Focus on Restoration of Aquatic Vegetation

Sun, 03 Jan 2016 21:17:00 +0000

For years it has been about getting rid of aquatic vegetation, but perhaps 2016 will be a year to focus on the restoration and the necessity of these plants to create a healthy fishery and the overall health of the ecosystem.

Marsh Lake lies within the Lac qui Parle Wildlife Management area, which is managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In the fall, as many as 150,000 Canada geese use the management area at one time. Marsh Lake is also home to Minnesota’s largest breeding colony of American white pelicans and several species of fish.

This past year, DNR crews surveying the lake were only able to find one stand of Sago pondweed. It’s a staple food source for migrating waterfowl, and one of the reasons that Marsh Lake was once known as a duck hunter’s mecca. The lake once held beds of thick Sago pondweed. Healthy stands of submerged aquatic vegetation provide food for waterfowl, habitat for other migratory birds, fish and crabs.

A key component of the project is to do what nature once did, and allow lake levels to fluctuate. A fixed-crest dam installed in 1937 has not allowed for natural fluctuations and as a result, contributed to the demise of aquatic vegetation that relies on natural water level cycles.

The Marsh Lake project calls for adding a sluice gate structure to the fixed-crest dam to allow periodic drawdowns of the lake to allow aquatic vegetation to re-establish itself. The plan would also include elements to improve fishery habitat and stabilize the riverbanks by restoring natural vegetation.

Lake Mattamuskeet is the centerpiece of the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge located in North Carolina. The lake is home to an abundant diversity of wildlife — from the hundreds of thousands of waterfowl that winter on the lake each year to a unique fishery that consists of both freshwater and estuarine species.

Beginning in 2016, a habitat enhancement project will be implemented; focusing on maintaining submerged aquatic vegetation parts of the lake as well as increasing aquatic vegetation coverage in other areas. Healthy stands of submerged aquatic vegetation provide food for waterfowl, habitat for other migratory birds, fish and crabs. Submerged aquatic vegetation is very limited in the west basin of Lake Mattamuskeet, and in recent years has steadily declined in the east basin.

Lulu Lake Restoration Combines History and Invasive Species Control

Wed, 04 Sep 2013 21:02:00 +0000

Located about six miles northwest of East Troy, Wisconsin; sits a small 95 acre lake surrounded by high quality wetlands and rich marshes. In terms of ecological importance, Lulu Lake ranks high on the list of Wisconsin’s lakes. The lake and its watershed comprise one of Wisconsin’s highest quality natural areas.

Prior to electric refrigeration, Lulu Lake was known for its “winter agriculture”. The ice from Lulu Lake was especially prized by breweries and dairies for its pristine cleanliness. Area farmers and farmhands would take teams of horses and hand-powered tools to the lake and cut blocks of ice and move them into nearby icehouses.

Ice cakes weighing nearly 200 pounds were stored in these icehouses until shipment; usually by rail in special boxcars. Sawdust, marsh hay or snow would be packed between the blocks to keep them from freezing together. The ice would be shipped around the region, to Milwaukee and Chicago nearly all year long. The hard, clear water is home to nearly 60 species of fish, including five that are threatened or endangered, and 14-15 species of mussels, including one where Lulu Lake is the only place in the state it still reproduces as well as a diverse population of amphibians, reptiles and fauna.

The shoreline surrounding Lulu Lake is 97 percent owned by the Department of Natural Resources and the Nature Conservancy. It has no boat entry point other than by canoe via the Mukwonago River or by boat through the channel from Eagle Spring Lake. There are no beaches as the shoreline is all natural, surrounded by a large wetland, streams, bogs, prairies and woodlands.

Unfortunately where there are boats, there are aquatic invasive species and ten years ago Eurasian water milfoil was found in the glacial formed lake. On a typical summer weekend there can be up to 10o pontoon boats in addition to canoes and kayaks. That is a lot of material getting through from various places on the boats and a lot of vegetation getting chopped in propellers to settle and establish in a new location on the lake.

Once it takes root, milfoil forms thick mats of tangled stems that make recreational activities, such as swimming and fishing difficult and sometimes impossible. It impairs the ability of fish to spawn and displaces native aquatic plants that cranes, ducks, geese, and other waterfowl need to survive.

To help rid the lake of Eurasian watermilfoil, several times a year The Nature Conservancy mobilizes teams of scuba divers, snorkelers and interns in canoes to remove the thick clusters of the invasive species. The milfoil is hand pulled and loaded into buckets on the canoes. The buckets are taken to shore where they are left to dry and then later burned.

Dr. Timothy Gerber, professor of biology at UW-LaCrosse working with Jerry Ziegler, southeast Wisconsin land steward with the Nature Conservancy developed an innovative technology they hope will prevent the milfoil from returning and reestablish native aquatic plants in the process.

Native plants are interwoven into large mats, which are then submerged directly over areas where milfoil was removed. This is new technology, so its effectiveness will take time to evaluate, but everyone involved is hoping that the tedious process of pulling and matting will benefit not only Lulu Lake, returning it to its former glory, but will benefit the entire 18-mile Mukwonago River System.

Learn More About Lulu Lake

aquatic restoration – Aquarius-Systems

Focus on Restoration of Aquatic Vegetation

Lulu Lake Restoration Combines History and Invasive Species Control