three small cheers for all the art museums that help us savor the natural beauty of our open spaces – and remind us to keep working to preserve them.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild about Utah

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy Mary Heers, Thank you to Kimberly Lacy, Sara Lamb and Jeannette Schoennagel for permission to display their artwork on this site and upr.org
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Wild About Utah Postings

2022 Quilt Exhibition: WILD! Brigham City Museum of Art & History, June 25-September 17, 2022https://www.brighamcitymuseum.org/2022quiltshow
Tel:435-226-1439, museum@bcutah.org
Address: 24 North 300 West, Brigham City, UT 84302

International Art Quilt Exhibition and Layered Voices Exhibition, Now Playing Utah, Utah Cultural Alliance, https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/international-art-quilt-exhibition-and-layered-voices-exhibition/

WILD! (SAQA Regional), Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc, Jun 25, 2022-Sep 17, 2022, https://www.saqa.com/art/exhibitions/wild-saqa-regional
View WILD! on ISSUU, Jun 20, 2022, https://issuu.com/saqaart/docs/wildfilp1-compressed/

Dunetts, LaVonne M, Wild!: SAQA CO/UT/WY, May 31, 2022, https://www.amazon.com/Wild-SAQA-CO-UT-WY/dp/B0B2WLQG4C/ref=sr_1_1?

Brigham City Museum of Art & History on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/BrighamCityMuseum/