Milfoil and Curly Leaf Pond Weed Have Benefits Too

[Rick]

Click Here for the Discussion Topic...

[For those of you new to the topic 2/25/11: One of the appointees is also the President of the Lobster Lake Association and I believe a officer of the state association. In the article this appointee told the county board "they will likely be asked to support some radical zebra mussel containment ideas, including closing boat accesses. It is certainly time for people to take a close and rational look at the problem.]

I have a special request from someone well versed in fisheries management to post the following:

I'd like people to spread this far and wide, since it impacts us as anglers:

Invasive Aquatic Species Management Statewide Meetings - Click Here

Lots of lake association folks are going to be at these meetings since they are the money and politics behind aquatic invasive plant management.

But in spite of all the nasty things written about Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) and moreso curlyleaf pondweed (CLP), it is essential fish habitat. If anglers don't go to these meetings, they won't have a say in how treatment is done on these lakes. I'd like to see details

Remember when Team Otter went to meetings with the Washington Lake Association on this topic? That is what I'm hoping anglers will do...show up to the meetings and get their voices heard.

Not every single CLP or EWM plant needs to get nuked...they are essential nursery fish habitat and in many lakes, especially southern MN, the only submergent vegetation available to obligate vegetation spawners. In eutrophic and hypereutrophic lakes where vegetation is scarce, it can be the only vegetation available.

CLP is a problem for about one month, then its in various states of senescence for the rest of the year. If you want to add context for why people should attend, feel free to improvise along the lines of vegetation is important to fish