RENO, Nev. – The discovery of invasive mussels in a series of high-elevation lakes in the Rocky Mountains is causing concern that the same thing could happen at Lake Tahoe and other parts of the Sierra.

The quagga and zebra mussel larvae were found this summer at Lake Granby and two connected reservoirs in Colorado.

Steve Chilton of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says Lake Granby probably was viewed to be at less risk for the invasive critters than Tahoe, so that should diminish some of the confidence that Tahoe could be immune to such an invasion.

The mussels native to Eurasia and are believed to have arrived in the United States through the ballast of ships. They first were discovered in the Great Lakes in the 1980s and were found in Lake Mead in southern Nevada in January 2007.

Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, www.rgj.com