By Ali Longwell, Summit Daily
Despite taking around 350 additional samples along the Colorado River, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have yet to find any further discoveries of zebra mussels in the state.
The wildlife agency discovered evidence of several zebra mussel veliger, the species’ free-floating larvae, in early July in the Colorado River near Grand Junction and the Government Highline Canal. No adult zebra mussels were found.
“As of this time, we haven’t found any additional adults or zebra mussel veligers since July, which is really good news, but it also sort of confounds us a bit in terms of discovering the cause and source of the original discovery,” said Rob Harris, the water resources section manager for Parks and Wildlife, at a Colorado Water Conservation Board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
The invasive species, which is known for its rapid reproduction rate, pose “extreme risk of ecological impacts to Colorado,” according to Parks and Wildlife.
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