06-04-2004, 08:20 PM
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]SPOKANE, WA—The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials recently made a disturbing discovery when they found zebra mussels on a large boat being trailered cross-country by commercial vehicle. Although they stopped the rig from crossing into the state, they fear zebra mussels could be slipping in on smaller boats that are not required to stop at highway weigh stations. [/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]Zebra mussels, fingernail-size freshwater mollusks native to the Black, Caspian and Aral seas, were first introduced to the Great Lakes in 1986 through the ballast water of transoceanic ships. They can spread quickly, altering entire ecosystems by smothering native mussels and consuming food sources of other fish and wildlife. The mussels have also cost industry, government and private citizens millions of dollars by clogging water intake pipes used for irrigation and municipal water supplies and damaging boat engines.[/size][/#000000][/font]
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]Zebra mussels, fingernail-size freshwater mollusks native to the Black, Caspian and Aral seas, were first introduced to the Great Lakes in 1986 through the ballast water of transoceanic ships. They can spread quickly, altering entire ecosystems by smothering native mussels and consuming food sources of other fish and wildlife. The mussels have also cost industry, government and private citizens millions of dollars by clogging water intake pipes used for irrigation and municipal water supplies and damaging boat engines.[/size][/#000000][/font]
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