Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Committee Report - Fall ‘23

Gene Krebs and Wayne Karg, AIS Committee

The Sauk River Chain of Lakes Association (SRCLA) continues to devote the majority of its budget to the control of aquatic invasive species (AIS). The budget came from membership dues, charitable gambling proceeds, DNR grants, and Stearns County grants.  Please see the articles in this issue about Hybrid Watermilfoil (HWM) and Flowering Rush (FR) for the management details. In addition, the SRCLA hired Limnopro Aquatic Science and Weeds Up to chemically and mechanically control curly-leaf pondweed. According to Weeds Up, the areas that were done in previous years appeared to have less CLP present. More than 200 cubic yards of CLP was removed from our lakes. While there is still a lot of work to do, we feel we are heading in the right direction. Check our website at srcl.org under “Projects” for the maps of the approved and treated areas of curly-leaf pondweed.

Our website has a series of professionally produced public service announcements to increase awareness of aquatic invasive species while sharing actions people can take to help stop the spread. 

Private shoreline owners can receive permits to chemically and mechanically treat their dock areas. Contact the DNR to apply for a permit. Without a DNR permit a property owner may remove aquatic plants in an area no larger than 2500 square feet along their shoreline, and lily pads in an area less than a 15 square feet. The Yellow Lotus is a protected variety and may not be removed. For resources on how to manage your frontage, go to “About Us” and then “Aquatic Plant Management” at scrl.org.

On August 19th, a team of volunteers participated in the Starry Trek and met at the Lake Koronis boat landing to receive instruction on aquatic plant sampling. The goal was to identify whether or not starry stonewort, or other AIS, are established at the public launches across Stearns County. The volunteers broke into 7 groups and each group was assigned to several of the 31 Stearns County public launches to be sampled. The sampling results will be compared to the previous years for new, increased or decreased AIS infestations. 

Please remember to clean, drain and dry all your equipment when entering or exiting the water. Remember any dock or lift coming from another body of water must sit for 21 days before installation.

Any additional questions contact Gene Krebs (gene.j.krebs@gmail.com) or Wayne Karg (ontraxtruckrepair@embarqmail.com)