Zebra Mussels Found in Lake Near Boundary Waters

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Invasive zebra mussels have been discovered in an isolated lake in northeastern Minnesota, just 10 miles from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Biologists from the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa found the zebra mussels on an aluminum can in Crooked Lake.

Workers from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service haven't found other mussels since then, but the lake is being managed as infested.

DNR aquatic invasive species specialist Rich Rezanka says it's disappointing, because someone moved the zebra mussels to the area. Rezanka says because lakes in the Boundary Waters are already low in nutrients, a zebra mussel infestation there would likely harm fishing.