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
Spraying chemicals can be dangerous to the environment in many ways. But for Floridians, they can contribute to harmful algae blooms and damaging releases along the coast. There are other ways to remove invasive plant species that may not require chemical spraying. James Douglass, an environmental scientist at Florida Gulf Coast University says the other
In recent years Fox Lake in Wisconsin has responded to a decade of water quality management that has shifted the lake from being turbid with frequent algae blooms to a clearer water condition. This has fostered improved lake use, the return of aquatic plants and a more balanced fishery. One consequence of the water quality
In July, the last known patches of Giant Salvinia, an invasive and aggressive aquatic plant at the Barnett Reservoir in Mississippi, were eliminated. The vegetation was treated with multiple chemicals and then removed, but after six months of Giant Salvinia being absent from the lake, the cleanup team discovered the unwelcomed guest. Apparently a stray
The Okanagan Basin Water Board milfoil program has been so successful over the past five decades. Aquatic weed harvesters used in significant areas with milfoil infestation on Okanagan Lake, British Columbia, Canada are now clear of the invasive plant. Meanwhile, the water board continues to work with the province and environmental consultants to expand existing
County legislators are considering providing some type of support to a group trying to get rid of the Eurasian milfoil infestation in Black Lake, New York. The milfoil problem is exacerbated when propellers on boats going through the lake chop it up (prop chop) the and spread its seeds. Legislators debated what methods could stop
Hartbeespoort Dam in South Africa has a new invasive aquatic weed to battle, Salvinia minima. The proliferation of common salvinia, just as water hyacinth came under biological control through the combined efforts is no coincidence. In areas that experience high levels of nutrient inflow (pollution), the control of one aquatic weed opens resources to other
A public boat launch doesn’t necessarily make access to a lake free. There are costs involved in keeping the waters weed free, navigable for recreation and stocked with fish. McDill Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District’s president Krista Olson asks people visiting any lake to utlize the donation boxes. Those donations are very important for
Benefits of Weed Harvesting Dr. Stephen J. Souza Lake Hopatcong Commission Environmental Consultant One of the most obvious management activities of the Lake Hopatcong Commission is the weed harvesting program. Some may view this as a simple “mowing” of the Lake. However, much more is accomplished than simply opening boating lanes and improving swimming. The
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