A new invasive species has turned up in Lake Champlain. Scientists with the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program say a volunteer found a golden clam in a lakebed in Whitehall, New York. The clams, also known as Asian Clams, are an aquatic invasive species that are native to the Eastern Mediterranean.
The concern is, if they get a foothold in the lake, they might crowd out other native species and help produce more cyanobacteria blooms. The clams were first found in the region back in 2008, in the Champlain Canal, and then 3 years later in Lake George. Both of those waterways drain into Lake Champlain.