The below message is from Justin Townsend, Ramsey County Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator.  Please keep a lookout for Zebra Mussels on Long Lake so we can act fast ~ It's important to catch these infestations as early as possible.  Email llianewbrighton@gmail.com if you see anything suspicious.  

As some of you may already know Lake McCarrons has been listed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as infested with zebra mussels on Friday 8/22/2019. Ramsey County will be releasing a more formal press release. I wanted to give you some background and future plans in a short email here. As always if you have questions contact me.

A volunteer on a regular search of the lake found the zebra mussels and promptly reported it to the DNR. The DNR confirmed the presence and worked with Ramsey County and Capitol Region Watershed District to search the whole lake. Unfortunately, zebra mussels were found widespread and evenly across the lake. Based on the size and spread the infestation is likely 2 years old, possibly more. The population was far to widespread for a treatment. What I would like to do is monitor the population levels so we can better understand the patterns of infestation. I am also going to reach out to the University of Minnesota’s Genomics lab to see if we can see where these zebra mussels are from. All of this will take time. As information is given to me I will pass it along to the wider group.

You can find the DNR press release here http://news.dnr.state.mn.us/2019/08/22/zebra-mussels-confirmed-in-mccarron-lake-in-ramsey-county/. I echo their prevention language and would add that this once again reinforces the obligation we all have to protect these beautiful resources. Clean, Drain, Dispose and do not sell or purchase docks, lifts, etcetera unless it has been dry for 21 days.