Hicks Lake Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan – 2017
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DRAFT HICKS LAKE INTEGRATED AQUATIC VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN – 2017 Prepared for City of Lacey Prepared by Herrera Environmental Consultants, Inc. Note: Some pages in this document have been purposely skipped or blank pages inserted so that this document will copy correctly when duplexed. HICKS LAKE INTEGRATED AQUATIC VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN – 2017 Prepared for City of Lacey 420 College Street Southeast Lacey, Washington 98503 Prepared by Herrera Environmental Consultants, Inc. 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1100 Seattle, Washington 98121 Telephone: 206-441-9080 Funded by Washington State Department of Ecology Aquatic Weeds Management Fund Grant Number WQAIP-2017-LacePW-00001 DRAFT November 15, 2016 CONTENTS Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... iii 1. Problem Statement ............................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Plant Management Goals .................................................................................................................................... 3 3. Lake and Watershed Characteristics ............................................................................................................... 5 4. Beneficial Uses of Hicks Lake ........................................................................................................................... 11 5. Aquatic Plant Community ................................................................................................................................. 13 5.1. Plant Distribution ........................................................................................................................................ 13 5.2. Targeted Plant Descriptions ....................................................................................................................17 6. Past Management Efforts .................................................................................................................................. 19 7. Aquatic Plant Control Alternatives ................................................................................................................20 8. Aquatic Plant Control Scenarios .....................................................................................................................23 8.1. Noxious Floating-Leaved Plant Management .................................................................................. 27 8.2. Native Nuisance Submersed Plant Management ........................................................................... 27 8.3. Maintain Lake Health ................................................................................................................................. 28 8.4. Contingency Management ...................................................................................................................... 28 9. Selected Action Strategy & Implementation ............................................................................................. 31 9.1. Action Strategy ............................................................................................................................................ 31 9.2. Implementation ........................................................................................................................................... 33 10. Public Involvement .............................................................................................................................................. 35 11. Monitoring and Evaluation Plan .....................................................................................................................37 11.1. Aquatic Plant Surveys ....................................................................................................................37 11.2. Water Quality Monitoring ............................................................................................................37 11.3. Annual Evaluation ........................................................................................................................... 37 12. References............................................................................................................................................................... 39 i kg 15-06169-000_hickslakeiavmp2017.docx APPENDICES Appendix A Hicks Lake LMD Steering Committee and Public Meeting Notes Appendix B Aquatic Plant Control Alternatives Appendix C Invasive Aquatic Plant Identification Appendix D Public Awareness Signs TABLES Table 1. Physical Characteristics of Hicks Lake and Watershed. ............................................................... 5 Table 2. Comprehensive Plant List, Hicks Lake Surveys 1995-2016a. ....................................................14 Table 3. Summary of Permitted Aquatic Herbicide Use for Hicks Lake ................................................ 19 Table 4. Aquatic Plant Control Options Considered for Hicks Lake .......................................................21 Table 5. Plant Coverage on Hicks Lake .............................................................................................................23 Table 6. Preliminary Annual Costs of Aquatic Plant Control Scenarios for Hicks Lake in Lacey, Washington. .................................................................................................................................. 25 Table 7. Fragrant Waterlily Management Options on Hicks Lake. .........................................................27 Table 8. Common Water-Nymph Management Options on Hicks Lake. ............................................28 Table 9. Annual IAVMP Costs for Hicks Lake Selected Action Strategy. ..............................................31 FIGURES Figure 1. Watershed and Surrounding Vicinity for Hicks Lake, Lacey, Washington. ........................... 6 Figure 2. 1995 – 2015 Trophic Status Indices for Hicks Lake. ...................................................................... 7 Figure 3. May through October 2015 Profiles of Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, pH, and Conductivity for Hicks Lake. .......................................................................................................... 8 Figure 4. Hicks Lake Aquatic Vegetation Density Map, Lacey, Washington. ........................................16 Figure 5. Hicks Lake Aquatic Vegetation Control Map, Lacey, Washington. ........................................26 ii kg 15-06169-000_hickslakeiavmp2017.docx EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hicks Lake lies within the City of Lacey in the Henderson Inlet watershed in Thurston County, Washington. The 160-acre lake experiences dense growth of nonnative and native aquatic plants that inhibit the recreational usability and aesthetics of the lake. In 2015, members of the Hicks Lake community worked with the City of Lacey to establish the Hicks Lake, Lake Management District (LMD). The LMD applied for a grant to create Hicks Lake’s first Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan (IAVMP). Hicks Lake has a large population of nonnative fragrant waterlilies (Nymphaea odorata) that has been present on the lake for many years. Recently, native submersed aquatic plants, primarily common water-nymph (Najas guadalupensis), have colonized most of the nearshore area of Hicks Lake. The presence of these two plant species is a safety concern for people swimming in the nearshore area or those trying to access deeper waters. Boating access and fishing are also hindered in the nearshore area by these plants. Some fragrant waterlilies have been treated with herbicide in the past, but the common water-nymph has never been treated at Hicks Lake. This IAVMP details strategies for continued management of fragrant waterlily with the herbicide glyphosate, as well as the control of the nuisance native common water-nymph with the herbicide diquat. This IAVMP is a planning document developed to ensure that the Hicks Lake LMD community have considered the best available information about the water body and the watershed prior to initiating control efforts. To tackle the difficult task of generating community awareness and action for an environmental issue, a core group of residents formed a steering committee, which includes ten lake residents and one staff person from the City of Lacey. Members of the Hicks Lake LMD Steering Committee worked in partnership with Herrera Environmental Consultants, Inc. (Herrera) to develop this IAVMP for Hicks Lake using a grant to the City of Lacy from the Washington State Department of Ecology Aquatic Weeds Management Fund. The goal of this IAVMP is to establish a maintenance level of control to meet recreational goals with an integrated approach that minimizes the use of herbicides to reduce the potential impacts of chemical inputs to the lake. This 2017 IAVMP details a plan for management of the following aquatic plants. • Noxious Floating-Leaved Plants – Treat one-third of fragrant waterlily (excluding the conservation area) with glyphosate annually for the first 3 years (approximately 8 acres each year from 2017 through 2019). Each treatment will involve an initial treatment, followed up by a second treatment a few weeks later to treat any plants that may have been missed because the pads had not surfaced or the herbicide washed off the leaves. After 3 years, all waterlilies targeted for control will have been treated.