| Grant for control of Curly-leaf Pondweed & Eurasian Watermilfoil |
LSIA / Lake Sarah Grant Application for whole lake chemical weed treatment did not receive funding for 2009 (3/10/09). The LSIA has emailed and mailed a letter to members and shoreline property owners that discusses the issue of CLP/EWM control and their objectives and recommendations going forward. Click here to view the LSIA letter in .doc format. The official notification of the failure of the grant application came in an email from Wendy Crowell thanking the association for their interest in the pilot project grant program for lake-wide control of Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed. Wendy notified us of the DNR's decision to not fund the lake Sarah proposed project. The MNDNR received 47 applications and were able to fund 27 proposed projects this year. According to her email, the DNR selected projects which had at least one pre-treatment survey from 2006 or later, where the curly-leaf pondweed or Eurasian watermilfoil was at least 25% of the littoral zone, and where we believed the proposed treatment had a good chance of doing more good than harm.
LSIA / Lake Sarah whole lake weed treatment program - Spring 2009. In February 2009, Lake Sarah residents received a letter from the Lake Sarah Improvement Association (LSIA) recommending shoreline property owners wait to finalize their personal aquatic weed control plans for this coming summer. LSIA V.P. Dan Cady has applied for a grant to partially fund a larger, “whole lake” chemical control plan (see below for grant information). The proposed 3+ year program would target both Curly-leaf Pondweed (CLP) and Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM). Grant money, if received from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR), would cover a portion but not all of the costs associated with the annual treatments. Additional funds from the residents and community would be required for the treatment program to proceed. Specifics will be posted on this website and in upcoming email and mailed newsletters as they become available.
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Description of grants for pilot projects to control curly-leaf pondweed and/or milfoil
The purpose of offering these funds is to allow a limited number of well-planned lake-wide or bay-wide projects to control curly-leaf pondweed or milfoil or both to go forward in order to learn from them and to potentially achieve some ecological benefits from them. Each funded project will be carefully monitored so that we can better predict how and where to use these approaches in the future.
Lake-wide or bay-wide treatments are those that attempt to treat all, or almost all, of the target plant in a lake or bay. While we recognize the desire to control curly-leaf pondweed and milfoil to improve lake use, we are focusing the limited funds of this grant program on projects that are designed to provide ecological benefits, as well a providing relief from the nuisance conditions caused by the plants. Ecological benefits include increases in the frequency or abundance of native submersed plants and, in the case of curly-leaf pondweed, may include reductions in levels of phosphorus and algae, which should increase water clarity.
Acceptable proposals must have the following goals:
To reduce curly-leaf pondweed or milfoil or both lake – wide (or bay-wide) in the year of treatment
To provide long –term reduction in curly-leaf pondweed or milfoil or both in the lake
To increase native submersed plants
In the case of curly-leaf pondweed control projects, to reduce levels of phosphorus and algae, and to increase water clarity
During the 2007 legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature established new standards for grants. Specifically, it is now required that applicants for a grant to manage invasive plants in public waters must have a workable plan for improving water quality and reducing the need for additional treatment. In addition, the legislature specified that grants may not be made for chemicals that are likely endocrine disruptors.
In order to meet the new legislative requirements, applicants for this grant program must have a workable plan for improving water quality. Please see the document “Water Quality Plan Requirements” for guidance on the types of plans that will meet this requirement.
Excerpted from the report: "Pilot projects to control curly-leaf pondweed or Eurasian watermilfoil on a lake-wide or bay-wide basis for ecological benefits during 2009" as published by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources dated D12/2/2008.
