The Town Council and ACT rate the 2007 effort put forth by the Pirates and volunteers a great success! For the first time something was done to reduce the infestation of Milfoil in the Lake. One-quarter acre was cleared of Milfoil and everyone learned by trial and error what works, and what doesn’t work.
in 2008 ACT will purchase 25 Lake Blankets, bringing the total available for use to 28. These mats will cover more than 11,000 square feet. They will be put down in June, and moved to a different location after 30 days. This redeployment will be repeated three times, in July, August and September. By the end of September 2008, 44,000 sf., or one acre, will have been matted. The locations where the mats will be placed have not yet been determined.
A lake ecologist will be hired to furnish divers and to be the Project Manager. He will have day-to-day operational control of the project, and will report to ACT and The Town as required.
For every day a scuba diver spends putting down mats, he or she will spend the same time hand-harvesting. This harvesting effort will keep the 2007 and 2008 matted areas clear. As time is available, less dense Milfoil infestations in the lake will be hand-harvested.
In 2009 the Committee plans to purchase an additional 25 mats, bringing the total in use to 53. If moved 4 times during 2009, almost 2 acres will be matted annually. Substantial hand harvesting will accompany the matting process, keeping previously matted areas clear, and “picking away” at the less dense areas. ACT's goal is to repeat this process each year thereafter.
In 2008 ACT will begin testing a biological control, weevil Eurhychiopsis lecontei. A company in Ohio, EnViroScience, Inc., has had success in many parts of the country permanently increasing native weevil populations. These weevils are already native to the Adirondacks and to Lake Luzerne. They are very tiny, harmless, and prefer Milfoil to all other plants. They burrow inside the stem and feast upon it, with devastating effect. If we can permanently increase the weevil population, we may create a permanent natural balance in the Lake. Several years of experimentation will be necessary to find out whether this method works for us.
And if it is, Lake Luzerne will look like this for our kids - and their kids as well!
