News & Reports
Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting to highlight benefits and risks of herbicides for AIS control
RHINELANDER, WI — Eurasian watermilfoil and other nuisance vegetation is spreading in northern lakes. Are herbicide treatments an answer? Or are they too risky?
A panel of experts will explore that topic at the annual Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting on Friday, July 11, Nicolet College in Rhinelander.
“Herbicides are commonly used to control invasive species as well as native species that can grow to nuisance proportions,” said Ted Rulseh, president of the Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association (OCLRA), a co-sponsor of the meeting. “Our panelists will spell out the pros and cons and also describe alternatives to chemical treatment.” The panelists are:
- Eddie Heath, senior aquatic ecologist at the Onterra lake management consulting firm
- Michelle Nault, lakes and reservoir ecologist with the Wisconsin DNR
- Representatives from the Eagle River Chain of Lakes Association and the Lac du Flambeau Tribe
The panelists will offer their perspectives and take questions from the audience.
The theme of this year’s meeting is, Quakes to Our Lakes: What’s Shakin’? Speakers will look in depth at the biggest threats facing our waters, from invasive species and climate impacts to the enhanced wakes created by wakesurf boats.
The morning will kick off with a legislative update on policy developments at the state level that affect lakes and natural resources generally. Featured presentations include:
- Gina LaLiberte, harmful algal bloom coordinator with the DNR, will be presenting on the growing issue of cyanobacteria (toxic blue-green algae) in our waters.
- John Richter, president of the Plum Lake Association and board member of the Last Wilderness Alliance, will be presenting on wake boats and their effects on shorelines, lake health, and more.
- Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County conservationist, and Beckie Gaskill, Lumberjack Resource Conservation and Development Council communications director, will be presenting on grant opportunities for lake associations and communities striving to protect their waters.
The doors open at 8 a.m. for coffee, camaraderie, and networking. Free registration is now open at https://SixCountyMeeting.eventbrite.com.
The meeting sponsors are OCLRA and the Vilas County Lakes and Rivers Association (VCLRA). Attendees are expected from Oneida, Vilas, Forest, Iron, Langlade and Lincoln Counties, but all are welcome.
Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM; Myriophyllum spicatum) was detected in the Turtle Flambeau Flowage in the summer of 2023. During 2024, staff from the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation (Burke Center) at Northland College and the North Lakeland Discovery Center conducted point intercept aquatic plant surveys to document the extent of EWM presence within portions of the flowage and to provide updated data on the flowage’s overall aquatic plant community. Additionally, the Burke Center monitored flowage water levels at four locations to assess how water level fluctuations vary across the flowage in relation to fluctuations measured at the Turtle Dam.
The Wisconsin Conservation Congress offers citizens the ability weigh in on natural resource matters each year through its Spring Hearings. Citizen offered questions are put up to a vote by participants in the hearings, and those that pass eventually are provided to the Natural Resources Board, Dept. of Natural Resources, and the Legislature as suggested paths forward on an issue. WCC resolutions are advisory only.
While the in-person meetings took place this past Monday, citizens can register their vote online from noon, April 10, 2024 through noon, April 13 .
Three questions regarding wakesports and wakeboats are available in this years set of questions, along with questions regarding fish management and other natural resource topics:
- Questions 32 and 42 ask if the use of wakeboat ballast tanks systems, which don’t drain fully as designed and can cause the transfer of aquatic invasive species from one lake to the next, should be banned in Wisconsin
- Question 43 asks if the legislature should pass a law prohibiting the “generation of intentionally magnified wakes for wake surfing through the use of ballast, design features, operational procedures or any other means on lakes smaller than 1500 acres and less than 20 feet deep and maintain a distance from shore and other lake users of 700 feet
Wisconsin Lakes supports a vote of YES on these advisory questions.
“Protecting Our Waters: We’re All Connected” is the theme for the annual Northwoods Six-County Lakes Meeting, set for Friday, July 12, at Nicolet College.
Lake association leaders and members along with the general public will convene to learn about and discuss our interconnected water resources and our human connections to each other and to our lakes, streams, wetlands and groundwater.
A committee with representatives from Oneida, Vilas, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, and Iron counties is at work developing plans for the meeting. The program will include a five-member panel discussion on the connections among water resources and the people who use them, along with presentations on the impacts of climate change and drought on our water resources and fisheries, and the problem of PFAS in the environment.
There will also be exhibits from educational and nonprofit organizations and excellent opportunities for networking. The meeting will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon. All are welcome; there is no charge and no need to register. More details and a full agenda will be announced as the meeting date approaches.
The event is jointly sponsored by the Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association (www.oclra.org) and the Vilas County Lakes and Rivers Association (www.vclra.org). For more information contact Ted Rulseh at 920-242-8671 (trulseh@tjrcommunications.com) or Tom Ewing at 630-985-8472 (president@vclra.org).