Bellingham city officials are continuing to track and observe the extent of the Asian Clam infestation which was identified in Lake Whatcom in mid-September. The small yellow and brown clams were first recognized in Lake Whatcom when a resident collected and showed them to city officials at a Sept. 17 demonstration at the lake.
The Asian Clam, Corbicula fluminea, is a native species from in Asia, Australia and the Mediterranean. They were believed to have been brought to the United States in the 1930s as either food, live bait, or attached to ships. They have since spread to 38 states and parts of Canada.
Bellingham city officials have been tracking the clams throughout October and November and now believe the clams are present in Lake Whatcom as well as Bloedel Donovan Park, WWU’s Lakewood recreational facility and Whatcom Creek near the Derby Pond.
Clare Fogelsong Environmental Manager for the City of Bellingham said the discovery of the Asian Clam in Whatcom County came as a surprise to the city’s environmental department.
“We didn’t really have our eye on that ball,” he said. “In the last couple of months we’ve been trying to understand the extent of the infestation and also map out our response and capability of potential action.”
Asian Clams and other invasive water species are often transferred between lakes and rivers by boating or other recreational activities, Fogelsong said.
“Mud can get transplanted into a boat or fishing gear and then the infected sediment is transferred from one water body to another,” he said. “Since these clams don’t need pairs to reproduce, it would only take one to cause a real problem.”
City officials are encouraging residents to practice thorough cleaning habits when moving boats or other water-craft and equipment between bodies of water. “Clean, Drain and Dry”, a Lake Tahoe, Calif.-based water safety campaign, is being cited as a desirable model for Whatcom County residents who want to help protect the natural environments of local waterways, Fogelsong said. The campaign outlines methods for keeping watercraft clean and ensuring that no unwanted critters end up as stowaways on boating equipment.
Bellingham city officials are working on a response plan for dealing with the clams which pose a serious threat to local ecosystems as well as the availability of drinking water for more than 95,000 residents in Whatcom County.
According to Fogelsong, the invasive species lives in the mud and sediment at the bottom of the lake and can crowd out other species from the water and clog water intake pipes.
“If a pipe is sitting on the bottom of the lake and it has mud inside of it, these clams will start populating that pipe. As they die, new ones come in and they can clog it up with the debris of the shells,” said Fogelsong. “They don’t attach to the pipes like other mussels do but they do have the capability if the conditions are right.”
The clams also release large amounts of phosphorus from the sediment into the water. This makes the water treatment process more difficult and more expensive for the city, says Fogelsong.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is seeking help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help combat the growing infestation. In a letter to the director of the agency, she asked that the “existing clams in Lake Whatcom be eradicated as soon as possible in order to minimize the risk of subsequent infestations and establishment of other invasive species.”
Currently, the City of Bellingham does not have a definitive plan for how to deal with the clams but, and Fogelsong said removing the clams entirely might not be a viable option.
““It is unlikely that we will be able to remove them totally from the lake,” he said. “The infestation is too broad and too difficult for that kind of strategy.”
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Check out the "Clean, Drain and Dry" campaign for more info on how to protect local waterways:
Clean, Drain and Dry (PDF)