Invasive Plants
There has been a lot of talk about aquatic invasive species this summer, and
this topic is at the forefront of this year's educational agenda of the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Becker County Coalition of
This issue hits close to home for those of you living on lakes where invasive
species have already established.
Today I'll talk about what aquatic invasive species are, their impacts, and what
local groups have planned for upcoming education and prevention programs.
I'll start out by defining some commonly used terms. The terms "exotic",
"alien", and "nonnative" can all be used to describe a species that does not
naturally occur here, and has been brought here either accidentally or
intentionally. In contrast, "native" plants occur naturally and are fully
integrated into the ecosystem. Native aquatic plants are good and necessary
habitats for fish, birds and other aquatic organisms.
Not all alien plants are harmful, but those that are can disrupt the natural
ecosystem, out-compete native plants and take over large areas. These plants are
considered "invasive" and "nuisance" species. Invasive aquatic plants can get
out of control because there is nothing in the ecosystem naturally to keep the
population in check. When invasive plants take over a lake or wetland, the
biodiversity in the ecosystem can decrease, meaning that there are fewer
different kinds of plants and animals that can live there. When invasive plants
form dense mats, they change the habitat and make it unsuitable for fish, birds
and other aquatic organisms.
The best plan of attack on aquatic invasive species is to prevent them from
entering your lake in the first place.
Once invasive species have established, it's pretty near impossible to
get rid of them. They can be
controlled with chemicals, but never eliminated.
Chemical control is very expensive.
The Lake Minnetonka Association is spending well over $100,000 on control
of Eurasian watermilfoil yearly.
Some lake associations are designating an invasive species committee or watch
group. These lake representatives
keep an eye out for any new plants establishing in the lake and do routine
checks at the public boat accesses.
To check for invasive plants at the boat access, you can troll in your boat and
use a rake to pull up aquatic plants and inspect them.
The DNR also has a watercraft inspection program, where associations can have a
DNR intern posted at your public access on designated days to inspect boats and
trailers and survey boaters entering and leaving the lake.
The DNR provides grants to partially cover the funding of this program,
and lake associations are responsible for the remaining cost.
This program is already implemented for 2008, but you can check the DNR
web page this winter about the 2009 program:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/grants/aquatic_invasive/aq_inv_prevention.html.
Both the Becker COLA and Otter Tail COLA are focusing upcoming meetings on
invasive species. At these meetings,
I'll be speaking about which invasive species are present in Becker and Otter
Tail counties and where. I'll provide a
recap of the information in this column after the meetings.
On Saturday, July 26, the Otter Tail COLA meeting program will focus on
invasive species and prevention.
This meeting is 9am at the Community Center in Otter Tail.
The Becker COLA is having a two-day educational seminar presented by the Becker
COLA and the Becker County Master Gardeners on August 14-15 at the
The key to preventing the spread of invasive species is to educate lake users on
what these plants look like and how they are spread.
We can all work together to keep our lakes healthy.
Enjoy the lakes!
Moriya Rufer is the Lakes Monitoring Program Coordinator for RMB Environmental
Laboratories in