Tough Snail Infests Mountain Areas

The New Zealand mudsnails originally found in Agoura Hills’ Medea Creek have permeated the sites of four watersheds in the Santa Monica Mountains over the last four years, threatening local wildlife and steelhead restoration efforts in the area.

The tiny mollusks, which reproduce asexually, now infest area waterways like Cold Creek, Malibu Lagooon and Malibou Lake, as well as the watersheds of Malibu, Ramirez, Solstice and Trancas Creek.

It’s possible that attempts by environmentalists to protect these areas by testing the water might have spread the snails—which reproduce asexually and are about the size of a grain of rice—because they attach themselves to things like Velcro.