Link to complete report: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/grants/habitat/2009_pilot_project_grant_announcement.pdf
Problems caused by Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed
Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) (hereafter called milfoil) and curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) are non-native invasive species that cause problems in Minnesota. Both plants can interfere with recreational and other uses of lakes and rivers by producing dense mats at the water’s surface. These mats are similar to, but can be more extensive than, those produced by native vegetation. Matted milfoil or curly-leaf can displace native aquatic plants and alter environmental conditions, which in turn may harm fish and wildlife. In addition, curly-leaf is unique because it usually dies back at the end of June or early in July. This may result in rafts of dying plants piling up on shorelines, and often is followed by an increase in phosphorus (Bolduan et al., 19941) and undesirable algal blooms.
What can be done about the problem of aquatic invasive plants?
The following informative piece provided by PLM Lake and Land Management Group may help you understand some of the factors involved in management of aquatic plants. Understand Aquatic Plant Management (.pdf).
Additionally knowing about the plant you are trying to control, its ability and means of propagation and its life cycle, can be critical in the process of selecting a method for control or prevention. The information below may help you to understand the two primary aquatic Invasive species of current concern within our Lake Sarah.
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| What is Curly-leaf Pondweed (CLP)? Curly-leaf pondweed is an invasive aquatic perennial that was accidentally introduced to United States waters in the mid-1880s by hobbyists who used it as an aquarium plant. Curly-leaf pondweed spreads through burr-like winter buds (turions), which are moved among waterways. New plants form under the ice in winter, making curly-leaf pondweed one of the first nuisance aquatic plants to emerge in the spring.
What does CLP look like? The leaves are reddish-green, oblong, and about 3 inches long, with distinct wavy edges that are finely toothed. The stem of the plant is flat, reddish-brown and grows from 1 to 3 feet long. The plant usually drops to the lake bottom by early July.
Why is CLP a Problem? Prior to its early summer die-off (senescence), curly pondweed forms thick mats on the water surface that make swimming, boating and fishing difficult. CLP is an aggressive plant expanding rapidly and easily outcompeting native aquatic plants. The early summer senescence creates large quantites of decaying vegetation in warmer water temps which has been linked to spikes in the lake or river's nutrient levels, specifically phosphorus which contributes to algae growth and turbidity.
Curly-leaf Pondweed fact sheet (in .pdf) courtesy of the MN DNR
Curly-leaf Pondweed (in .pdf) courtesy of PLM Lake and Land Management Group
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Curly-leaf Pondweed
(Pomatogeton crispus)
click on image to view larger photo
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| What is Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM)? It is an extremely aggressive non-native water weed. EWM was accidently introduced to North America from Europe. Spread westward into inland lakes primarily by boats and also by waterbirds, it reached Midwestern states between the 1950s and 1980s. Like CLP, EWM starts spring growth sooner than native aquatic plants and can shade out these beneficial plants. EWM quickly forms thick, floating mats on the surface of the water that make boating, fishing and swimming difficult.
What does EWM look like? It's a submersed, rooted perennial plant with smooth stems that branch near the water surface. This branching can form large, floating mats of vegetation on the surface of lakes, rivers and other water bodies, preventing light from reaching native aquatic plants. The leaves of Eurasian watermilfoil are feathery and occur around the stem. Each leaf is 1/2 to 2 inches long, with 12 to 21 pairs of fine, thin leaflets. The leaves rarely extend above the water surface and will collapse around the stem when removed from the water. The upper portion of the plant often develops a reddish color. The flower is a spike which is often pink or red. It is held above the water during flowering from June to September.
Why is EWM a Problem? Once introduced into a river or lake, milfoil is able to reproduce very successfully and rapidly through the formation of plant fragments. In the late summer and fall the plants become brittle and naturally break apart. These fragments will float to other areas, sink, and start new plants. Milfoil will also grow from fragments created by boaters or other disturbances during any time of year. A new plant can start from a tiny piece of a milfoil plant. Once established milfoil rapidly forms thick mats that make swimming, boating and fishing difficult.
EWM Identification card courtesy MN DNR, shows the difference between EWM and the similar but beneficial native Northern Milfoil.
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Eurasian Watermilfoil
(Myriophyllum spicatum)
click on image above for larger photo
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