wisconsin lakes – Aquarius-Systems

White River Harvesting Restores Flow and Waterway Health

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 21:32:44 +0000

The Friends of the White River in Wisconsin saw their 2013 weed harvest get off to a good start on Wednesday, June 26.

The harvester and operators were on lease from the White River Flowage Lake Management District. The harvester, by the end of work on June 27, harvested an estimated 50,000 pounds of aquatic vegetation currently choking out the waterway.

A very positive impact on the millpond can be seen from the Highway 73 bridge. The channels cut are extremely obvious and show what a clean body of water can look like. A healthy millpond remains the focus of most Friends members. If the millpond is not maintained, impacts on other parts of the White River will be noticed in years to come.

Protecting Wisconsin Waters for 50 Years

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 15:08:48 +0000

The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Wisconsin’s unique lake law, Chapter 33: Public Inland Waters. The legislature and governor worked together in the early 1970s to establish a collaborative research and management framework that lives on today as the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership. The law also created a pathway for landowners around lakes to form Public Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Districts.

Today, over 250 lake districts in Wisconsin undertake lake protection and rehabilitation projects for the benefit of all lake users. As we gather in Stevens Point for the annual convention, we’ll look back at the progress made over 50 years of partnering to protect and restore these waters. We’ll also look ahead to the next 50 years to ensure that future generations of lake lovers will continue our legacy of proactive lake, river and watershed management.

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Starry Stonewort Spreads in Wisconsin Lakes Despite Control Efforts

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 21:09:28 +0000

In August of 2018 starry stonewort, an aquatic invasive species was found in a lagoon of Geneva Lake and within a year it was found in Geneva Lake. Initially it was hoped that the isolated population in the lagoon could be eradicated by dredging before it got into the lake, but the attempts failed and two populations were found in the lake during the summer of 2019.

Starry stonewort is a macro-algae that was brought to the United States as a “hitchhiker” from Eurasia. It was first found in the United States in 1978 in the St. Lawrence River, but it is now found in several Great Lake states. It was first discovered in Wisconsin in September 2014, and is now known to be in more than 14 different lakes, including the shore waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has tried different approaches to control starry stonewort and has had mixed results. Perhaps the most promising starry stonewort management is to manage the lake’s entire aquatic plant community for biodiversity and community richness, and let the healthy community keep starry stonewort from becoming a nuisance. A healthy aquatic community, strong boater education with the Clean Boats and Clean Waters Program and continual lake plant community monitoring offers the most promising future for our lakes in managing aquatic invasive species.

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