Echo Lake (WBIC 2630200) is a 172 acre stratified seepage lake in west-central Barron County, Wisconsin in the Town of Almena (T34N R14W S07 NE NE) (Figure 1). The lake reaches a maximum depth of 41ft in the southeast corner of the central basin and has an average depth of 20ft (Busch et al. 1967). Echo Lake is mesotrophic bordering on oligotrophic in nature and water clarity is good to very good with summer Secchi readings from 2004-16 averaging 12ft (WDR 2016). Bottom substrate is variable with sandy muck bottoms in most bays and rock/sand bars along most points and around the lake’s islands. Eurasian water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) (EWM) was discovered in Echo Lake in 2006, and the Echo Lake Association (ELA) has been actively managing this invasive exotic species since 2008. Following the 2015 fall EWM bed mapping survey that found extremely low numbers of EWM plants scattered throughout the lake, the ELA, under the direction of Lake Education and Planning Services, Inc. (LEAPS), proposed to continue with lakewide monitoring and manual rake removal of all EWM found in 2016.

Property owners were again approached about installing rain gardens and/or native plantings along the shores of Echo Lake. One property owner, Dick Hyllestad completed a shoreland inventory and small shoreland native planting based on recommendations made by The Green From shoreland consulting company.

This report discusses aquatic plant management activities completed by the Echo Lake Association (ELA) and Lake Education and Planning Services (LEAPS) during the 2014 season and provides a proposed Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) control plan for 2015. The 2015 treatment proposal provides the Association with the information needed to contract with a certified aquatic herbicide applicator to complete the necessary WDNR permitting and herbicide treatment. The following list of education and management actions were completed in 2014.

The annual meeting of Echo Lake, discussing EWM Management in Echo Lake - a brief history and sounding of the alarm.

Initial expectations were to treat four beds totaling 1.43 acres with granular 2, 4-D (Navigate) at a concentration of 3ppm (Table 1). Following the pretreatment survey where we found EWM at or inter-point in each of these areas, it was determined to maintain the treatment as initially planned. The final treatment was conducted by Lake Management, Inc. on June 26th

EWM treatment areas of Echo Lake.

Project deliverables include GIS data & maps of areas monitored, aquatic plant monitoring & bed mapping results, examples of AIS education & outreach, AIS monitoring & watercraft inspection data in SWIMS, water quality data in SWIMS, and report on shoreland restoration education

Shoreland Restoration