A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 10, 2007
3. Watersheds
JELLYFISH IN OROVILLE:
Fresh water jellyfish surface at Bidwell Marina and Lake Oroville - Oroville Mercury Register
INVASIVE SPECIES:
DFG Asks Boaters for Help in Stopping Invasive Mussels - The Log (
DELTA ISSUES:
Governor Announces Measures to Protect
JELLYFISH IN OROVILLE:
Fresh water jellyfish surface at Bidwell Marina and Lake Oroville
Oroville Mercury Register – 8/9/07
By Paula Felipe, Public Safety Reporter
Freshwater jellyfish in
Bidwell Marina Store Supervisor Tara Paul said from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday she witnessed "millions" of Jellyfish covering the surface of the water around the docks at the Bidwell Marina.
"They were floating right on the surface and are the size of a quarter,"
Brandon Adkins is a dock crew member who rents the boats and helps customers at the marina.
"Monday night at about 5 p.m. I saw hundreds and hundreds of jellyfish at the marina. They were everywhere and all around the slips where the boats park,"
Norm Morgan has driven the shuttle based at Bidwell Marina for the past few years and has been fishing on
Norm said he has seen a few jellyfish on the lake before, but has never seen the large concentrations that he has seen lately.
"I've also heard some people reporting sightings of jellyfish in the South Fork too," Norm said.
Lieutenant John Kuhn, a long-time fisherman on
This reporter ventured to the Bidwell Marina at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday and searched for the jellyfish, but only two were found.
"They seem to come out in more numbers after 5 p.m."
Mike Hubbartt of the California Department of Parks and Recreation at the Lake Oroville Visitor's Center is an interpreter on the historical and natural features of
Hubbartt confirmed the presence of the freshwater jellyfish on
• Appearance of the jellyfish is "sporadic and unpredictable." Often jellyfish will appear in a body of water in large numbers even though they were never reported there before. The next year they may be absent and may not reappear until several years later. It is also possible for the jellyfish to appear once and never appear in that body of water again.
• Freshwater jellyfish is not a true jellyfish like some of its marine relatives and differs slightly from the true marine jellyfish.
• This jellyfish's scientific name is Craspedacusta sowerbii (kras-ped-uh-kus-tuh).
• The freshwater jellyfish are about the size of a quarter when fully grown and are umbrella shaped and have stringlike tentacles around their circular edge.
• The tentacles have hundreds of special cells called cnidocytes, that contain the nematocysts used to capture prey.
• Jellyfish are translucent with a whitish or greenish tinge. Often large flat sex organs called gonads hang from the underside of the jellyfish. These organs make the jellyfish easier to spot because they are not translucent.
• Jellyfish eat tiny, microscopic animals called zooplankton that are found in the water.
• Jelly fish are usually found in late summer, such as August or September, which are peak months for jellyfish sightings in
• The jellyfish will be floating or swimming gently just below the surface of the water. They are easily seen by the naked eye and often surface in large numbers called "blooms."
• Like true jellyfish, these freshwater jellyfish also have stinging cells called cnidocytes. This mechanism is designed for feeding, as the cnidocytes are utilized to paralyze macro invertebrates and even small fish. However, there is no "hard" evidence that these organisms can penetrate human skin (though some have claimed otherwise), according to an expert study on freshwater jellyfish.
For more information on freshwater jellyfish, see: www.jellyfish.iup.edu/index.html. #
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_6578213
INVASIVE SPECIES:
DFG Asks Boaters for Help in Stopping Invasive Mussels
The Log (
By Catherine French
First discovered in 1989 in the Great Lakes region of the U.S., the tiny quagga mussel (genus Dreissena and related to the commonly known zebra mussel) native to the Ukraine is highly invasive and can filter a liter or more of water every day, taking in algae and other edible particulates then spewing out water clear enough for a swimming pool. It is presumed the mussels found their way into the
Although the ability to purify water may sound good, it is anything but. The very particulates the mussels consume feed an array of aquatic invertebrates, tiny spineless animals that in turn feed fish. Due to their rapid growth into large populations, quaggas can disrupt food webs and entire ecosystems. These mussels easily attach themselves to submerged surfaces such as piers, pilings, water intakes and fish screens.
