Lake Tahoe has one of the most protective invasive species programs in the country, and routinely monitor the lake for the presence of invasive species. Unfortunately they have come across some new invaders, New Zealand mud snails.
New Zealand mud snails are extremely tiny snails, often smaller than a dime, that are usually found in rivers and streams.
"New Zealand mud snails is in about 22 states in the United States," said Executive Director of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Julie Regan. "They hail from New Zealand. We first got them in the west around 1987. They're in Nevada, they're in California, they're all around lake Tahoe. We've been fighting them. We didn't know we had them, we're not even sure how long they've been here."
Regan told us that divers found them about a half a mile offshore in the south end of the lake.
As of right now they do not know how they got into Lake Tahoe, but they're working hard to contain them, inspect other areas of the lake, and figure out how to remove them as much as possible.
They are asking that the community helps prevent this invasive species from spreading.
"The mantra that we have in Tahoe is come clean, drained, and dry. Make sure if you're on a boat, if you're in a paddle craft, even your beach toys they are cleaned, drained, and dry," Regan said.
Regan also told us that these snails are not harmful to people and pets, but if you bring your pet to the beach, you should also check to make sure these snails didn't get stuck in their paws and fur.
If you suspect that you might've spotted an invasive species in Lake Tahoe, you can visit the link here.
