Herbicide knocks
invasive milfoil
back on Chain

By Kurt Krueger
News-Review Editor

Herbicide treatments are knocking back the density of the Eurasian water milfoil (EWM) infestation in the Eagle River Chain, and no surface matting was seen in 2009, an official said.

Tim Hoyman, an aquatic ecologist who will present his findings at a public meeting this Thursday, said the August surveys showed the spring treatments eliminated invasive milfoil on about 13 acres that had matted on the surface in 2008.

He said the areas containing dominant EWM dropped from 99 acres to 31 acres, while the areas containing highly dominant EWM declined from 60 acres to 17 acres.

Though the successful treatments are encouraging, Hoyman said they are still dealing with more than 260 acres of mapped milfoil, compared to 270 acres in 2008.

“As we discussed would likely happen during last year’s meeting, we have seen a shift from areas dominated by EWM to areas containing scattered or highly scattered EWM,” said Hoyman. “Fortunately, this allows us to prioritize areas for treatment based upon density.”

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