FARGO (KFGO-AM) Immature zebra mussels have been found in the headwaters of the Red River.
Fred Ryckman, North Dakota Game & Fish Department Invasive Species Coordinator says it's not a surprise. Small numbers of the tiny mussels turned up in the same area in 2011, coming in the Otter Tail River, from an infested Minnesota tributary. The lastest discovery is near Wahpeton
He says adult zebra mussels are within 20 miles of the river's mouth and that the veligers can easily drift into the Red River, although it doesn't appear they've been able to establish an adult population in the mainstem.
The North Dakota Game & Fish Department and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service sampled major waterways in the state this summer, including locations along the Red all the way to the Canadian border. Ryckman says the other sites all came back negative for zebra mussels.