State officials may have solved the puzzle of how zebra mussels got into the Colorado River. On July 3, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials discovered a large number of adult zebra mussels in a privately owned body of water in western Eagle County. On Monday, Madeline Baker, an invasive species specialist with CPW, told members of the Colorado Basin Roundtable they believe this private lake is an upstream source of the mussels that have contaminated the Colorado River, the Government Highline Canal, Highline Lake and Mack Mesa Lake. … Baker said that the lake’s owner is collaborating with CPW on a mitigation plan. … Zebra mussels are a prolific invasive species that if left unchecked could clog irrigation infrastructure, and strip the plankton and nutrients from the water. 

Other Colorado River Basin news:

• The Greeley Tribune (Colo.): Opinion: Let us not take our rivers for granted
• High Country News (Paonia, Colo.): Flow like the San Juan