A Service biologists holds second year winged mapleleaf mussels collected from a cage in the St. Croix River near Hudson, Wisconsin. - FWS photo

On October 4, Nick Rowse, Twin Cities Field Office, Scott Yess and Ann Runstrom, La Crosse Fishery Resources Office, Byron Karns, St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, National Park Service, and Mark Hove, University of Minnesota checked on status of winged mapleleaf mussels that were propagated in 2004 and currently are being held in cages in the St. Croix River across from the City of Hudson, Wisconsin. 

Twenty four live winged mapleleaf were identified and cleaned prior to being placed back into one cage and back into the St. Croix River.  Along with these winged mapleleaf, all three cages were heavily infested inside with hundreds of live zebra mussels and dozens of Asian clams.  Both zebra mussels and Asian clams are exotic and were introduced into the St. Croix River.