Kitsap Lake Uses Phoslock and Weed Harvesting to Reduce Algae Blooms

/ Published in Algae & Harmful Algal Blooms, Water Quality & Pollution
HM-420 Harvester Cutting Hydrilla
It’s a familiar sight to residents living on the shores of Kitsap Lake in Washington: each summer, around the beginning of June, a bright green algae begins to creep across the water. These blooms can be harmful to people and pets and have forced closures of Kitsap Lake and its beaches every year for the

Curly-Leaf Pondweed Washes Ashore in Clear Lake as Its Seasonal Life Cycle Ends

/ Published in Aquatic Invasive Species, Resources
urly-leaf pondweed is a rooted, submersed aquatic plant
In mid-June in Clear Lake, much of the curly-leaf pondweed had reached the end of its life cycle, and the weeds washing ashore are just a result of that.  Curly-leaf pondweed begins to grow during the fall at the bottom of bodies of water, like Clear Lake, with its life cycle coming to an end

Study Finds Strategic Weed Harvesting Can Remove Phosphorus and Support Clear Lake Management

/ Published in Lake & Waterway Management, Resources
Aquatic Plant Harvester Removing Weeds
Intensive in-lake and watershed management caused Kohlman Lake, the northernmost lake in the Phalen Chain of Lakes in Minnesota, to go from a relatively turbid to a clear water state. Aquatic plants responded to the clean waters by growing up to the surface. The change in lake state and a comprehensive water quality monitoring dataset

Dane County Weed Harvesters Cut Dense Aquatic Plants to Improve Navigation and Reduce Flood Risk

/ Published in Aquatic Plant Management, Lake & Waterway Management
Aquatic Weed Harvester
Floating weed harvesters have opened passages through Dane County Wisconsin’s dense tangles of underwater plants for about 50 years. The barges wield rotating cutting bars like those on farm combines to cut a submerged crop that is fertilized too well by runoff of nutrients like dairy manure. Each spring, the county launches a flotilla of

Balancing Aquatic Plant Growth in TVA Waterways

/ Published in Aquatic Invasive Species, Aquatic Plant Management
Harvesting Channels Through Aquatic Vegetation
Aquatic plants, whether invasive or native, can be described as either a mess or a resource.  Natural plant growth covers 20 – 40% of the water and includes a diversity of plants.   However, invasive plants such as Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla and water hyacinth quickly take over a lake covering 60% and sometimes 100% of the

Focus on Restoration of Aquatic Vegetation

/ Published in Aquatic Plant Management
Cattails and Lily Pads
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

Aquatic Weed Harvesters Are a Long-Term, Cost-Effective Solution

/ Published in Aquatic Plant Management, Blog
Inland Lake Harvester with Seaplane
It is exhausting reading about lake after lake after lake becoming infested with an over abundance of aquatic vegetation.  This plant material not only negatively affects water quality, the health of the fishery, recreation, aesthetics, but it is financially devastating as well. It affects tourism; bait shops, marinas, hotels, restaurants.  It affects lake property owners;

Why Mechanical Harvesting Is a Smarter Way to Manage Lake Weeds

/ Published in Blog, Lake & Waterway Management
Harvesting aquatic milfoil and algae in Minnesota with HM-420 Harvester
Unlike using chemicals, or doing nothing at all, the advantages of harvesting include: – Immediate relief from nuisance plants that interfere with navigation and recreation – Immediate use of the water for swimming or irrigation – There is nothing foreign introduced to the environment when using mechanical control – Biomass is removed from the water