Going from 300 acres of heavy Eurasian Water Milfoil infestation to less than 20 acres after treatments on the lower Eagle River chain of lakes costing over $1.5 million since 2007, the project will change from treatment to managing according to a summary report to commission members from the towns of Washington, Lincoln, Cloverland, and city of Eagle River by project manager Eddie Heath of Onterra LLC.
"It's amazing on a water body the size of the Eagle chain dominant mill foil acerage is now less than 20 acres," Heath said. "You developed real goals with real actions."
No herbicide treatments were done this year and none are expected to be done next year. Some hand harvesting will be looked at with continued monitoring of scattered plant locations. The conclusion is a highly successful project treating over 1,000 acres funded by state grants, local minicipal taxes, and riparian landowners.
