The Presque Isle Town Lakes Committee (PITLC) was formed in 2005 to address resource management concerns in lakes within the Town of Presque Isle. The Committee has been active in a number of lake management activities on Averill Lake including: aquatic plant management, water quality sampling, invasive species sampling, and community education activities. The Committee contracted Northern Environmental (now Bonestroo, Inc.) to help develop an aquatic plant management (APM) plan for Averill Lake. The Averill Lake APM Plan includes a review of available lake information, an aquatic plant survey, and an evaluation of feasible physical, mechanical, biological, and chemical management alternatives if deemed appropriate. The APM plan also recommends specific prevention activities for aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the lake system; which are discussed below. Northern Environmental completed an aquatic plant survey on Averill Lake in 2007, which identified twelve aquatic plant species. The most abundant aquatic plants identified during the survey bushy pondweed (Najas flexilis), large-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton amplifolius), and fern pondweed (Potamogeton robbinsii). The Floristic Quality Index (FQI) is an index that uses the aquatic plant community as an indicator of lake health. Averill Lake exhibited an FQI of 19.05, lower than the state northern ecoregion average (24.3).

The Presque Isle Town Lakes Committee (PITLC) was formed in 2005 to address resource management concerns in lakes within the Town of Presque Isle. The Committee has been active in a number of lake management activities on Wildcat Lake including: aquatic plant management, water quality sampling, invasive species sampling, and community education activities. The Committee contracted Northern Environmental (now Bonestroo, Inc.) to help develop an aquatic plant management (APM) plan for Wildcat Lake. The Wildcat Lake APM Plan includes a review of available lake information, an aquatic plant survey, and an evaluation of feasible physical, mechanical, biological, and chemical management alternatives if deemed appropriate. The APM plan also recommends specific prevention activities for aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the lake system, which are discussed below. Northern Environmental completed an aquatic plant survey on Wildcat Lake in 2007, which identified twenty nine aquatic plant species. The most abundant aquatic plants identified during the survey were northern watermilfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum), coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum), and flat-stem pondweed (Potamogeton zosterformis). The Floristic Quality Index (FQI) is an index that uses the aquatic plant community as an indicator of lake health. Wildcat Lake exhibited an FQI of 33.68, higher than the state northern ecoregion average (24.3).

The Town of Presque Isle is sponsoring a large scale lake planning grant to study Wildcat and Averill Lakes in Vilas County with a study completion date of June 30, 2008. The project will focus on developing an Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Plan for each lake. Project activities include: 1) Data review and project kick-off meeting, one site visit to discuss goals, and project final meeting 2) Develop public questionnaire and prepare educational article 3) Point-intercept (PI) survey of aquatic plants with 2 sets of pressed plants from each lake 4) Aquatic plant community mapping and analysis 5) Water quality sampling - secchi, P, Chla, DO, and Temp during aquatic plant sampling 6) Watershed and land use analysis 7) Develop APM Plan.

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The Town of Presque Isle is sponsoring a large scale lake planning grant to study Wildcat and Averill Lakes in Vilas County with a study completion date of June 30, 2008. The project will focus on developing an Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Plan for each lake. Project activities include: 1) Data review and project kick-off meeting, one site visit to discuss goals, and project final meeting 2) Develop public questionnaire and prepare educational article 3) Point-intercept (PI) survey of aquatic plants with 2 sets of pressed plants from each lake 4) Aquatic plant community mapping and analysis 5) Water quality sampling - secchi, P, Chla, DO, and Temp during aquatic plant sampling 6) Watershed and land use analysis 7) Develop APM Plan.