Woodward Reservoir Latest To Halt Boat Launches
Oakdale, CA — The Woodward Reservoir in Oakdale is joining a regional list that includes Lake Tulloch and New Melones Reservoir, to halt boat launches due to concerns about invasive golden mussels.
The moves come after the first known North American sighting of the invasive golden mussel came over the winter in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A prohibition on boat launching at all three locations is a precautionary measure, and comes as they are gearing up for the busy summer season. It is unclear when the prohibitions will be lifted, and they are in place until “further notice.”
The Bureau of Reclamation announced the change at New Melones in December, the Tri-Dam project made the decision for Lake Tulloch in February, and the Woodward Reservoir came last week.
The Stanislaus County Parks and Recreation District, which oversees Woodward Reservoir, reports, “The golden mussel is a highly adaptive filter-feeding organism known for its ability to rapidly colonize and disrupt aquatic systems. It poses a significant risk to native species by consuming essential microscopic organisms and threatening infrastructure by clogging water delivery systems and related facilities.”
The concern is that if the golden mussel attaches to a boat, it can then take it to another waterway and infest the new location.
The Stanislaus National Forest also put out a recent warning about the golden mussels, which you can read here.
