Crow Wing River in Hubbard, Wadena counties infested with faucet snail

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Crow Wing River in Hubbard, Wadena counties infested with faucet snail
(Released June 17, 2010)


The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will designate the Crow Wing River in Hubbard, Wadena, Todd, Cass and Morrison counties as “infested waters” later this month because the faucet snail (Bithynia tentaculata) has been found there. The snail is linked to waterfowl deaths at Lake Winnibigoshish and the Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota.

The faucet snail was first noticed in nearby Upper and Lower Twin lakes and the Shell River in Wadena County last fall. The Twin lakes and the Shell River are connected to the Crow Wing River, so the recent detection of the faucet snails is not a surprise.

New regulations will take effect along the river to help stop movement of the faucet snail to other waters. Once designated “infested water,” state law prohibits the transport of water from the Crow Wing River without a permit.  It also prohibits anglers or commercial bait harvesters from harvesting bait from these waters without a permit.

The Crow Wing River is a particularly popular river for canoeing and tubing. Before leaving a water access on the Crow Wing River and traveling on a public road, people boating, canoeing, tubing or angling must also:

Remove all aquatic plants and sediment from boats, trailers and other equipment.
Drain all water from bilges, livewells and bait containers.
It is illegal to transport infested water on a public road. Pulling the drain plug before leaving an access is the best way to show that water has been drained from a boat.

Anglers with live bait that they want to use again must drain infested water from the bait container and replace it with tap or spring water. Anglers, boaters and hunters should also check their boats, anchors, waterfowl decoys, push poles and the inside of bait containers for snails and remove them before visiting another water body.

Faucet snails are hosts to parasitic trematodes, a small intestinal parasite believed to have contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of diving duck species such as scaup and coots in the past three years on Lake Winnibigoshish, and the last six years on the Mississippi River near Winona.

The DNR staff found a few trematodes in the small number of snails sampled from the Crow Wing River. There is no evidence that the parasite will adversely affect fish or wildlife other than waterfowl. Anglers can eat fish from Upper and Lower Twin lakes without worry of trematodes.

“By taking a few simple steps such as inspecting, draining and drying, and disposing of any water and aquatic life when leaving the Crow Wing River (or any lake or river), boaters, anglers and others enjoying the river can help stop the spread of the faucet snail and several other aquatic hitchhikers,” said Darrin Hoverson, DNR invasive species specialist.For more information about the faucet snail and other aquatic invasive species, see http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/index.html.

For more information on ways to help stop aquatic hitchhikers, visit www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/preventspread.html.

[Cody Gruchow]

that sucks, the shell river and crow wing river are connected to alot of lakes in that area. i duck hunted on the shell last year, and camp there very often. gorgeous area.(from that area) the water in the shell river is second to none in just about the entire state i would say, i dont think there is cleaner water anywhere in the state, sucks now its "infested" water