PCLA partners with the DNR and the FLOE Counties coordinator to monitor and mitigate Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS,) attending regular AIS training sessions and the annual Snapshot Day to learn about and identify AIS.   There are three specific species we are watching for: zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, and purple loosestrife. 

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Monitoring

Zebra Mussels

What is a zebra mussel? 

Zebra mussels have a distinctive “D”-shaped shell with alternating dark- and light-colored zigzag stripes, similar to a zebra. Adult zebra mussels are typically 1/8-inch to 2-inch long. They are often found attached to hard surfaces, like rocks, docks, shells, and wood, but can attach to any solid surface, including submerged aquatic plants, native invertebrates, and each other.

Zebra Mussels can quickly colonize a lake and make it inhospitable to fish by filtering out all the zooplankton fish eat.  They are also very sharp and make the lake difficult to enjoy without protective gear.  There is no known mitigation for zebra mussels other than preventing them from getting into the lake.

What we are doing?  PCLA has instituted a boat inspection program (see CBCW page), and participates in AIS monitoring.

What can you do? 

  • Do not transfer water, bait, or fishing lines between lakes.

  • Check the DNR website to see if the lake you are visiting has any AIS.  

  • Please wait at least 5 days before using your boat on a new lake. 

  • Participate in the CBCW inspection program

  • Participate in our AIS monitoring program.  

  • Participate in the Wisconsin Extension Snapshot Day.  

Purple Loosestrife

What is purple loosestrife? 

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is an invasive wetland perennial plant. It is three to seven feet tall, with up to 50 stems topped with purple flower spikes that bloom from July to September, then releasing thousands of seeds per plant.

Clipped plants grow back and cut stems readily re-root in the soil to produce new plants. With alarmingly fast reproduction rates, purple loosestrife can out-compete native wetland vegetation and affects how animals nest for shelter, find food, and reproduce.

What we are doing?  

Many areas of the state use safe biocontrol beetles that feed on the loosestrife to keep it in check and allow other plants to grow. PCLA participates in AIS monitoring, and we are working with the FLOE Counties coordinator to apply and test beetles to reduce the spread of purple loosestrife seeds.

What can you do? 

  • Pull out, bag, and dispose of any purple loosestrife on your property.

  • Participate in our AIS monitoring program.  

  • Participate in the Wisconsin Extension Snapshot Day. 

Eurasian Watermilfoil

What is Eurasian Watermilfoil?

Eurasian Watermilfoil is a submerged aquatic plant that can reproduce via fragmentation, meaning a single stem fragment introduced to a waterbody could take root and establish a new population.

Eurasian watermilfoil crowds out native plants, reducing biodiversity, diminishes fish habitat and negatively impacts wetland habitats. Dense mats form near the surface.  They entangle boat propellers and interfere with swimming and fishing. 

Eurasian watermilfoil resembles the native Northern Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum). Unlike the Eurasian variety, Northern milfoil offers shade, shelter and foraging opportunities for fish.

IDENTIFYING EURASIAN WATERMILFOIL

Eurasian watermilfoil resembles the native Northern Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum). Unlike the Eurasian variety, Northern milfoil offers shade, shelter and foraging opportunities for fish.

Eurasian watermilfoil can usually be distinguished from their native lookalikes by:

Leaflets: native milfoils have ten or fewer pairs of leaflets, whereas Eurasian watermilfoil leaves typically have 12 or more leaflet pairs.

Stems: Eurasian watermilfoil stems and leaflets are generally limp out of the water and will often appear reddish, particularly near the plant tips. In contrast, native milfoils generally have stiffer leaves and stems, typically not reddish.

What we are doing?  PCLA has instituted a boat inspection program (see CBCW page), and participates in AIS monitoring.

What can you do? 

If you find Eurasian Watermilfoil in the lake, contact us! As a homeowner you can carefully remove plants immediately around the area of your dock. You need to know how to properly remove it, though, because if you break the plant up you will just create more plants and do more harm than good. Eurasian Watermilfoil reproduces through vegetative propagation, so each tiny bit that floats off can form a new plant.

  • If you are taking your boat to another lake, check the DNR website to see if the lake you are visiting has any AIS. 

  • Please wait at least 5 days before using your boat on a new lake. 

  • Participate in the CBCW inspection program

  • Participate in our AIS monitoring program

  • Participate in the Wisconsin Extension Snapshot Day