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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a report of zebra mussels in Bde Maka Ska, formerly Lake Calhoun.

A watercraft inspector with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board contacted the DNR after finding two juvenile zebra mussels on a sailboat as it was being removed from the lake for the season.

Zebra mussels were previously confirmed in nearby Lake Harriet in September 2017.

DNR staff conducted a dive search and did not find any additional zebra mussels, according to a news release. Staff from the park board and the consulting group Blue Water Science will conduct another search to see if the invasive species has spread.

The sailboat had been moored in the lake for an extended period and the young zebra mussels indicate that the species has been reproducing, the release stated, so treatment likely would not be effective.

The park board is inspecting all sailboats being removed from the lake, and zebra mussels have not been reported on any additional boats, the DNR stated.

Zebra mussels are small invasive animals with a striped, D-shaped shell that usually attach to hard surfaces underwater. They are native to Eastern Europe and were introduced to the Great Lakes through the discharge of cargo ship ballast water.

They can compete with native species for food and habitat, cut swimmers' feet and damage water intake pipes.

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Kirsti Marohn

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a report of zebra mussels in Bde Maka Ska, formerly Lake Calhoun.


People walk and bike the trails of Lake Calhoun. 

DNR confirms zebra mussels in Bde Maka Ska

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