July 17, 2008
Invasive Weeds
What should we do about all the invasive weeds that have taken over lakes across the U.S.? Try, draining your lake. More lake associations are trying to drain their lakes, and using mother nature to freeze the weeds in the winter. Getting rid of curly-leaf pondweed and milfoil will also help rid lakes of algal blooms that pop up every summer on many lakes by reducing phosphorous levels.
Read the story of Anderson Lakes struggles with weeds, here.
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February 26, 2007
Purple Loosestrife
Purple loosestrife is a semi-aquatic herbaceous plant belonging to the loosestrife family, Lythraceae, native to the wetlands of Eurasia.
It is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing 1-2 m tall, forming colonies 1.5 m or more in width with numerous erect stems growing from a single woody root mass. The stems are reddish-purple and square in cross section. The leaves are lanceolate, 3-10 cm long and 1-2 cm broad, downy and sessile, and arranged opposite or in whorls of three. The flowers are reddish purple, 10-15 mm diameter, with six petals. Flowering lasts throughout the summer. When the seeds are mature, the leaves often turn bright red through dehydration in early autumn; the red color may last for almost two weeks. The dead stalks from previous growing seasons are brown.
Purple loosestrife has become an invasive species since its introduction into temperate New Zealand and North America where it is now considered a noxious weed. The seeds probably first arrived in the plant's non-native areas in muddy ballast water emptied from ships. The plants grow vigorously and spread very fast when removed from their natural controlling agents. Infestations result in dramatic disruption in water flow in rivers and canals, and a sharp decline in biological diversity. Native food and cover plant species, notably cattails, are completely crowded out, and the life cycles of organisms from waterfowl to amphibians to algae are affected.
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October 2, 2006
Hydrilla
Hydrilla is an aquatic plant, native to cool to warm waters of Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. Plants may be monecious or dioecious and can reproduce vegetatively by fragmentation and by tubers and turions. Stems branch near water surface. Dioecious...Link to this article | Comments (0)
September 7, 2006
Milfoil
Another eleven Minnesota lakes are infested with Eurasian water milfoil, the invasive plant that can choke waterways and interfere with boating and fishing. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says ten of the eleven lakes are within 50 miles of...Link to this article | Comments (0)
July 17, 2006
Eurasian Watermilfoil
Got too many weeds around the house? Your options include hiring someone to weed the yard and herbicide, or doing the dirty work yourself. But what if the problem is under water? Watermilfoil is an invasive plant that can threaten...
Continue reading "Eurasian Watermilfoil"
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May 1, 2006
Connecticut Lakes
A two-year survey of more than 100 Connecticut lakes and ponds found that nearly two-thirds were choked or threatened by at least one invasive, aquatic weed species. In an effort to reduce a growing problem, scientists at the Connecticut Agricultural... Continue reading "Connecticut Lakes"
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March 21, 2006
Great Lakes Shoreline
Laws giving Great Lakes shoreline landowners greater freedom to clear vegetation from their property could be scrapped because such activities alter water chemistry and damage fish habitat. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality said a recent scientific analysis showed that... Continue reading "Great Lakes Shoreline"
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October 30, 2005
Eurasian Watermilfoil
More lakes in Wisconsin have become infested with invasive species this summer. The exotic invasive plant Eurasian watermilfoil (EWMF) has infested another lake in Sawyer County.... Continue reading "Eurasian Watermilfoil"
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