The Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department has partnered with Douglas County and others to provide a great opportunity to learn about the invasive spiny waterflea on Tuesday, April 12th in a live virtual presentation from noon to 1pm. Folks can join the presentation via Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/vpx-cntg-htu.
Natural Resources Specialist Zach Stewart will share the science of spiny waterfleas, and how the STOP SPINY campaign can help you protect your favorite Iron County lakes.
Spiny Waterfleas are in the Gile Flowage and are a threat to our waters. Spiny waterfleas are microscopic animals, also known as zooplankton, that live in open water. Adults range from one-quarter to five-eighths inches long, and are opaque in color. They often are found on fishing line or other equipment in clumps that resemble a gelatinous blob with a texture of wet cotton. Their negative impacts include clogging eyelets of fishing rods and preventing fish from being landed, and preying on native zooplankton, including Daphnia, which are an important food source for native fishes. In some lakes, spiny waterfleas can cause the decline or elimination of some species of native zooplankton which causes algae blooms.
