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Wisconsin conservationists want to spread the word about a tiny invasive snail that can hitch a ride on fishing boots and withstand powerful cleaners such as bleach or ammonia.

The New Zealand mud snail takes over trout streams, competes with local organisms and can even affect fish health. It has been in the western United States for decades, but, until last fall, there were no reports of it in Wisconsin streams.

A presentation scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University will provide the public with more information on Potamopyrgus antipodarum and the invasive species’ threat to Wisconsin streams.

“It is what it is, and now let’s just prevent future spread,” said Scott Caven, La Crosse area aquatic invasive species coordinator for the River Alliance of Wisconsin.

The mud snail was first discovered in the Badger State last fall, when the Department of Natural Resources warned of the snail’s presence in a Dane County trout stream.