EWM Treatment

July 13, 2011

The Long Lake Association supervised the chemical treatment of 6 sites of Eurasian Watermilfoil totaling approximately 25,000 square feet on Wednesday, July 13, 2011.  The treatment was with “Navigate”, a 2,4-d product, and was applied by Aquatic Doctors.  The treatment was in accordance with the stated policy of the association to minimize the use of chemical.  The lake continues to maintain a total of well below 10 acres of Eurasian Watermilfoil.

In attendance and assisting in the treatment were, Ron Albers, Dan Marks, Jake Kaberle, Pug Rundio, Eddie Sims and Dennis Wiand.  The effectiveness of the treatment will be assessed in the first week of August, 2011.  The Lake Management Committee recognizes and appreciates the assistance of Don Erenberger and Phil Sachtleben in securing releases from property owners in many of the treatment areas.

As noted in the minutes of the LLA Annual Meeting, Matt Preisser of the MDEQ rode along with Dennis and Ron during the EWM survey. Afterwards, he e-mailed them with observations. Some excerpts from his e-mail follow:

In terms of your lake management strategy, I feel you are doing a great job. In my opinion, three of the most important things you need to effectively manage a lake are committed lake residents, local government buy-in, and a stable source of funding. You clearly have all three. You also have access to technology (GPS, laptop, color maps, website) which is a bonus.

Whenever you have a lake problem (EWM) with multiple solutions (herbicides, weevils, harvesting, etc.), you are bound to have internal disagreements. Most lakes have staunchly pro-herbicide people, pro-weevil people, and then everyone else is in between. None of the currently available methods will rid your lake of EWM forever (or even for a few years). Each has its pros and cons. Your strategy of doing a little bit of both is a good strategy. You are following the basic tenets of “integrated pest management” (see http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/factsheets/ipm.htm).

With regard to new invasive species, I do want to call your attention to some new species that are spreading within the Great Lakes region. It would be wise to learn about these plants and monitor for their presence in you lake:

1. Phragmites (common or giant reed) – this is an emergent plant that grows around the shoreline, similar to a cattail. There is a native variety, but an invasive form is spreading within the Grand Traverse region. It is usually pretty conspicuous (established stands can grow 12 – 15 feet tall), so it would be relatively easy to see (unlike underwater plants like EWM). I watched for it when you took me around your lake and I didn’t see any along the shore. DEQ has a special page set up for this plant: http://www.michigan.gov/deqinlandlakes (click on Aquatic Nuisance “Control, then look under Information – Control and Management of Invasive Phragmites).
2. Hydrilla and Brazilian elodea. These are two exotic species that look somewhat similar to each other. They are both underwater plants. Superficially, they appear similar to native elodea (Elodea Canadensis), which complicates matters. Hydrilla is “the EWM” of the south – Florida alone spends millions of dollars controlling it. For a long time, it was believed that neither plant could survive Michigan’s cold latitudes, however populations of Hydrilla were recently found in Maine, then northern Indiana, and Wisconsin, and last year in New York. You should become familiar with these species. They would be ever harder and more costly to control then EWM.http://www..miseagrant.umich.edu/ais/hydrilla.html

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