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reported the discovery of quagga mussels in Lake Mead and
In an effort to educate the public and slow the movement of this invasive species by unwitting recreational boaters, continuously operated check stations were put into action. DFG wardens and staff from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) now check all vehicles towing a watercraft at the Yermo check station, on Highway 15 east of
Out of the 15,000 boats inspected since January, 675 were found to contain quagga mussel larva and adult mussels.
Additionally, marina inspections and other watercraft checkpoints will be established along the main freeways into
The problem with the quagga is that it can be as small as a grain of rice, but each female can produce a million eggs a year. And, once they have infested an area of water, they are virtually impossible to eradicate.
"Boaters are the catalyst and we need their help to stop the spread of these mussels. Without knowing it, they can move the quaggas from state to state. The mussels attach themselves to hulls and engines, and get trapped in holding water on their boats," explained Troy Swauger, information officer for the DFG.
How You Can Help
The DFG urges freshwater boaters to take the following steps to inhibit the spread of the mussels:
- Thoroughly wash the hull of each watercraft once she leaves the water - just rinsing the hull isn't enough.
- Drain any water through the vessel's plug, and ensure the area is dry.
- Ensure the vessel's lower outboard or stern drive unit is drained and dry.
- Clean and dry any livewell aboard the vessel.
- Any vessel traveling from
A toll-free number - (866) 440-9530 - has been established for boaters and anyone else involved in activities on lakes and rivers who seeks information about the invasive mussels.
Damage to Water Systems and Other Species
The DFG is concerned that the establishment of quagga mussels in
Another concern is the possible spread into the lower Colorado River, where
The DFG reports that, left unchecked, quaggas have the power to alter the ecology of
The critical importance of preventing the spread of the mussels is evidenced by the multi-agency effort, which includes DFG, CDFA, the state departments of Water Resources, Parks and Recreation, Boating and Waterways, Bay Delta, as well as the Energy and State Lands commissions. Also involved are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Parks Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Arizona Game and Fish, and the Metropolitan Water District.
Task force members are inspecting marinas and shorelines along
"We are trying to reach all boaters and others who spend time in these marine environments. We need to all work together to stem the spread of these mussels," Swauger said. #
http://www.thelog.com/news/newsview.asp?c=222393
DELTA ISSUES:
Governor Announces Measures to Protect
The Log (
The state will boost its efforts to keep invasive plant and animal species from expanding in the freshwater estuary, will stockpile rock and sheet pilings in Delta communities for use in case of a levee collapse, and will support growing rice on the Delta's islands as an experimental deterrent to losing land through flooding, the governor announced July 17.
All of the state's immediate actions require no additional funding, the governor said.
Additional efforts will include installing screens to keep Delta smelt and other fish from being pumped out of waterways along with irrigation and drinking water, and expanding habitat areas for threatened Delta smelt and the plankton they eat. State and federal courts ruled earlier this year that water-pumping operations in the Delta have been killing the 3-in. smelt - which forced brief shutdowns that cut the flow of water to cities and farms.
"The pump shutoff, along with the dry winter, contributed so much to the water crisis that we have right now in our state," Gov. Schwarzenegger said. "If we want to have a permanent solution to this problem, we have to think big."
The governor issued an executive order last year launching a comprehensive review of how the state uses the Delta, citing the estuary's vulnerability to floods and earthquakes. Freshwater from Northern California's rivers is currently sent through the Delta to about 750,000 acres of farmland and 25 million people in
In January, Schwarzenegger proposed that a $5.9 billion water plan be put before voters - which would include spending $4.5 billion on two reservoirs, $1 billion to restore the Delta and $450 million for efforts to conserve water. Taxpayers would pay about two-thirds of the cost, while one-third would be paid by water users - including irrigation districts, municipalities and local taxpayers.
Schwarzenegger said the measure could appear on the Feb. 5 presidential primary ballot, and that some of the money that was originally earmarked for Delta projects could be used to study the feasibility of constructing a canal to divert water around the Delta. #
http://www.thelog.com/news/newsview.asp?c=222385
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