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Home My WebLink AboutAquatic Invasive Species Committee - Minutes - 5/22/2024MINUTES May 22nd, 2024 (to be approved) Present: Nan Olson-Chair & Lakes Business Representative; Sally Pease-Vice Chair & Friends of the Eau Claire Lakes Association; Jan Lee- County Board Supervisor; Marty Milanowski-County Board Supervisor; Andrew Teal-AIS Coordinator/Surface Water Conservation Technician; Karen Austin Landing Coordinator for Pike Chain of Lakes & Delta, Jay Johnson-Pike Chain of Lakes Assoc. President; & Melissa Kraft-Bayfield Co LWCD Assistant Absent: Ben Dufford-Director of Land & Water Conservation Dept.; Ramona Shackleford-Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area Coordinator; Alex Selle-Lake Superior AIS Coordinator w/ DNR; Jacob Coe- Environmental Technician with the Red Cliff Treaty Natural Resources Division; Mike Higgins-Pike Chain of Lakes Association Board Member Nan Olson-Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. Introductions: Introductions roundtable. Public Comment: Karen Austin-AIS Coordinator for Town of Delta gave a brief update that the park is up and running. John Coffee is ready to begin payroll. Nan briefed the new committee members that John Coffee again volunteered to process the payroll for the CBCW lake inspectors as he has for the last few years and this process has been running smoothly. Approval of Minutes from 11-15-23: Motion by Marty Milanowski, 2nd by Sally Pease, to approve the minutes from November 15th, 2023. Motion carried. Grant Updates/Discussion/Possible Action: LMPN/AIS#9 and Clean Boats Clean Waters-Iron River grants The LMPN/AIS#9 grant of $20,090.27 was awarded for 2024. We have begun to spend funds as of March 31st. CBCW-Iron River Grant has been awarded. Andy stated John Coffey does the payroll for the CBCW Lake Inspectors for the Pike Chain of lakes landings for this grant. Karen Austin coordinates the volunteers for the landings. Discussion/Possible Action regarding updating Bayfield County AIS ‘No Transport’ Ordinance to include terrestrial plants or all vegetation. Andy was contacted by Eric Lindberg of Lake Sentry LLC to discuss a few updates to the Bayfield County AIS No Transport Ordinance, primarily to include terrestrial plants and a definition for terrestrial plants. The idea behind this is that any law enforcement officer investigating a report will not have to be trained in plant identification or be a biologist to take enforcement action. Eric also suggested a line in the ordinance that explicitly “prohibits the launch of any watercraft or placement of any trailer or equipment into any navigable water if there are aquatic or terrestrial plants or animals attached”. Committee agreed that Andy should begin the process of making those changes discussed and bring it to the committee when it is completed for final review. Discussion: Monitoring plans for 2024: Andy discussed monitoring/removal of yellow iris and access issues getting to the location of some sites on the Iron River near Iron Lake Rd. The removal processes would either be hand-pulling or chemical application, depending on the size. Jan suggested that Andy regularly put out information on various invasive species in local media, such as, local papers like Bottom Line New & Views, as public education awareness. The goal is to bring awareness to the public which in turn will help them to be more receptive to allowing access to their property to work on slowing or stopping the spread of invasives. Jan suggests highlighting a specific invasive in each article. AIS Coordinator Report. Andy Teal discussed a recent training/meeting he attended in Stevens Point and noted he also helped out with the macroinvertebrates/aquatic plants module at the spring LEEP Field Day in early May. The weather was windy and rainy but everything went well. Particularly the kids really seemed to enjoy it, were very engaged, and seemed to learn a lot. This year anglers can receive a Swedish dish cloth for the Stop Spiny Campaign and stickers that say INSPECT REMOVE DRAIN for the Landing Blitz. Jan asked if the past winter and lack of snow/ice cover would affect the algae blooms or increase invasives in the ponds and/or on land. There was a brief discussion on various scenarios that can trigger algae blooms, runoff, etc. Andy discussed future AIS/Surface Water Activities which are outlined on the current agenda. Andy noted he is currently working on a native planting on a lake to help stabilize a slope. If anyone is interested in doing a shoreline project, they can contact our office, and we will see if we can get it on our future project list. Brief mention of some past lake shore projects that were highlighted during our 2023 LCC Fall Tour. Brief discussion on factors that can cause lake erosion which can include wave action from wind and the water level of the lake. Ramona Shackleford-NCWMA Coordinator- Ramona was unable to attend. Sally Pease-Discussion that most of the lakes in Barnes are spring-fed lakes. Discussion on an upcoming demonstration of Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting boat which is used to combat Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) and curly-leaf pondweed (CLP). Divers pull the weeds and feed them into a big tube from the boat that sucks it up into a screened basin and then volunteers grab, bag, and remove the weeds from the lake. The BAISS boat will also be used at Tomahawk and Sand Bar Lakes for removal of EWM. Sally also noted they are trying a new approach by having volunteers sign up online for helping out at the landings and provide educational information to visiting anglers. Sally will be at three landings this summer. She discussed various herbicides and the effectiveness of combating different invasives and also discussed hand pulling. Upper, Middle, and Lower Eau Claire Lakes and Tomahawk Lake will likely be the primary focus in 2025 due to lack of volunteers. Karen asked Andy if he could combine Buskey Bay and the Town landing in the CBCW-Iron River grant for next year. Andy noted that pairing the landings could decrease the funding by possibly $4000. Karen will think about it and let him know if she would like them paired or not. Karen noted she will be recognizing/thanking the volunteers via a newsletter that the Pike Chain of Lakes Association is working on. Future AIS/Surface Water Activities: a. Northwoods Invasive Species Poster Contest awards presentation to Ashland Middle School and Drummond Middle School. Dates TBD b. Invasive Species ID Days, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, 1-4 pm on July 26, August 30, and September 27. Student Science Expo on October 9 starting at 9 am. c. Northwest Wisconsin Lakes Conference: June 21, 2024, 8am-3:30 pm, Spooner High School d. Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference, DECC in Duluth MN, November 12-14, 2024 Other Business: Nan asked to consider Lake Leaders Institute, and recommended Carol LeBreck as a resource. She also noted that she has been on the County AIS Committee since its inception and the committee has always had an AIS Coordinator that has done a great job. Jay asked what Diamond Lake is monitoring. The Rosebushes explained that they want to have a CBCW and shoreline monitoring program. Diamond Lake has a surveillance system at the landing, and they are installing a cleaning station and informational signs. They just got the professional report for their baseline monitoring and plan to start monitoring near the boat landing. Sally suggested having a volunteer appreciation event like a cookout or a lunch to boost engagement. Adjournment: Motion by Sally Pease, 2nd by Marty Milanowski, to adjourn meeting. Motion carried. Meeting ended at 10:29 a.m. Reminder of Future meeting date(s) for regular AIS Committee meeting: • Aug 14, 2024 at 9AM in the EOC • Nov 6, 2024 at 9AM in the EOC Respectfully submitted by Melissa Kraft.