By KRWG News
New Mexico – State agencies are inspecting boats at major New Mexico lakes over the Fourth of July holiday, looking for invasive mussels.
State Department of Game and Fish and State Parks Division officials are conducting mandatory inspections, while the Army Corps of Engineers is doing courtesy boat inspections.
Members of the public are advised to arrive at the boat ramp with a clean, dry boat and be ready to answer questions about where they were boating most recently.
Agents are checking for aquatic invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels, which occur in some bodies of water in states around New Mexico.
They're carried from place to place on boat trailers and boats.
The mussels reproduce rapidly, causing environmental damage.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.