Rusty crayfish were first detected in Trout Lake, Vilas County, Wisconsin, in 1979 (Lodge et al. 1986) near a heavily used boat landing. It is suspected that this species was introduced to the lake sometime between 1973 and 1979 based on historical trapping data (Lodge et al. 1986).
Rusty crayfish are now found throughout much of south-central and southeastern Ontario, including Manitoulin Island, the Magnetawan River, the Kawartha Lakes Basin and the Ottawa River Basin, and in northwestern Ontario. Outside their native range in the Ohio River Basin, they have also spread to the midwestern and northeastern United States (Ontario Factsheet). They are commonly found in lakes, rivers, ponds and streams with clay, silt and gravel bottoms that contain rocks, logs or debris that they can hide under.
Distribution Map Provided by EDDMapS