The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be using a new classification system for zebra mussels in lakes to better describe the impact.
The new standards classify lakes as the following:
1, Suspect, if there is one verifiable detection of zebra mussels.
2, Positive, if there are multiple or repeated detections.
3, Infested, if the water body has an established, reproducing population.
Currently, six Texas lakes are classified as infested: Texoma, Ray Roberts, Lewisville, Bridgeport, Dean Gilbert and Belton. Dean Gilbert is a tiny lake in Sherman.
Lakes Waco and Lavon have been reclassified as positive under the new system because there is no evidence of reproduction.
“Transitioning to this classification system helps us paint a better picture for the public what is happening with zebra mussels in our lakes,” Monica McGarrity, Austin Aquatic Invasive Species Team Leader for the TPWD, said.

Game wardens respond to flooding

Texas game wardens have been busy responding to floods that have inundated many communities during the past few days.
Game wardens conducted more than 170 water rescues of individuals and families due to rising flood waters.
“The Texas game wardens’ knowledge of the waterways and back country areas have allowed them to quickly locate and rescue those who have been trapped by the floods,” said Texas Game Warden Maj. William Skeen.
Wardens were dispatched in all the affected counties, including: Palo Pinto, Parker, Johnson, Harris, Waller, Austin, Montgomery, Grimes, Fayette, Colorado, Falls and Milam.

Striped bass rebound 

Striped bass and white bass in Lake Texoma are rebounding from flooding events that took place in 2015.
The lake went over the spillway twice during the year because of excessive rains in north Texas.
Fisheries management crews from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation recently completed their annual gillnet assessment of fish populations in Lake Texoma.
Winter gillnetting is used to monitor fish population trends every year.
The striped bass population in Lake Texoma has a majority of fish more than 20 inches long. Read more from this notebook in the April 23 Bowie News.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is using a new classification system for zebra mussels, one of the worst invasive species found in Texas. (Courtesy photo provided by the TPWD, used with permission)