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Three excellent speakers updated members on invasive aquatic species at the winter meeting Saturday 6 February 2010. Two new invasives to watch for are the zebra mussel and the spiny water flea. They can enter a lake through bilge water, bait buckets, livewells, fishing lines, weeds on boats and trailers, anchor ropes, even your waders! The "Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers" website referenced below explains how to clean items before putting them into the lake. It is easy and does not take very long. To illustrate the persistence of these creatures, spiny water flea eggs can live out of water for up to 12 hours and adult zebra mussels can survive for up to a week out of water! Sugar Lake deserves our careful monitoring to keep these new invasives at bay. Speakers:
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Last summer, Sugar Lake was accepted into the five year DNR Whole Lake Pilot Project for treating Eurasian watermilfoil and curly leaf pondweed. We are one of only 18 lakes in the state in the program at this time. The SLA was able to treat curly leaf last summer under this program and spot treat the milfoil. Curly leaf treatment was so successful that no cutting had to be done last summer.
Lake Associations which have been in this program for more than one year report an exponential decline in both weeds, requiring significantly less treatment in subsequent years.
A recent Star Tribune article reports the results on Lake Minnetonka.
Through this program, the DNR contributed over $24,000 to our curly leaf treatment last summer. However, total treatment cost was almost three times that much. The remainder came out of the SLA Invasive Species Fund. Thanks to SLA member generosity, we were able to clobber curly leaf.
The goal for 2010 is to be able to treat both curly leaf and Eurasian milfoil under this DNR program.
Make a year end gift in honor of someone special. Make one for love of Sugar Lake.
Tax deductible donations for the invasive species fund can be sent to:
Meetings of the Sugar Lake Association Board will be held on 4/17, 5/15, 6/19, 7/17, 8/21, 9/18, and 10/16. The Board meets at the Corinna Township Hall Saturday at 8 a.m. April through August and 9 a.m. September and October. The 2010 Fishing Contest will be held on 26 June. The date for the 2010 SLA Picnic is 7 August. Diane's Lights Night is 4 September. Watch this space for further updates. SLA Mission Statement: To provide for the betterment and well being of property abutting and adjoining the shores of Sugar Lake in Wright County MN and to protect and preserve the resources contributing to the natural beauty of Sugar Lake.
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