OUR MISSION & VISION

Lake Association faces reduced State funding to fight weeds

The Minocqua Kawaguesaga Lake Protection Association (MKLPA) has been fighting invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) for over 20 years and has become quite successful at keeping this monster at bay. Left unchecked, milfoil propagates rapidly and creates a mat on the surface of the water that makes water use in the impacted areas nearly impossible.

Thanks to the efforts of the MKLPA, the waters of Minocqua and Kawagusaga are in very good shape today, however, the monster is still lurking. There is no way to completely eradicate Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM), it is a permanent inhabitant of our lakes. However, its impact can be mitigated through variety of methods including mechanical harvesting, diver assisted suction harvesting (DASH), and herbicide treatment.

The MKLPA participates in a complex process to manage our lakes, this process has to be recreated every year;

• Process starts with the Wisconsin DNR which uses the Lake Management Plan created by the MKLPA’s consultant, OnTerra – this plan has to be updated every five (5) years for MKLPA to be eligible for permits and grants
• OnTerra assists MKLPA in applying for permits and grants to mange our lakes.
• Permits are approved or denied by the Wisconsin DNR
• Permits that receive approval, MKLPA initiates a grant writing process to assist in paying for the execution of the approved permits
• MKLPA contracts with Aquatic Plant Management (APM) to execute the permit using the monies from grants, membership dues and donations
• APM manages the mechanical harvesting and herbicide application in the permit-approved areas.

Needless to say, this all costs money. Over the last 5 years, the MKLPA has spent an average of $170,000 per year to fight milfoil on our two lakes. The organization was formed because there is no government agency that executes or pays for lake weed mitigation. It is only through applying for grants, public fundraising events, annual lake association dues, and generous contributions from lake users that the MKLPA is able to fund these efforts.

As you might expect, under the current administration, grant funding is being sharply reduced across the board. The impact to the MKLPA will likely become significant, as they depend on grants to cover much of the cost to manage Eurasian watermilfoil.