DETROIT LAKES - Big Cormorant Lake could soon become the latest area water body to fall victim to the invasion of zebra mussels.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is in the process of investigating a report that zebra mussels were discovered in Becker County’s second largest lake.
“We did receive a report of zebra mussels in Big Cormorant last week,” says Mark Ranweiler, the assistant aquatic invasive species specialist for the DNR in Fergus Falls. “Our staff is currently surveying the lake and once that survey is complete and the data is analyzed we will release the results.”
Ranweiler added that the results would hopefully be available sometime later this week. This report comes less than a month after Lake Eunice became the third lake in Becker County to join the zebra mussels-infested list.
Zebra mussels were also recently confirmed in another area water body, the Red River, as well as two other Minnesota lakes, according to a Friday press release from the DNR.
Clearwater Lake in Wright and Stearns counties, along with Ruth Lake in Crow Wing County, became the fourth and fifth lakes in the state to join the zebra mussels-infested list this year.
Though the recent frequency of these reports is a concern, 95 percent of Minnesota’s lakes remain uninfested - which is why prevention continues to be a priority for the DNR and other water quality agencies, including the Becker Soil & Water Conservation District, which manages the county’s AIS prevention program.
