June 9, 2014
2014 spring monitoring
2014 spring monitoring 2[/caption]When the call went out that we needed helpers to spend a morning on Crescent Lake for the spring monitoring procedure, it took very little time to get eight association members to sign up. Gerry Klinger and Jim Gehrke volunteered their boats and Nancy Sattler, Sue Binder, Jim Solinsky, Ron Paque, Terry Goldbach and Frank Hlavka completed the roster.
We met at the boat landing at 9:00. One boat took the east side of the lake and the other headed west. Together we tossed rakes 192 times. We deliberately set the date early so that if we found an invasive plant, we could take steps to identify its location and seek expert advice on how to arrest its progress and reduce the plantation. Because it was early in the summer, the amount of vegetation was light. In fact the rake toss resulted in no vegetation at all on 63 of the throws.
We did find a wide variety of lake plants. Among them were cabbage, coontail, dwarf milfoil, elodea, flat stem pondweed, Illinois pondweed, Robbins pondweed, slender pondweed, wild celery, We also recorded on tally sheets all of the plants that emerged from the water near the shore. They were Pickerel weed, cat tail, white water lilly, spatterdock, and reeds.
2014 spring monitoring 2
One sample of plants was placed in a plastic bag for identification by someone more proficient than those of us on the boats. The identifiers on the boat did not believe that it was an invasive species, but we did want to know exactly what it was. More information will be available soon.
Another monitoring of the lake will take place in the fall. In the meantime we
recommend that all lake residents be sure that they can recognize Eurasian Water Milfoil and curly Curly Leaf Pondweed. They are the two plants that are the greatest threat to our lake. As you kayak, canoe, paddle board, or walk the shore, watch for any plant that makes you suspicious and call Jim Gehrke or Nancy Sattler to report it. One of us will come and collect a sample for DNR confirmation.
Thank you for your help in this very important process. And thank you to all of the great helpers that worked last week.