Aquatic Invasives Grant
Aquatic Invasives Education
AEPP55118
2018
Complete
Curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus)\r\nPoint-intercept and Bed Mapping Surveys, and\r\nWarm-water Point-intercept Macrophyte Survey
Curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus)\r\nFall Turion Survey
Following several years of high CLP density on the lake that resulted in severe navigation impairment for many residents, mats of rotting vegetation, and poor summer water quality (UTLA board, pers. comm), the UTLA decided to authorized follow-up plant surveys in 2017 so they could update their APMP in 2018 and revisit active management.
CLP Turion Survey data from Upper Turtle Lake
Pretreatment and Posttreatment data for Upper Turtle Lake.
Following several years of high CLP density on the lake that resulted in severe navigation impairment for many residents, mats of rotting vegetation, and poor summer water quality (UTLA board, pers. comm.), the UTLA decided to authorized follow-up plant surveys in 2017 so they could update their APMP in 2018 and revisit active management.
Data and graphs showing comparison of pretreatment and posttreatment data.
Pretreatment survey for Upper Turtle Lake in May 2018.
Approval Letter for Upper Turtle APM Plan.
Upper Turtle Lake is a hard water drainage lake located in west-central Barron County, Wisconsin. The health and quality of the native plant community is above average, with a floristic quality that ranks in the upper quartile on a statewide and regional basis. Curly-leaf pondweed (CLP), an aquatic invasive species, is known to be in the lake and reed canary grass and purple loosestrife, both established exotic species, are also present around the lake. Until recently, CLP seldom occurred as monotypic beds and appeared to enhance early season habitat in the lake by providing fish forage and cover areas. In 2017, the CLP population was significantly larger than the fairly benign population that was seen in 2010. While it is possible that CLP has been spreading at a fast but steady pace since the most recent plant survey, in 2010, the ideal winter and spring conditions in 2017 likely exacerbated the issue and potentially caused a massive population increase.
Data from a PI survey done on Upper Turtle Lake.
As a prerequisite to updating their plan in 2018 and to compare how the lakes vegetation had changed since the last point-intercept surveys, the UTLA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources authorized CLP density and bed mapping surveys on June 20-21, and a full point-intercept survey for all aquatic macrophytes on July 17, 2017. During the initial 2010 early-season survey, we found CLP at 52 sites (8.7% coverage with a mean rake fullness of 1.87) of which 35 had a rake fullness of 2 or 3 suggesting 5.9% of the lake had a significant infestation. In 2017, we found CLP at 216 points (36.3% coverage with a mean rake fullness of 1.97) with 140 of these having a rake fullness of 2 or 3 (23.5% of the lake had a significant infestation). This represented a 315% increase in total CLP coverage as well as a 300% increase in areas with significant CLP.
CLP survey data from Upper Turtle Lake
Grant Awarded
Grant AEPP55118 awarded