More and more environmental groups are making noise about the devastating impact winter salting has on the environment which is raising awareness and forcing lawmakers to look at alternative solutions. In Canada alone, the country applies five million tonnes (over 110 billion pounds) of salt during an average winter. This salt contaminates ground and freshwater,
According to Nick Brown, DNR invasive species specialist, herbicides used to treat curly-leaf pondweed on Minnesota lakes may not lead to improvements in water quality. Curly-leaf pondweed is an invasive plant found throughout much of Minnesota. The plant grows slowly throughout the winter under the ice, but once the ice has left the lake the
According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the invasive quagga mussel is primed to make a comeback despite years of slowed growth. The reason? Quaggas can be spread by watercraft, and recent boat sales data from the National Marine Manufacturers Association shows that sales are robust. More vessels are filling state lakes, rivers, reservoirs
The Department of Natural Resources has completed a Strategic Analysis of Aquatic Plant Management (APM) in Wisconsin, summarizing current information on APM and potential management alternatives. The Strategic Analysis report [PDF] will help inform decision-makers and the public about this topic and aid in the development of future APM policy. While aquatic plants are a
Ocean Conservancy released the results of the 2019 International Coastal Clean-up, revealing that for the first time in ICC history, cigarette butts were displaced as the number-one-reported debris item along beaches and waterways worldwide. Instead, food wrappers topped the list, with 943,195 volunteers removing a record 4,771,602 food wrappers in a single day. Food wrappers
Pewaukee Lake is the largest of the ninety-one lakes located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. It is a premier lake for Musky, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Largemouth bass. It supports a diverse plant community that is dominated by Eurasian watermilfoil. The Lake Pewaukee Sanitary District is in charge of lake management and its program consists of
In the 1970’s a group of private property owners dammed the Middle Raccoon River to form Lake Panorama. When the river rises, either due to heavy rain or snow melt not only does the excess water drain into the lake, but so does the debris the rushing waters carry. The debris mostly consists of organic
Common practice is to remove river plants to prevent the slowing of the water flow and to prevent flooding during high rainfall events, but according to one research scientist the vegetation can act as a natural buffer. She believes that the plant removal not only threatens the a naturally balanced water level but threatens a
In 2013, Lake Michigan lake levels bottomed out after a 15-year span of lows that was the longest in recorded history. Now, the high-water is sending the roughly 4.2 million people who live within two miles of the coast scrambling. 2019 which was the wettest on record in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and precipitation was