2010-2012 AIS grant application

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the results of the AIS project, the WDNR requested that the LSGLPRD complete an aquatic ..... general information regarding the identification and marking of EWM and CLP with the ..... Mo nin ri ng n n d .fi a kelnl der Part i cipat i o n Su blo tal.
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Little Suint Germuin Aquatic fnvusive Species Control & Prevention Project Preparedfor the

Little Saint Germain Lake Protection & Rehabilitation District

August1r 2009

On te rra L L C Fax:920.338.8865www.onterra-eco.com 135SouthBroadwaySuiteC, De Pere,WI 541l5 Voice:920.338.8860

Little Saint Germain Lake

Linle Saint Germain Lake Protection & Rehabilitatio n District

AND PROBLEMIDENTIFICATION INTRODUCTION Little Saint GermainLake, Vilas County (Map I ), comprisesfive main basins(Lower East Bay, East Bay, No Fish Bay, West Bay and South Bay) with a surfaceareaof 980 acres. MuskellungeCreek flows from MuskellungeLake into Little Saint Cermain Lake in East Bay. The waterlevel of Little SaintGermainLake is heldapproximately5 feet higherthan its naturallevel by a dam that is maintainedby the WisconsinValley ImprovementCompany (WVIC). The WVIC usesthe lakeas a storageimpoundment, whereeachwinter it releases about 1.5 feet of water heightfor usein hydroelectricpower generationdownstream. Little SaintGermainLakeemptiesintothe WisconsinRiverSystemat the RainbowFlowage. Like many lakesin northernWisconsin,invasivespeciesestablishment threatens the health and beautyof the ecosystem.Little SaintGermainLake is known to harborEurasianwater milfoif, curly-leafpondweed,and on its shores,purpleloosestrife.ln2004, the Town of Saint Germaininitiatedthe creationof an AquaticPlantManagement Planfbr 8 of thetown's lakes which includedLittle SaintGermainLake. At the sametime, the WisconsinDepartment of Natural Resources(WDNR) was drafting a documentwhich later receivedthe title, Aquatic PlantManagementin Wisconsin.This guidancedocumentwas intendedto assurethat our public waterwayswere beingmanagedin a holisticmannerintendedto maintainour lakesas healthyecosystems for currentand future generations to enjoy - not just the selectfew who property own on them. In early 2005, the Little Saint Germain Lake Protectionand RehabilitationDistrict (LSGLPRD)successfully appliedfor a WDNR AIS grantto aid in the conrol of Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leafpondweedwithin the lake. After the grantwas awarded,Onterra was contractedto locateand mapthe AIS and setupthe treatments.During the courseof this multi-year project, the scope of the project morphed into monitoring the treatmentsto determine effectiveness. During the 2004 point-interceptsurvey,conductedas a part of the managementplanning process,did not locateEWM in any of the samplelocations.This surveywas repeatedin 2008,finding EWM in approximately2o/oof the vegetatedplots.The EWM inf-estation was first discovered in WestBay,and in recentyearshasspreadto all lakebasins.Similarly,CLP was first detectedin No Fish Bay and partsof EastBay. lt hassincespreadto SouthBay. It is clear from the annualtreatmentreportsthat the treatmentson Little Saint GermainLake, especiallythe CLP treatments,are effective. However, much of the lake appearsto be suitablehabitatfor thesetwo AIS and is rapidlyspreadingthroughoutthe system. The original five year control projecton Little SaintGermainLake endedin 2008. Basedon the resultsof the AIS project,the WDNR requestedthat the LSGLPRD completean aquatic plantmanagement (APM) plan usingthe latestversionof the guidancedocumentbeforelake managementactions involving chemicaltreatmentsor harvestingactivities commencein 2009. A draft of the Little Saint GermainLake ManasementPlan was submittedto the WDNR in December 2008. During the planningprocess,numerousmanagement actionswere developedaimedat helping the district achievethe following three main managementgoals: l) maintain recreational accessto Little Saint GermainLake for shorelandpropertyownersand other lake users,2) AugustI, 2009

Liltle Saint Germain l,ake AIS Control & PreventionProiect

Little Saint Germain Lake Protection & Rehabilitation Distict

Liltle Saint Germain Lake

maintainor enhancecurent water quality conditions,and 3) control aquaticinvasivespecies within Little SaintGermainLake. ManagementPlan ManagementGoal 3 within the Little SaintGermainLake Comprehensive calls for the control of aquaticinvasivespecieswithin Little Saint GermainLake. This proposedprojectimplementsall four Management Actionsincludedin this goal. Specifically, project would: l) continueClean Boats Clean Waterswatercraft inspectionsat thepublic the boat landing, 2) coordinate annual volunteer monitoring of AIS, 3) control Eurasian water milfoil and curly-leaf pondweed infestationsusing herbicide applications, and 1) monitor native and non-nativeaquaticplants on a lake-widebasis. ln 2009, the LSGLPRD receivedpartial funding ($50,000award) for the proposed4-year project. This awardcovereda portion of the first year's treatmentand monitoringprogram. The current grant application continuesthese efforts for the remaining 3 years of the originallyproposedproject. Little SaintGermainLake is a highly soughtafter locationamongstrecreationists and anglers. In additionto the main publicboatlandingwhich containsa publicpier,Little SaintGerrnain containsa canoeaccesssite on MuskellungeCreekat BirchwoodDrive. As definedby NR 1.91(4d),Little SaintGermainLake exceedsminimumpublicboatingaccessby havingmore than one accesssite with a total of more than 28 car-trailerparkingspaces(l per 35 open wateracres). The systemalso containsl8 resorts,of which 6 containtheir own privateboat landing. In October2009,the 21" AnnualGreaterWisconsinMuskieTournamentwill take placeon ten SaintGermainAreaLakeswhichincludesLittle SaintGermain. Theseintensepublic useopportunities most likely contributedto Little SaintGermainLake becominginfestedwith AIS. Althoughmany lakesin the regioncontainEWM, Little Saint GermainLake is oneof only eightlakesin Vilas CountycontainingCLP with the nextclosest lake containingCLP beingover 8 miles away (Mid Lake,OneidaCounty). The proposed project would be beneficialto the downstreamRainbow Flowage,which does not contain CLP. The proposedprojectwould furthereducatestakeholders aboutAIS; and alongwith the CleanBoatsCleanWatersprogram,help reducenew infestationsto the lake and reducedthe risk of AIS from Little SaintGermainLake infectingotherarealakes. The LSGPRD conductsnumerousmanagementactionson the system. They have worked intensivelywith the UnitedStatesGeologicSociety(USGS)and Barr Engineering to discover the sourcesof externalnutrient inputs,which were found to be minimal. lnternal nutrient sourcesappearto be driving the productivityin the system.and a partial lake alum treatment for Little SaintGermainLakein 2010. is proposed Dissolvedoxygen levelswere also shownto be quite low, particularlyduring the monthsof ice cover on Little Saint Germain. Multiple aerationsystemshave been purchasedby the districtin effortsof increasingwinter dissolvedoxygenlevels. Namowand shallowconstrictionsbetweenlakebasinshavebeendesignated as slow-no-wake zones,markedwith buoys,to increasepublic safetyand decreasenegativeeffectson nearshoreareas.Additional slow-no-wakezoneshavealsobeendesisnatedin areasof hish native AugustI,2009

Linle Saint Cermain Lal