Preparations will begin Thursday afternoon when the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission sponsor a forum to discuss how to minimize the invasive mollusks' threat to the Housatonic River.
Biologist Thomas Flannery, from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Carl Neilsen of the Boston-based environmental consulting firm The ESS Group will lead the discussion, scheduled from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield. The meeting is open to the public.
In addition, the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has formed a zebra mussel task force with representatives from Berkshire County to develop a statewide policy of dealing with the mussels. Spokeswoman Kate Plourd said the plan should be ready by April 1.
Zebra mussels can proliferate in staggering numbers, with as many as 700,000 occupying a square yard. They can clog boat motors, jam intake pipes, and sink buoys with their weight. They also are avaricious eaters, filtering up to a liter of water a day, depriving young fish of crucial nutrients.
HVA Director Dennis Regan said an infestation threatens the Housatonic, in part, because water from Laurel Lake in Lee flows
Attemping confinement
Laurel Lake became the first -- and so far the only -- Berkshire waterway to be infested with zebra mussels after the tiny creatures were discovered this past summer. Officials have said the invasion was imminent since they are prevalent in nearby New York, Vermont and Connecticut.
"Zebra mussels have been found below the lake's dam in the tributary that leads to the Housatonic," Regan said. "Since one zebra mussel can lay a million eggs, some are bound to find their way downstream."
To keep zebra mussels confined to Laurel Lake, state environmental officials on July 8 had the lake's boat ramp on Route 20 blocked off to all boats. The four-barrel barricade was removed as scheduled on Oct. 15.
State officials haven't determined if the boat ramp will remain open for next year's boating season, which usually runs from mid-May to mid-October.
While the species grows to the size of a thumbnail, its microscopic larvae attach themselves to boats and fishing gear. If the equipment is not thoroughly cleaned, the young zebra mussels easily can be transported to other lakes, ponds and rivers.
Over time, the mollusks can greatly alter the ecology of a lake.
The discovery this summer of zebra mussels in Laurel Lake led officials in Stockbridge, Richmond and several other Berkshire towns to deny access to boat ramps in those communities. The state, however, regulates water access and ordered them re-opened.
The state Department of Fish and Game's Office of Fishing and Boating Access is the only agency authorized to close boat ramps to the public. Pittsfield had sought and was denied state approval to temporarily block the ramps at Onota and Pontoosuc lakes.
However, the waterways that were closed drew the attention of state officials, who eventually provided three to four paid boat-ramp monitors to augment the dozens of volunteers who were stationed at Stockbridge Bowl, Pontoosuc and Onota lakes, Richmond Pond and other bodies of water.
The monitors ensured the boats launched were free of zebra mussels and educated boaters about preventing them from spreading into local waters.
"The closing of our boat ramp was controversial," said Stockbridge Selectman George Shippey. "But the education factor was revved up and more people became aware of zebra mussels."
Costly measures
Stockbridge also spent $5,000 in mostly private funds in establishing a boat washing station at the former Hall's Garage off Main Street.
"It was used a fair amount and didn't cost the boaters anything," Shippey said.
He added that more money needs to be raised over the winter to keep the facility open for next year.
The Lake Onota Preservation Association also is pressing Pittsfield to establish a boat washing station, along with a stepped-up boat-ramp monitoring program and expanded public education for the 2010 boating season, according to the group's president, Robert Race.
"We need a good public-relations campaign known to everybody, not just those using the boat ramp," Race said.
Meanwhile, local officials said they will push for a statewide zebra mussel action plan that makes sense.
"We don't want unnecessary restrictions regarding access to boat ramps, and it's got to be financially feasible," said Lanesborough resident Jack Hickey, a member of the zebra mussel task force.
The president of the Lakes and Ponds Association of Western Massachusetts added that the key will be educating the public against spreading the mollusks beyond Laurel Lake.
"Prevention is the emphasis that must be placed on the [state] program," Hickey said.
To reach Dick Lindsay: rlindsay@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6233.
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