The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York State Canal Corporation are expanding operational changes at Champlain Canal locks between Waterford and Stillwater as a precaution after detecting round goby at the lock in Halfmoon.
While no physical round goby have been found, its eDNA, or “environmental DNA,” has been detected.
Operational changes under a Rapid Response Plan to help prevent the spread of invasive species into the Lake Champlain Basin are being implemented including no overnight mooring and double draining at specified locks.
The round goby was found in the Hudson River near Troy in 2021 and the DEC says the Eurasian species is “one of the most significant invasive threats to New York State waters, particularly Lake Champlain.”
