Battle begins against lake-killing stonewort in Little Muskego Lake

Muskego — Fishing season started Saturday and the state Department of Natural Resources was at the Idle Isle boat launch reminding boaters to take all vegetation off their boats after leaving Little Muskego Lake and before they launched.

The goal was to keep the pernicious starry stonewort algae from spreading to other lakes. Containment is a major part of the strategy adopted last week to battle the lake-smothering algae. Little Muskego Lake is the only lake in Wisconsin where starrry stonewort has been found and the DNR wants to keep it that way. Only last week, the DNR and others involved with the health of the lake settled on a strategy to battle the invader that was only discovered last September.

In addition to containment, the battle plan is to rip the algae up by the roots. Although an algae, it's tethered to the lake bottom.

Rip it up

So, divers will use their hands to scoop up the plants. At first, volunteer divers will go out, putting the plants into bags, said Tom Reck, Little Muskego Lake District president. In July and then again in August, other divers will pull the plants and use suction equipment to carry them to the surface.

While other states have battled starry stonewort for a decade without making any discernible headway, lakes officials hope to get rid of the pest in Little Muskego Lake with their three-pronged approach of containment, diver-assisted suction harvesting (DASH) and hand pulling. That is because the starry stonewort infestation is believed to still be small and confined to the bay at the Hillview boat launch on the west side of the lake.

To alert boaters, the city will set out buoys to show boaters where the starry stonewort is. The hope is that they won't anchor their boats or churn up the water in that area. The lake district also has put up signs at the landings urging boaters to stay away from the infected area.

Grant hoped for

The Little Muskego Lake District hopes to land a state grant to pay a good chunk of the DASH cost and for the inspector the district wants to hire to monitor one boat launch site. The lake has four boat ramps. The district has applied for a $20,000 rapid response grant to cover the fight, Reck said.

The three-pronged strategy was settled on by a team consisting of representatives of the DNR, the city of Muskego, the Little Muskego Lake association and district, and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

The group didn't choose chemical treatments, an option that Michigan and Indiana use, because the chemicals haven't stopped the march of the algae, Tim Plude, who is in charge of aquatics invasive species monitoring and rapid response coordinator for the south lake Michigan basin of the DNR.

Indiana treats its infected lakes up to four times a year and still the number of acres that need to be treated rises, Plude said.

"We all looked at it," and decided against chemicals, he said.

Hand pulling will be new in the fight against starry stonewort. But hand pulling works in small infestations of Eurasian watermilfoil that also is an extremely tough lake invasive, Plude said.

Need to know

Although the Idle Isle boat launch is on the opposite side of the lake from the troubled Hillview launch site, Plude said it was monitored on Saturday because it is the busiest ramp. He wanted everyone to know that caution must be exercised.

"So boaters who haven't heard are informed," Plude said.

They need to pick all vegetation off their boats with special attention to the anchors and especially after leaving the water, he said. Water should be drained as well. When they get home, boaters should wash and dry their boats, using soap and water or a spray bleach solution, he said.

Directions for doing this are on the DNR website dnr.wi.gov then typing invasivespeciesprevention in the search box and clicking on preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species.

Boaters are supposed to pick off vegetation anyway, and DNR wardens, Muskego police and state troopers all have been alerted to watch for boats that have not been cleaned off, Plude said. All will write tickets for those with dirty boats, he said.

Eventually, the lake district hopes to hire an inspector and is gathering volunteers to monitor boat launches. So far, no boat ramps will be closed.

If starry stonewort is still in the lake by fall, the lake district will consider dredging the bottom, Reck said. That would involve sucking up the lake bed and would be extremely expensive, he said.

AT A GLANCE

Things to think about now that starry stonewort is here:

Fines for dirty boats:

·$200 for having any aquatic plants on boats leaving a landing

·$295 to $389 for being on the road and having an invasive species on your boat, first offense

·$389 minimum fine for backing into the water with prohibited or restricted invasive species on your boat

Tips on getting boats clean:

Go to the Department of Natural Resources website: dnr.wi.gov, then type invasive species prevention in the search box, then click on preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species

To be trained as a boat inspector or to donate:

Go to cutmyweeds@gmail.com or call or text (262) 682-0009