A risk analysis is being prepared on the live food fish industry. Draft guidelines have been developed for scuba divers to prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species. Recent sampling indicates ongoing zebra mussel colonization in the Presque Isle section of Lake Erie. Virtually all the mussels found were zebra mussels, rather than quagga mussels. New reports also verify sparse zebra mussel populations in the Ohio and Monongahela rivers, indicating a slight range expansion in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Densities remain relatively low in the infested river systems.
A draft Interstate Management Plan for Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Species has been prepared jointly by Minnesota and Wisconsin for the Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The goal is to submit both plans to the national ANS Task Force for approval later this year. WI DNR staff and volunteers will monitor approximately 150 lakes this summer for zebra mussel adults and veligers. Efforts to develop a dispersal barrier in the Chicago waterways will proceed. The Task Force will explore a two-tier process for authorizing ANS control programs, which will allow for prompt designation of new aquatic nuisance species.