What started out as a small problem has gotten too big to ignore. This week, a team of scientists and local organizations launch a more than two month long effort to rid Lake George of the invasive Asian Clam. Our Matt Hunter has the story.

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LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. – To the uninformed observer, the tiny Asian Clam may look appetizing, but to those charged with keeping Lake George pristine, they're a real headache.

"It's a huge concern for Lake George because Asian Clams are really one of the few invasive species that can change water qualities," Fund for Lake George Executive Director Peter Bauer said.

First discovered last August by a graduate student at RPI's Darrin Freshwater Institute, scientists now believe there are at least several hundred thousand of the invasive species living in the south basin of the lake alone, covering a five to six acre stretch.

This week, a team of local organizations lead by the Fresh Water Institute, launched a $415,000 effort to remove the clams from the lake's floor.

"Essentially, we're using mats to smother the clams,” Darrin Fresh Water Institute executive director Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer said. “So unlike when mats have been placed in Lake George to kill [Eurasian] milfoil, in that instance, we were preventing sunlight to kill the plants. In this instance in order for us to kill the clams, we need to reduce the oxygen concentrations under the mats to as close to zero as possible."

Scientists have roughly three weeks to lay the roughly 900 mats over a five to six acre area, where they'll sit for about 45 days and hopefully kill the hundreds of thousands of clams at the bottom of the lake.

Like all invasive species, scientists believe the Asian Clam was brought into the lake by humans.

While efforts to control other organisms like Eurasian Milfoil have been unsuccessful, many believe this plan will work.

"Lake George was one of the first lakes that had it [milfoil],” Bauer said. “We did not act quick enough. Because of all the boats that come into Lake George, because of the popularity of Lake George, they exported milfoil to many other lakes across the park. We don't want to repeat that with the Asian Clam."