Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Shawano Lake boosters have won a battle against an invasive plant species, but they know the war might not be over yet.
One year after large-scale herbicide treatments, the group known as Shawano Area Waterways Management says the lake’s water quality is significantly better for the 2017 summer season.
Now the waiting begins to see if — or when — the destructive underwater plants make a comeback.
Ray Zuelke, a board member of the waterways group, said the stubborn invasive species known as Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM) almost always returns to one degree or another. So his group is hoping to remain vigilant.
“We want to be ready,” he said.
For the time being, though, the lake is exhibiting noticeably cleaner conditions for boating, fishing and other activities, without nasty plant infestation mucking things up.
Ken VanDenPlas, chairman of the Shawano chapter of Walleyes For Tomorrow, said he has not seen the lake looking this clean in 10 years or more.
VanDenPlas said he was pleasantly surprised starting this spring when he was able to boat across the lake without being forced to stop halfway to clean nuisance plants off his boat’s propeller.
“It’s much improved,” he said. “There’s a lot less of it out there.”
Equipped with a permit from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the private waterways management group led an effort last spring to combat EWM. A contractor was hired to complete herbicide applications across virtually the entire 6,000-acre lake to eradicate the unwanted plant without harming other plants or wildlife.
The estimated $400,000 project was a major undertaking closely monitored by the state and funded with help from lakefront homeowners, businesses, local governments and other supporters.
A report issued in March concluded that the treatments reduced the EWM infestation by more than 90 percent, better than the goal of 70 percent. The report prepared by consultants on the project also cautioned that the unwanted plants could return later.
“An insufficient time has passed to make official judgments if EWM control occurred or if the plants were simply injured for that season and quickly recover,” the report said.
Leaders of the Shawano Area Waterways Management group are expressing delight at how well the herbicide treatments knocked back the plant infestation — even if it does prove to be temporary.
Gary DeFere, president of the private group, said he has enjoyed boating on the cleaner lake this season, and he has heard fishing hobbyists praise the results, too, including bass fishermen who said they were experiencing the best fishing season in 15 or 20 years.
“It was unbelievably successful,” DeFere said. “It was beyond our wildest imaginations.”
Smaller applications of another herbicide were completed in May to clear boat traffic lanes of another invasive plant called curly-leaf pondweed.
For the most part, however, this summer will be spent monitoring the lake for signs that the EW
Zuelke said his group also is making plans to seek another state grant to fund the next phase of the invasive plant battle between 2018 and 2020. If the infestation makes a comeback, he said, it will be important to have plans in place and be ready to act quickly.
Within seven or 10 years, Zuelke said, it could even become necessary to consider another large-scale herbicide treatment.
Referring to proper care of the lake, he added: “It’ll probably be never-ending.”