HomeMy WebLinkAboutAquatic Invasive Species Committee - Minutes - 8/18/2021MINUTES
August 18th, 2021
Present: Nan Olson-Chair, Long Lake Property Owners Association (LLPOA); Steve Sandstrom-Board of
Supervisors District #1, Jim Giffin- Lake Minnesuing, Douglas County; Sally Pease-CBCW
Coordinator, Friends of the Eau Claire Lakes Association; Andrew Teal-AIS Coordinator, Alison
Lutterman-LLPOA, Karen Austin-CBCW Coordinator, Pike Chain of Lakes Association (PCLA); Mike
Higgins-citizen committee member, PCLA; Ramona Shackleford-NCWMA Coordinator, & Ben
Dufford-LWCD Conservationist
Absent:Reed Saam-Red Cliff TNRD, Melissa Kraft-LWCD Office Manager, David Zepczyk-Board of
Supervisor District #11
1.Nan Olson called the meeting to order at 9:01a.m.
2.Introductions: Introductions roundtable and welcome new committee members. Alison plans to join the committee
forward and Mike is new to the Committee
3.Discussion/possible action: Nan tabled nominations for Vice Chair. Tabled until at least next meeting when more
folks are more comfortable taking on the role.
4.Discussion/possible action: Nan discussed appointment of Mike Higgins as a new Citizen AIS member. Motion by
Olson/Pease to appoint Mike Higgins as Citizen AIS member. Motion carried.
5.Public Comment: None.
6.Motion: Approve minutes from February 26th, 2020. Pease/Sandstrom – motion carried. The meeting from April 28th,
2021, did not have a quorum, however the notes taken were found to be accurate.
7. Grant Updates:
CBCW-Iron River program and payroll: North Lakes Community Clinic will apparently stop running payroll when the
grant runs out and the county would not be able to suddenly take on the inspectors. Any funds that come to us could
theoretically be handled like the DALA donation but Melissa was not here when that happened and is unfamiliar with
the process. The grant currently has about $3600 worth of match accrued from volunteer hours at landings. This
means the grant needs an additional $3067 to meet the minimum required to obtain full reimbursement. $6666.67
needed total. 340 hours accrued now by end of program. No hours generated this year Much discussion about how to
run funding for September, why the County cannot support taking on inspectors, PCLA would put up cash to pay
inspectors and they are willing to but need a motion from the Committee or need NLCC to take the money into their
coffers. Need ballpark figure of how much money is needed, and a way to get checks out. Sally laid out how she does
volunteer hours at five lakes in Barnes, apparently similar to Pike Chain. Karen hires from Northwestern School.
Looking for a motion from the Committee to take on and spend money from PCLA whether it is the NLCC or Bayfield
County that does it. Alison: why can’t the county take on the inspectors? Plan phone call with Steve Sandstrom to
possibly discuss future of employing watercraft inspectors through the County.
Motion: To request local match payroll from Pike Chain and Long Lake to run the CBCW-Iron River program through
the end of October. Pease/Olson-all in favor, motion carried.
8. Update on Scope of Work: Andy will send this out to the Committee. Members will return it before the deadline of
September 1st.
9. Discussion on upcoming DNR AIS Coordinator program funding shift to Lake Management Partnership Network.
Andy’s position for funding is shifting to a set amount through DNR and unfortunately funding will not be as much. He
will have to apply each year for available funding dollars and pre-proposals are due Sept. 1st; full applications are due
on November 1st. Andy noted that he thinks that our county would be awarded around $20,000 a year through the new
DNR grant, but that is subject to change each year. His position is currently half-time working on AIS and the other half
of his position is currently funded by Bayfield County to do surface water conservation work. Andy says there may be a
decrease in county AIS program funding when the new DNR AIS funding model switches over. There are a few grants
for which we are eligible to apply and are pursuing.
Motion: Move to ask County Board to pass the authorizing resolution to pursue, obtain, and spend DNR Lake
Monitoring & Protection Network funding to meet the DNR grant application requirement. Olson/Sandstrom-all in favor,
motion carried.
