Lake County supervisors authorize interim funding and state advocacy after mussel-prevention grant denied

Lake County supervisors voted unanimously to approve interim funding and state-level advocacy after the county’s 2025 quagga and zebra mussel prevention grant application was denied.

At the board’s meeting, Pawan Upadhyay, Lake County Water Resources Director, told supervisors the county’s application to the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways — a request for $399,520 to support the Clear Lake Mussel Prevention Project — was denied because of a clerical oversight. Staff filed a formal appeal on July 24, 2025, and asked the board to authorize additional steps while the appeal is pending.

The action matters because ramp monitors and other prevention work are the county’s primary defenses against invasive mussels. Upadhyay said suspension of monitoring would raise the risk of quagga and zebra mussel introduction to Clear Lake, which could “significantly alter lake ecology,” damage infrastructure and recreational uses, and harm fisheries that are important to the county’s economy.

The board authorized three principal measures: affirming continuation of the formal appeal process; authorizing letters to Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry urging state intervention; and authorizing county staff to partner…