Emerald Bay Asian Clam Control

Partners: California State Parks, UC Davis, Lahontan Water Quality Control Board, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Funds Granted: $38,750

Within Emerald Bay, a small, fast-multiplying invader known as the Asian clam threatens to overwhelm the nearshore ecosystem of this world-famous inlet. In 2012, a team of scientists and divers covered approximately 5 acres of the lake bottom with black rubber matting to smother the clams by cutting off their oxygen supply. It was the largest Asian clam control project in the lake’s history and the first time the technique, developed by UC Davis researchers, has ever been tried on this scale. The research team then looked for funding to treat the remaining half-acre area of the population that was left untreated. The rubber mats were removed in late 2014 and initial testing estimated at least a 90% mortality rate.