Monthly Archive For Curly Leaf Pondweed

Thinking about spring

. . .and wondering how long it will be before we can get out there and pull some more pondweed! Many of us received this letter from Bob Kary of the Rice Lake Association reminding us that help will be needed again in 2023 in the ongoing battle against Curly Leaf Pondweed and other aquatic invasives in the Turtle River watershed. It’s not too early to think about how we can get involved in the effort.

Your LOFA board of directors has been talking to some nice folks at the Wisconsin DNR about other steps we can take to ensure the health of Lake of the Falls going forward. We’ve got some plans in the works and will be releasing details once everything’s firmed up. So stay tuned, and in the meantime, enjoy the snow!

Read More »

Update from Rice Lake, and the May board meeting minutes

After the first two days of “The Great Weed Pull” volunteers on Rice Lake have harvested over 6000 lbs of Curly Leaf Pondweed from the north shore of the lake. That’s 6000 lbs in two 8-hour days, and it’s just a drop in the bucket. On Wednesday there were about 15 people representing several lakes (including Rice, Lake of the Falls, the Turtle Flambeau Flowage, and Long Lake) in 8 boats hauling the weeds in with long rakes and packing them into mesh bags which were then taken to the Hadley brush pit. It’s hard work, but really worth it to see how CLP is impacting Rice Lake, and trying to imagine what that would be like here on Lake of the Falls.

 

The good news is that the Rice Lake Association has received their permit from the DNR to install a public boat landing, so it seems that their grant is safe and the project can continue to go ahead as planned. They’re still recruiting volunteers, so if you have some free time next week, visit RiceLakeAssociation.org and offer to help!

 

And here are the meeting minutes from the LOFA board meeting that was held last Sunday.

Read More »

Pondweed and fish update

Here is an excerpt from the thank-you letter sent by the Rice Lake Association to the many volunteers who participated in The Great Weed Pull 2022. Several families from Lake of the Falls joined weed-pullers from all over Iron County and beyond in the effort to control Curly Leaf Pondweed in Rice Lake and the Turtle River during the first 2 weeks of June. While it’s unlikely that CLP will ever be completely removed from our watershed, this year’s effort was a great success and much progress was made.Go to ricelakeassociation.org to see photos of the weed-pullers in action, and please consider volunteering for next year’s event. It’s starting to look like we may be able to beat this, with everybody’s help!

 

“…We think back fondly on each and every day we spent with you on the water. The herculean effort you made to pull those big loads of pondweed into your boat.  The friendly competition of who had the most bags of CLP. Your sense of humor and kind and gentle good nature. The sharing of a meal each day prepared by our wonderful Rice Lake family. The memories are endless and dear.

Read More »

“Lake Plants You Should Know”

, , , is a field guide published by UW-Extension Lakes, the Citizens Lake Monitoring Network, and Clean Boats Clean Waters that features LIFE-SIZE photos of many of the aquatic plants we find in our lakes, plus a few we hope never to find. And it’s waterproof, so you can take it out in your boat and use it to get to  know your plants. And now the Lake of the Falls Association has it’s own copy, which you can borrow by sending a note to lofassociation@gmail.com. Take this book out for a paddle and get it dirty! Get to know what’s growing in your water!

 

And don’t forget Conservation on Tap this Thursday evening, June 9th, at 6:00 at The Pines, where Zach Wilson will present on everyone’s favorite topic, invasive species and what we’re doing to stop them. See you on Thursday!

Read More »

Zach Wilson to speak at the May board meeting

Join Iron County Land and Water Conservation Specialist Zach Wilson on Sunday, May 29 at 11:00 (after the board meeting) at Beaver’s Resort to learn about Water Quality and Aquatic Invasive Species Monitoring. Zach will be discussing the latest information on the Turtle River curly leaf pondweed occurrences and spread, as well as proper monitoring techniques for Lake of the Falls.

 

This is a good chance to get your questions answered by someone who knows the situation inside-out. Hope to see a lot of LOFA members there.

Read More »
Monthly News Archives