Aquatic Plant Management Plan
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1203 Storbeck Drive Waupun, WI 53963 (920) 324-8600 (800) 498-3921 Fax (920) 324-3023 www.northernenvironmental.com AQUATIC PLANT MANAGEMENT PLAN SHAWANO LAKE SHAWANO COUNTY, WISCONSIN March 12, 2009 Prepared for: Mr. Gary Defere Shawano Area Waterways Management, Inc. N5505 Bischoff Bay Lane Shawano, Wisconsin 54166 Prepared by: Northern Environmental Technologies, Incorporated 1203 Storbeck Drive Waupun, Wisconsin 53963 Northern Environmental Project Number: 400-1027 _______________________________________ Radley Z. Watkins Project Scientist RZW/dam © 2009 Northern Environmental Technologies, Incorporated Aquatic Plant Management Plan-Shawano Lake March 12, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND EXKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................ 1 2.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 1 3.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ......................................................................................................... 2 3.1 Lake Facts........................................................................................................................................... 2 3.2 Lake Management History ................................................................................................................. 4 3.3 Goals and Objectives.......................................................................................................................... 4 4.0 PROJECT METHODS ............................................................................................................................. 5 4.1 Existing Data Review......................................................................................................................... 6 4.2 Aquatic Plant Survey and Analysis .................................................................................................... 7 4.3 Watershed Assessment Methods ........................................................................................................ 9 4.4 Plan Biomass Study Methods............................................................................................................. 9 5.0 PROJECT RESULTS ............................................................................................................................... 9 5.1 2005Aquatic Plant Survey.................................................................................................................. 9 5.1.1 Floating-Leaf Plants................................................................................................................ 10 5.1.2 Submergent Plants .................................................................................................................. 11 5.1.3 Emergent Plants ...................................................................................................................... 11 5.2 Floristic Quality Index ...................................................................................................................... 11 5.3 Watershed Assessment Summary..................................................................................................... 11 5.4 Plant Biomass Summary................................................................................................................... 12 6.0 PROJECT DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................... 12 7.0 AQUATIC PLANT MANAGEMENT RECOMENDATIONS............................................................. 13 7.1 Education, Prevention and Monitoring............................................................................................. 15 7.2 Hand Removal of Aquatic Plants ..................................................................................................... 17 7.3 Use Harvesters to Limit Nutrients and Remove Plants .................................................................... 18 7.4 Chemical Herbicide Use................................................................................................................... 19 7.5 Nutrient Management....................................................................................................................... 20 7.6 Water Level Manipulation (Drawdown) .......................................................................................... 21 7.7 Potential Funding Sources................................................................................................................ 23 8.0 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................... 25 9. 0 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 25 i Aquatic Plant Management Plan-Shawano Lake March 12, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) FIGURES Figure 1: Photo of Eurasian Watermilfoil and Curly-leaf Pondweed on Shawano Lake Figure 2: Trends in Secchi Disk Readings Figure 3: Point Intercept Sampling Locations Figure 4a-4f: August 2005 Aquatic Plant Distribution Figure 5: Eurasian Watermilfoil, August 2005 Figure 6: Curly Leaf Pondweed, August 2005 TABLES Table 1: Taxa Detected During 2005 Aquatic Plant Surveys Table 2: 2005 Aquatic Plant Community Statistics Table 3: 2005 Aquatic Plant Taxa-Specific Statistics Table 4: Floristic Quality Index APPENDICES Appendix A: Aquatic Invasive Species Information ......................................................................... 3 pages Appendix B Shawano Lake, (Shawano County) Sensitive Area Survey Report ........................... 12 pages Appendix C: Point Intercept Sample Coordinates........................................................................... 17 pages Appendix D: Descriptions of Shawano Lakes Aquatic Plant Species............................................... 7 pages Appendix E: Importance of Aquatic Plants to Lake Ecosystem ....................................................... 2 pages Appendix F: General Summary of Aquatic Plant Management Alternatives................................. 23 pages Appendix G: NR 107 and NR 109 Wisconsin Administrative Codes............................................... 7 pages Appendix H: Resources for Additional Information ......................................................................... 2 pages ii 1203 Storbeck Drive Waupun, WI 53963 (920) 324-8600 (800) 498-3921 Fax (920) 324-3023 www.northernenvironmental.com 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND AKNOWLEDGMENTS Shawano Area Waterways Management, Inc. (SAWM) formed in 1971 to address resource management concerns on Shawano Lake. SAWM has been active in a number of lake management activities on Shawano Lake including: aquatic plant management (mechanical, chemical), water quality sampling, invasive species sampling, and community education activities. The SAWM contracted Northern Environmental Technologies, Inc. (Northern Environmental) to help develop an Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Plan for Shawano Lake and SAWM is an active participant in the planning process. The APM Plan included a review of available lake information, data analysis based on an aquatic plant survey, and an evaluation of feasible physical, mechanical, biological, and chemical management alternatives for aquatic plants. The APM Plan recommends specific management activities for the management of Eurasian watermilfoil and curly leaf pondweed and native plants in Shawano Lake. The US Army Corps of Engineers completed an aquatic plant survey on Shawano Lake in 2005, which identified 23 aquatic plant species. The most abundant aquatic plants identified during the survey were Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM), curly-leaf pondweed (CLP), and common waterweed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated Shawano Lake to have a presence of 2,640 acres of EWM and 1,640 acres of CLP. The Floristic Quality Index (FQI) is an index that uses the aquatic plant community as an indicator of lake health. Plants sensitive to disturbances in the lake ecosystem are assigned a higher value than plants which can tolerate disturbances. The values of all species present are used in a formula to determine the plant community’s FQI. Shawano Lake exhibited a FQI of 28.59, higher than the state average, and indicative of a diverse and healthy plant community. Northern Environmental management recommendations for SAWM are based on restoration of native plants in Shawano Lake, control of EWM and CLP, and protection of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) designated Sensitive Areas. Recommendations include action steps as well as measures of success and can be found in the end of this document (Section 6). SAWM will prepare an annual update for the WDNR on the group's progress towards meeting the targets in the recommendations section. For further information regarding this plan contact SWAM, the WDNR, or Northern Environmental. The following people were involved in designing the Shawano Lake Aquatic Plant Management Plan by either serving on the Steering Committee or otherwise providing advice and guidance in the documents development: 1 Aquatic Plant Management Plan-Shawano Lake March 12, 2009 2.0 INTRODUCTION This document is the Shawano Lake Aquatic Plant Management Plan. It is designed to summarize technical data regarding Shawano Lake and to provide guidance regarding plant management on Shawano Lake. It is also intended