Pierre, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) has confirmed the presence of adult zebra mussels in Lake Kampeska in Codington County.
“A GFP fisheries staff person received a call on Sunday from a
lakeshore resident on the southeast side of Lake Kampeska,” said regional fisheries manager Mark Ermer. “The resident sent our staff person a photo and it was a zebra mussel. We traveled to Kampeska today and inspected the original location and found several mussels. We also found zebra mussels in 6 other sites we surveyed.
Lake Kampeska is now considered infested with zebra mussels.
The (GFP) Commission can designate waters infested with zebra mussels as containment waters. Specific decontamination requirements exist for boats kept in these waters continuously for three or more days, or that cannot have all water drained from them.
“We are asking lake users to be extra vigilant and make sure their boats and associated equipment is cleaned, drained and dried after every use,” Ermer said.
Clean watercraft and trailers of all aquatic plants and mud.
Drain all water by removing all drains, plugs, bailers, or valves that retain water. Be sure to completely drain your lower unit of any water by lowering completely.
Dispose of unwanted bait in trash or fish cleaning stations when leaving the water.
Completely draining a boat is the first step in making sure invasive species are not transferred to other waters.
For more information on zebra mussels, other aquatic invasive species, and how to properly decontaminate your watercraft, visit sdleastwanted.sd.gov
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