OWASCO, CAYUGA COUNTY (AP) -- Officials in the Finger Lakes hope to get rid of invasive Asian clams in Owasco Lake by freezing them this winter.

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that Cayuga County plans to lower the lake level more than usual in hopes of freezing the tiny golden clams that have invaded the sandy bottom at the north end of the lake.

The clams can trigger algae blooms, turning the water cloudy and green. Officials have spent millions of dollars trying to control them in Lake Tahoe, and scientists are trying to smother colonies that showed up last year in Lake George in the eastern Adirondacks.

The clams are introduced when people dump aquariums or bait buckets. They multiply very quickly.

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