Watermilfoil weed may invade wallets

TRAVERSE CITY -- An invasive weed spreading across Silver Lake prompted local officials to discuss ways to control it -- perhaps by taxing lakefront dwellers.

"It is very important for the lake residents to come and learn about it so they know what they are dealing with. We are looking into probably a special assessment for people on the lake" to fund management efforts, Blair Township Supervisor Marilyn Fleis said.

Garfield Township spent more than $4,000 to chemically treat the water weed in recent years, but new patches of the plant were discovered on the lake's south side last fall.

Bre Grabill, northern lakes manager for Caledonia-based Professional Lake Management, surveyed Silver Lake in September and found watermilfoil patches covering 15 to 35 of the lake's 600 acres. If left untreated, the dense plant can grow up to and across the water surface, Grabill said. The weed kills native water plants and disrupts a lake's ecosystem.

Grabill estimated this summer's treatment costs to run between $12,000 and $25,000, but said a new survey will be necessary because the plant can continue to grow under the ice.

"I estimated high because I have no idea what the lake will look like this spring," she said, adding that watermilfoil, which has infested lakes across the country, can grow as much as a foot per week.

"It can be controlled, but the weed will never be eradicated. Once you have it, you will always have it," she said.

A property owner discovered watermilfoil in 2005, said Garfield Township Deputy Supervisor Joe McManus, and the township decided to foot the bill for the first two years of water herbicide treatments. Treatment costs escalate as the plant spreads and the townships are now looking to residents to stay ahead of the problem, he said.

"The problems are getting bigger and now it goes into Blair Township, so we have to get more people involved," he said. "If the ... land owners want treatment going forward that would be the most likely course of action, a special assessment district."

The public meetings will be held at 1 p.m. April 19 at Garfield Township Hall, 3848 Veterans Drive, and at 7 p.m. April 22 at Blair Township Hall, 2121 County Road 633 in Grawn.

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Blair and Garfield Township officials will hold two public presentations in April on the Eurasian watermilfoil, an invasive weed that is spreading across Silver Lake. Record-Eagle