LARAMIE, Wyo. — Thanks to the awareness of local anglers, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently verified the presence of New Zealand mudsnails in Gelatt Lake and Wheatland Reservoir #3 near Laramie.
The initial detection at Gellat Lake occurred in late April while a member of the public was angling and noticed small black dots covering the vegetation and rocks. Following the report, samples were taken and sent to the University of Wyoming for confirmation. Similarly, at Wheatland Reservoir #3, an angler report came in earlier this summer and Game and Fish staff confirmed the presence of New Zealand mudsnails on Monday.
These confirmations mark the second and third waters in the region with this species, in addition to Alsop Lake which was detected in August 2023.
Many aquatic invasive species, including New Zealand mudsnails, are transported by people on equipment, vehicles and pets that have not been cleaned, drained or dried. They can burrow into the fabric of waders and wading boots, hide in mud stuck to trailer tires and camp out in any undrained water from all types of watercraft.
“In the Laramie valley, anglers often fish multiple plains lakes in a day. If gear like wading boots are not properly cleaned, there’s a real risk of spreading AIS between all of them,” said Regional Fisheries Supervisor Bobby Compton.
As anglers pursue fantastic fishing opportunities in these lakes, please remember to clean, drain and dry all gear prior to moving to another water, especially those known to have AIS in them.
New Zealand mudsnails are a small aquatic invasive snail native to, you guessed it, New Zealand.
“These snails threaten our fisheries because they can rapidly self-reproduce, outcompete native species for resources and can affect the nutrients and chemistry of the water,” Regional AIS Specialist Nick Edwards said.
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