Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/796038
I 30 GLB | A p r i l 2 0 17 greatlakesboating.com If you do much driving in the summer months, especially across state lines, you've no doubt seen the inspection stations admonishing trailerable boaters to stop to have their vessels looked at. The point of these stations is to stop the spread of invasive species from one part of the country into another. Obviously, some species have feet or wings and can do it on their own, but oftentimes, waterborne animals like to hitch a ride on our boats. That's especially true for the Great Lakes region where mussels, barnacles, and other stationary water species have become a big concern. One such variety, the zebra mussel, is especially pernicious and causes trouble, not only to personal watercraft, but to the surrounding ecosystem. So what makes them so bad and how can we stop them? Zebra mussels get their name from the striped pattern on their shells and are small, usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to maximum of two inches. Originally native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia, some specimens were transported to the Great Lakes region in 1985 or 1986. By 1990 their numbers had spread so precipitously that all of the Great Lakes were infested, and today many waterways throughout the United States (even reaching as far as the southwest and southeast) and parts of Canada have become homes for the creatures. Mussel Mass What one company is doing to stem the tide of zebra mussel infestation By Trevor Mason