The following is information supplied to us by Aquatic Weed Control.
On June 3rd Aquatic Weed Control had a chance to do a visual survey on both Pine and Stone Lakes. The water was very clear and they felt they got a pretty good look at the lakes, including the channels. The Water temp was 69-71 degrees.
Aquatic Weed Control was pleased to report that they could not find any Eurasian water-Milfoil (“Milfoil”) on the main part of Pine Lake. They did find 3 clumps of Milfoil in one channel on Pine, so they mapped 0.7 acres for treatment on Pine. It is very possible that more Milfoil could appear in Pine later this year, so they will continue to survey the lake throughout the year. If they find any more Milfoil in the tier II survey or otherwise they will submit a map for treatment.
On Stone Lake, the Milfoil seems either more sparse or behind (or both) so far this year compared to the last two years. Water clarity was excellent, but curly-leaf abundance was above average as they have seen in many lakes this spring, so there could be some Milfoil hiding beneath the curly leaf. They have mapped a total of 5.85 acres on Stone Lake, with the priority being areas of higher boat traffic to prevent or slow re-infestation into Pine Lake.
Treatment locations for both Pine and Stone Lake are below.
Aquatic Weed Control felt it was important to note that the native plants and vegetation are very abundant. Water crowfoot is a species that looks very similar to Milfoil and is very abundant this year. It is even topped out in some places. It is likely to be mistaken for Milfoil by many lake residents.
Pine Lake plants- several similar species. This picture was taken in the Pine Lake Channel to verify Milfoil.
Bladderwort – lots of this floating around and looks like Eurasian water-Milfoil – if you look closely you can see the dots on the leaves that are the bladders.
Crowfoot – This plant is very, very abundant this spring- Its even topped out in some places. if you aren’t familiar with it it looks just like Eurasian water-Milfoil.
Crowfoot leaf structure – slightly different than Eurasian water-Milfoil or native Milfoil – has more of a net pattern instead of a central leader.
Aquatic Weed Control completed their first Milfoil treatment on Pine and Stone Lake on June 12th. Aquatic Weed Control proposed treating all areas with Procellacor at 2 pdu/acft with the exception of Stone Lake Area 3. The Milfoil in Stone area 3 is growing right in the lily pads so we would recommend 2, 4-D in such close proximity to the lilies. They will keep a close eye on the lakes this summer for Milfoil re-growth and will also do the tier II rake survey in August.
As mentioned above, the native plants in the lake are quite heavy and the DNR is quite restrictive on native treatments. The Lake Associate’s existing permit and approved grant funds only allows us to treat against invasive weeds (like the Eurasian water-Milfoil) not native plants or vegetation like what is front of most of our homes. If you or your neighbors are looking for shoreline treatment or have questions or navigational issues the gentleman at Aquatic Weed Control is willing to talk with homeowners about their plant or vegetation issues and potentially offer solutions. His name is Dave Keister, (574) 238-6379 or dave@aquaticweedcontrol.com .
As mentioned above we are working to schedule a meeting shortly to discuss the above and other items, Lake Clean-up is tentatively scheduled for August 25th and Aquatic Weed Control is planning on attending a fall meeting after they have completed the summer survey to discuss how much re-growth we ended up with this year.
2019 Pine and Stone Lakes Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan
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