What Lies Beneath
January 17, 2025 at 11:59PMLake Tahoe has an invasive algae problem and the Tahoe Environmental Research Center is trying to figure out why. Are Asian clams, which have proliferated since 2002, the culprit? Are clams and algae “in cahoots”? Are there other, so-far secret animal alliances influencing the lake? What about warming waters due to climate change? Many nonnative species have been introduced—intentionally and accidentally—since 1875. What role does each play? For Bay Nature magazine, Sonya Bennett-Brandt plunges in to unravel why aquatic invasive species (AIS) are threatening Lake Tahoe and learn about what’s being done.
On the lake bed, the pale shells of one suspect shimmer through the haze: Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea), first discovered on Tahoe’s south shore in 2002 and now legion. The algae aren’t invasive, but the clams are—and the two seem to be in cahoots. As clam infestations have crept up the east side of the lake, the algae has followed.
Usually, the trout are unceremoniously piped into the lake a few thousand at a time—but in July, I join a more intimate stocking at Meeks Beach to celebrate the (Washoe) tribe’s connection with the fish.
First, the stars arrive: 30 young Lahontan cutthroat trout in a glass box. They shimmer pink-green-gold, speckled with dark polka dots. Tribal members and other beachgoers gather around to admire, take photos, and make jokes (“They eat anything, so even you could catch one,” says one old fisherman to another).
Washoe Tribe Chairman Serrell Smokey speaks. “This is what our ancestors fed off of for thousands of years. They’ve been overtaken by invasive species,” he says. “We’re doing our part to keep the lands and the waters as they always have been so that they can continue to keep us alive.” He describes old photographs of tribal elders holding five-foot-long trout. These foot-long youngsters have a long way to go. “Hopefully, they grow up to be big.”
More picks on conservation
The Big Life — and Looming Death — of a Rocky Mountain Defender
“He says that experience left him with a different understanding of his work and its purpose.”
The Butterfly Redemption
“For the women who raised them, it’s surprisingly hard to let go.”
The Powerful Potential Of Tiny Conservation Plots
“Making space for environmental conservation in our densest concrete jungles.”
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/01/17/what-lies-beneath-2/
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