10. Identify possible sources of alternative funding for Bayfield County AIS Project: Jim Giffin-Midwest Glacial
Lakes Partnership; Steve Sandstrom: big issue in the county: the great debate regarding the impact of bottling water
from an artesian well. Are there grant opportunities regarding how that might impact hydrology and estuaries in the
area if that water is removed? Seems like being a hot topic would improve odds of getting the grant. USGS: aquifer
study-check grant funding with them.
11. AIS Coordinator Report. Andy Teal discussed his report in detail which is on file.
He noted that he made two trips to the Iron River to cut yellow iris—one trip alone and one trip with two interns. Also
mentioned that if it qualifies, it could potentially be a grant project for Partners for Fish & Wildlife.
Partner/Department Reports:
Ben Dufford: described work of the LWCD: shoreline restoration, engineering, culvert placement, wetlands, agriculture
practices, dealing with floods, handling the Delta Dump, . Asked if we do much enforcement, and we do very little.
Primarily grant funded and have fingers in lots of stuff. Jim-what’s the success of finding landscapers that do complex
shoreline work (bags, etc), and there is a limited number of contractors available. He gave a few possibilities.
Ramona Shackleford: NCWMA-work in ABDI area, have four interns-two run boat wash, two work for Ramona doing
terrestrial weed work—GM, wild parsnip, knotweed. Knotweed-they cut and then return to spray, which seems to work
well, even four sites on Madeline Island. Just sprayed butterfly dock in Superior (one population), and also dalmatian
toadflax—which will be a hand pull project. Don’t want it to get into the barrens as it does well in dry sandy areas. It’s
been in Bayfield area since at least 1958 but it isn’t dominant there. Early August 4th—conducted an herbicide training
and a field tour to treat wild parsnip. Crew will probably stay until end of September.
Nan Olson- Nan and Andy met with the board informally to discuss the possibility of finding a representative from the
Pikes Chain or business member. Nan also talked about Lake Leaders.
Sally Pease- Tomahawk lake EWM got a great start this year. There are some early free floaters that have produced
adventitious roots. Sandbar not so bad. Weed boat running longer this year and is still on Sand Bar if anyone wants to
check it out. Sally described what the boat does—sucking up invasive plants, and what they do to collect the plants
(bagging and landfilling them). They went from operating 4 hours/day to 8 hours/day and swapping divers.
We are looking at building barrier area around the EWM in Tomahawk Lake to do a treatment and keep the herbicide
where we need it. Pamela Toshner asked Tyler Mesalk if key requirements had been met to pursue grant funding,
which remains unclear.
Clean Boats program in the Town of Barnes began on April 30th. Sally noted they started mid-May working Monday-
Thursday on the BAISS boat.
Jim Giffin: Curly-leaf pondweed, purple loosestrife, and yellow iris are the big three invasive species on Lake
Minnesuing. If anyone is interested, he can share info about the purple loosestrife beetles project. CLP is expanding
and now is at 10 acres. Used an EDR grant for two years but will now need to perhaps pursue a small scale lake
management grant.
Steve Sandstrom: just soaking it in for the first meeting. Says don’t hesitate to contact him if we have questions.
Alison Lutterman: would like: a Committee member application, the committee structure documents, and the current
grant agreement. Retired as Chief Litigator, Principal attorney for planning commission, and other roles, in the City of
Duluth.
Karen Austin: not a lot of EWM coming out of Twin Bear boat launch this year, which is most unusual. Al Bochler says
there is a new EWM treatment available that adheres to the plants themselves and is not dependent variables like
wind, depth, wave action, etc. There are beds of EWM growing in the south end of Buskey Bay, Twin Bear, and Eagle.
Mike Higgins: retired banker and auditor, first meeting and it has been educational.
Future AIS/Surface Water Activities:
a.Wisconsin Lakes & Rivers Convention, April 6-8, 2022 in Stevens Point, WI.
Other Business:
Nan Olson has offered to discuss funding with Reba Rice at NLCC and also to Town of Tripp for the possibility of
temporarily employing inspectors in the future.
Adjournment: Meeting ended at 11:12 a.m.
Future meeting date for regular AIS Committee meeting:
Dec. 7 2021 at 9AM