Julius and his pals must go to the far-off and strange land of Britain to win over the crowds of Hadrian’s empire. Follow him at /OutdoorsNow.Julius Zebra #2 by Gary Northfield – Book Reviewįormat – ebook, paperback, hardcover, audioįrom the celebrated creator of Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans! comes a hilarious romp and mad-cap story set in Roman Britain, cram-packed with jokes and bursting with action. “Still,” Dawson said, “I would say we got lucky that we discovered the mussels right away.”ĭave Orrick can be reached at 65. However, the infested area proved too large to dredge, so potash surfaced as the potential knockout blow. The next step was to dredge the entire area around the boat launch, physically removing any remaining mussels. The lake access was essentially closed, and the area was treated with Zequanox, a bacteria that target zebra mussels, and a copper-based compound that kills all animals. Christmas Lake’s proximity to neighboring Lake Minnetonka, which is infested with several invasive species, placed it on the high-risk list.Īs a result, Craig Dawson, director of research and monitoring for the watershed district, said he’s confident his agency detected zebra mussels within two weeks of their arrival. The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District regularly inspects waters near boat ramps for lakes believed to be at higher risk of infestation. The Christmas Lake Homeowners Association has been among the most aggressive in the state at restricting boat ramp access without inspections of watercraft and boat trailers. Once a water body becomes infested - often by hitching a ride along a boat trailer or dock being installed from another lake - the only thing preventing the mussels from proliferating has been the habitat of the lake itself, and most Minnesota waters are hospitable to zebra mussels.įriday’s events suggest that decontamination is possible, and officials said the lake’s tough invasive species regimen, as well as extraordinary steps taken on Christmas Lake, provides a potential road map. Still, potash, if approved for such uses in the future, could be a potent weapon for wildlife managers as they try to slow the spread of zebra mussels, which have spread to more than 200 bodies of water in the state.
It doesn’t affect fish or vegetation, he said. The potassium interferes with the respiratory system of mollusks, preventing them from breathing. In addition, potash kills all mollusks, including native species. There would be ecological ramifications.” “We would have hesitation about introducing that amount of chloride or nutrients into a lake. “We definitely have hesitation about applying it to any lake on a widespread scale,” Lund said. In August, zebra mussels were discovered near the public boat launch on Christmas Lake, and the infestation was believed to be isolated to an area of less than an acre, an isolation that officials tried to ensure by erecting a barrier that prevented anything, from mollusks to fish to boats, from crossing. “We see this as a way to treat a localized area right now,” Lund said. The exemption also will allow Independence Lake in the west metro to be treated in the spring.Īlthough potash is an efficient killer of zebra mussels, it’s not seen as a silver bullet to the nonnative invader, which can alter the food chain of a body of water and wipe out native mollusks. It’s the third such use of the substance and the first in Minnesota, allowed only through an emergency exemption granted by the U.S. Friday’s procedure involved dissolving 1,000 pounds of potash, essentially potassium chloride, in water and pumping that water through holes in the ice. Potash is a new arrival in the zebra mussel-killing arsenal.
Crews from the DNR and Minnehaha Creek Watershed District will inspect the lake beginning in the spring.