Officials shut down popular fishing spot after disturbing discovery: 'We ask for cooperation ... as we look into solutions'

A Wyoming pond popular with local fishing enthusiasts has closed because of an invasive species detected in the area. 

What's happening?

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently closed Jessica's Pond, which is just outside Casper, Wyoming. According to a press release by the department, this happened due to the presence of New Zealand mudsnails.

The invasive species poses a rampant problem throughout Western fresh waterways, outcompeting local counterparts.

"We have previously detected and treated Jessica's Pond for New Zealand mudsnails. This is likely a new infestation passed to Jessica's Pond from the nearby North Platte River," explained the department's chief of fisheries, Alan Osterland, in the press release. "We ask for cooperation from anglers as we look into solutions for this issue."

Why is the New Zealand mudsnails' presence concerning?

According to the WGFD, the invasive snail was first discovered in Idaho's Snake River in the 1980s. Experts have been fighting their presence ever since. 

They can reproduce rapidly and asexually. Missing a single female New Zealand mudsnail can be enough to foil an environmental intervention.

The species' tiny size allows it to spread undetected and often by human transmission. An anchor dragging through a waterbed or a fisher not cleaning gear after an outing can spread this mudsnail. They can also live outside of water for over a month at a time, as long as they are surrounded by moisture. 

Despite its small size, the New Zealand mudsnail can substantially impact the environment it invades. It throws off the balance of the local ecosystem by overcrowding freshwater ecosystems with its resilient survival instincts. 

The scrappy species can survive in low-resource environments better than native snails and invertebrates. When overpopulation hits, the invasive species wins out as the food supply falters.

What's being done about invasive New Zealand mudsnails?

By closing Jessica's Pond, the WGFD is taking a proactive stance to protect the nearby Dan Speas Fish Hatchery. Local officials also urge anglers to "clean, drain, and dry" their equipment.

They encourage visitors to other bodies of water to use the provided boot scrubbing stations to prevent the spread of New Zealand mudsnails.

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