Published: Monday, August 30, 2010
Aquatic weed more than a nuisance for Lake Stevens
Lake Stevens is working with the state to control milfoil in the lake
-
Mark Mulligan / The Herald
Eurasian watermilfoil, a nonnative invasive aquatic plant, was reported in Lake Stevens in recent years, raising concerns it will crowd out native plants and fish.
-
Mark Mulligan / The Herald
Eurasian watermilfoil, a nonnative invasive aquatic plant, was reported in Lake Stevens in recent years, raising concerns it will crowd out native plants and fish.
-
Mark Mulligan / The Herald
Eurasian watermilfoil attaches itself to boat motors and other surfaces, hitching a ride to other bodies of water where it can spread.
LAKE STEVENS -- Look around the lake.
Every inch, it seems, is teeming with wildlife.
Small fish swim through aquatic plants around a dock. A bullfrog croaks out a tune from a partially sunken log, while a crane stands around lily pads floating near shore. Overhead, osprey and two resident bald eagles, affectionately named George and Martha, fly high.
Below the surface, though, an unwelcome guest is living among the fish and native plants.
Eurasian watermilfoil is a noxious aquatic weed that crowds out native plants. The weed floats on the water's surface with its reddish brown stem and featherlike sets of leaves.
The dense mats make fishing difficult, impede boat traffic and tangle in boat propellers, motors and jet boats. It can be deadly when a swimmer's arms or legs get caught in a snarl.
The city started receiving complaints about watermilfoil two years ago from people who use the lake, according to public works Director Mick Monken. Now, with the help of a $40,000 state Department of Ecology grant, the city is starting a study that will tell them how they can eradicate or control the problem. The goal is to get rid of the milfoil without harming the native plants.
"What we're putting together is, in essence, a weed plan but it is really an aquatic plant plan because it will look at all plants," Monken said at a public meeting last week.
Residents living around the lake said they haven't been able to use their watercraft this summer because of the watermilfoil.
"We've been locked in since July 4," said Dave Nelson, who lives on the northwest corner of the lake. "We lost the entire summer. I don't want to lose another summer."
Keeping it from spreading in Lake Stevens -- or any other lake -- is a challenge. Watermilfoil dries onto boats and other watercraft. When it gets wet again, by putting a boat in a different lake, for instance, the dried weed falls off and starts growing.
Several other lakes in Snohomish County including Lake Goodwin in Stanwood, Lake Roesiger in Snohomish, Lake Serene in Lynnwood and Lake Shoecraft located north of the Tulalip Reservation, have been treated in different ways for watermilfoil in recent years, said Gene Williams, a planner with Snohomish County Surface Water Management.
Divers inspecting Lake Stevens in July found Eurasian watermilfoil in 136 acres of the nearly 1,100 acre lake. Dense areas were found primarily along the east side of the lake and in approximately 20 acres of the northwest area of the lake. It's also around the shoreline at depths of 17 feet or less.
"It was so dense in places the divers could not move through it," Williams said.
Homeowners living on the lake who choose to take on the watermilfoil themselves should only use hand tools and follow guidelines in the Department of Fish and Wildlife's "Aquatic Plants and Fish" pamphlet to keep from spreading the weed or harming native plants.
Copies are available by contacting the Department of Fish and Wildlife at 360-902-2534.
Options to get rid of watermilfoil in Lake Stevens might include the use of herbicides, weed-pulling divers, ground barriers, weevils or sterile carp, Monken said. A steering committee will meet Sept. 8 to begin looking at options. A public meeting will be scheduled in October. City officials hope to apply for another state grant to pay for the work.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
Every inch, it seems, is teeming with wildlife.
Small fish swim through aquatic plants around a dock. A bullfrog croaks out a tune from a partially sunken log, while a crane stands around lily pads floating near shore. Overhead, osprey and two resident bald eagles, affectionately named George and Martha, fly high.
Below the surface, though, an unwelcome guest is living among the fish and native plants.
Eurasian watermilfoil is a noxious aquatic weed that crowds out native plants. The weed floats on the water's surface with its reddish brown stem and featherlike sets of leaves.
The dense mats make fishing difficult, impede boat traffic and tangle in boat propellers, motors and jet boats. It can be deadly when a swimmer's arms or legs get caught in a snarl.
The city started receiving complaints about watermilfoil two years ago from people who use the lake, according to public works Director Mick Monken. Now, with the help of a $40,000 state Department of Ecology grant, the city is starting a study that will tell them how they can eradicate or control the problem. The goal is to get rid of the milfoil without harming the native plants.
"What we're putting together is, in essence, a weed plan but it is really an aquatic plant plan because it will look at all plants," Monken said at a public meeting last week.
Residents living around the lake said they haven't been able to use their watercraft this summer because of the watermilfoil.
"We've been locked in since July 4," said Dave Nelson, who lives on the northwest corner of the lake. "We lost the entire summer. I don't want to lose another summer."
Keeping it from spreading in Lake Stevens -- or any other lake -- is a challenge. Watermilfoil dries onto boats and other watercraft. When it gets wet again, by putting a boat in a different lake, for instance, the dried weed falls off and starts growing.
Several other lakes in Snohomish County including Lake Goodwin in Stanwood, Lake Roesiger in Snohomish, Lake Serene in Lynnwood and Lake Shoecraft located north of the Tulalip Reservation, have been treated in different ways for watermilfoil in recent years, said Gene Williams, a planner with Snohomish County Surface Water Management.
Divers inspecting Lake Stevens in July found Eurasian watermilfoil in 136 acres of the nearly 1,100 acre lake. Dense areas were found primarily along the east side of the lake and in approximately 20 acres of the northwest area of the lake. It's also around the shoreline at depths of 17 feet or less.
"It was so dense in places the divers could not move through it," Williams said.
Homeowners living on the lake who choose to take on the watermilfoil themselves should only use hand tools and follow guidelines in the Department of Fish and Wildlife's "Aquatic Plants and Fish" pamphlet to keep from spreading the weed or harming native plants.
Copies are available by contacting the Department of Fish and Wildlife at 360-902-2534.
Options to get rid of watermilfoil in Lake Stevens might include the use of herbicides, weed-pulling divers, ground barriers, weevils or sterile carp, Monken said. A steering committee will meet Sept. 8 to begin looking at options. A public meeting will be scheduled in October. City officials hope to apply for another state grant to pay for the work.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
Comments
(
