COLUMBUS, OH - Biologists with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife were recently honored for their research efforts to protect Ohio's waterways from invasive zebra mussels.
The American Fisheries Society (AFS), the nation's oldest and largest professional fisheries organization, judged the joint ODNR Division of Wildlife and The Ohio State University (OSU) zebra mussel research project as the best of 2000.
The award, presented last week by AFS officials at the Ohio Fish and Wildlife Management Association annual meeting, is the third fisheries research award that the ODNR Division of Wildlife has received in the past eight years.
According to ODNR, the cooperative study was conducted to protect Ohio lakes from the spread of zebra mussels, an exotic species that causes extensive damage to the Great Lakes ecosystems.
OSU's Dr. Dave Culver and biologists from ODNR's seven state fish hatcheries developed inexpensive procedures to detect and destroy zebra mussel larvae. This research will help state fisheries biologists use an inexpensive method to prevent the possible spread of zebra mussels from hatcheries to Ohio's waterways.
The study was paid for by Sport Fish Restoration funds which come from a federal excise tax on fishing tackle and marine fuel.
"This award reflects Ohio's commitment to preventing the spread of this non-native aquatic species, which seriously threatens the ecology of our lakes and streams," said Gary Isbell, executive administrator for fish management with the ODNR Division of Wildlife. "We would like to thank Ohio's anglers for their help in this successful and practical research project."
For Further Information Contact:
Gary Isbell or Chip Gross, ODNR Division of Wildlife
(614) 265-6300
-or-
Andy Ware, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6882