Meanwhile, on the Aquatic Invasive Species Front . . . .

I recently received the Fall 2012 edition of the Nebraska Invasive News Network newsletter, ENews Fall 2012 (2) .

On the aquatic front, there are a couple of stories in that newsletter that I want to point out.  First is a short report on some of the boat and boater surveys that have been done throughout Nebraska in the past few years.

Secondly is this story about Asian clams.

If you want to read the full article on the Asian clams, you can follow the link in the original .pdf at the beginning of this blog post, or you can go here, http://www.nptelegraph.com/sports/outdoors/invasive-species-making-its-presence-known/article_cb52a2b8-1fcc-5031-814b-e2f458b20f8e.html .

If you look close at the picture in that last story, you will see a stretch of a Nebraska irrigation and power district canal that was found to be carpeted with Asian clams when that canal was drained this past fall.  NO, these are not the zebra mussels that you have likely heard about, but they are another non-native invasive species that can proliferate to the point where it can cause serious problems.  I would tell you that a canal carpeted with Asian clams is something to be very concerned about.

There is a lot more in that newsletter, like I said earlier, click on the link to the original .pdf and spend some time reading and learning.

On a personal note, Karie Decker has been our Nebraska Invasive Species Project Coordinator for the past several years.  I have had the chance to work with Karie on several projects, like the zebra mussels at Zorinsky Lake in Omaha, and she has been excellent to work with.  So excellent in fact that she has landed a job in our Wildlife Division here at the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission.  Welcome aboard Karie!  Even though you are working on the wildlife side of the hallway, I look forward to working with you in the future!