Invasive Eurasian water milfoil is flourishing in Wisconsin’s lakes, sometimes outcompeting native plants and creating floating mats that cause problems for people, boats and property values. But new research shows that the benefits of using one type of historical lake-wide herbicide treatment may be outweighed by the costs to native aquatic plants. Lake management teams
In response to a plan put together by Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, council members decided to decline the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s offer to apply herbicide treatments in areas of watermilfoil infestation. This option came at no cost to the city, but the idea of herbicides in the water made many residents cringe. After
Leave the weed cutting on lakes to the professionals, was one common theme at Thursday morning’s Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency meeting in New York. Invasive species have proved to be particularly difficult to manage this year, and in areas such as Cayuga Lake and Skaneateles Lake, agencies have found property owners with good
The ongoing battle against aquatic weeds on Kenosha County’s inland lakes is getting tougher as one of the most invasive species is developing an herbicide-resistant strain, and ongoing drought changes the landscape of the lakes. Without artificial control methods, the lake weeds would make Camp Lake and Paddock Lake, among others difficult to navigate as
The winter phase of the milfoil control program on Osoyoos Lake in British Columbia, Canada, got underway last week as water temperatures continued to cool. Unlike during the summer, when a machine cuts and harvests the tops of the invasive weed, between October and April a rototiller is used to pull the plant up by
Since milfoil was first discovered in Lake George in 1985, roughly 200 locations where it is growing in the lake have been found. Officials have been able to manage the invasive Eurasian watermilfoil, which competes with and can displace native aquatic plants. Now, officials are hopeful that a three-year push to remove milfoil from Lake
Every summer, two Chelan County Public Utilities Division (Wenatchee, Washington) park maintenance workers use an Aquarius Systems weed harvester to cut and remove tons of Eurasian milfoil from parks and boat launches along the Columbia River. Without the PUD’s harvesting program, boat launches and swimming areas would be choked with weeds. The benefit from the
Plants that grow in and around water can have an impact on the long-term health of our area lakes. For this reason, the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board completes aquatic plant surveys on Minneapolis lakes every two to three years. These surveys document the increase or decline in different species of aquatic plants. Eurasian watermilfoil
Lake Minnetonka is the 9th largest lake in Minnesota and of the most popular among boaters, fishermen and recreationalists. However, the popularity doesn’t come without environmental issues. Invasive species such as curly-leaf pondweed, purple loosestrife, Eurasian watermilfoil and zebra mussels have been discovered as well as dealing with various sources of pollution which has affected
A study by the Center for Limnology at UW-Madison says invasive species usually exist in low number and that overabundance is NOT the most common scenario. “Invasive species are often thought of as species that take over wherever they get in,” says Jake Vander Zanden, a UW limnology professor who directed the research. “But, in