ELPPA NEWSLETTER
May 2008
Page 1

 

 

It is hard to believe another season is about to start.  The Board thanks everyone who attended the sewer meetings last summer and for the high level of response to the survey.  The survey results, especially for Lake Cora and Three Mile Lake, showed very little interest in high cost conventional sewers (presented at the first township meeting).  The second meeting, initiated by your ELPPA Board, presented several alternatives involving neighborhood septic systems and generated considerable interest that was reflected in the survey results.  Forty-three percent of Eagle Lake “voting” property owners were interested in looking further at alternative neighborhood septic systems and forty eight percent were in favor of evaluating the impact of existing septic systems on the lake. The alternatives outlined by Dr Louden and Brett Gourdie were significantly less expensive and could be designed for anywhere from several properties, to a subdivision, to larger parts of Eagle Lake, or the whole lake. 

 

Weed management by weevils (for those of you who are new, see the update on weevils elsewhere in the newsletter) or herbicides only treats the symptom of excess nutrients getting into the lake. A cure can only happen by addressing what will make the lake sick.  The lake can only take so many aspirins.  Perhaps if there is interest in the future (since the background data is now on hand) Dr Louden and Gourdie-Fraser, Inc. can be approached to provide exclusive estimates for all or parts of Eagle Lake. 

 

Although we desperately need to limit nutrient input to Eagle Lake, for now we can focus on inputs we can control:  lawn fertilizers, and shoreline fires.  Thanks to the majority of you who have waited to clean up the shoreline area so the weevils can return to the lake.   Also, it is great to notice that more and more are using contained fire pits that make it easier to manage ashes.   If your neighbors have burned raked up yard waste on the shoreline please remind them to at least take the ash away since rain will wash the ash nutrients into the lake.  Spring (before mid-May) and fall clean-ups (after Labor Day) -raking up near the shoreline and burning could be destroying hundreds of dollars worth of weevils.  The weevils over-winter in the top 2 inches of leaves, grass or other debris near the water.  They start back into the water in the spring.  Without township ordinances, only peer pressure will work.  Those who will not cooperate are destroying your enjoyment of the lake. 

 

As for lawn fertilizers, it really is simple.  Use none on lakeside turf.  The claim that phosphorus free fertilizer is safe for your lake is false.  It is just less harmful than regular fertilizer.  So what can you do?  Several property owners are trying compost tea.  See the related information elsewhere in the newsletter. 

 

DOORMATS AND MORE

We still have doormats available for $30 that look like the picture shown below and measure 30 inches by 20 inches. If you have not yet purchased one of these mats and would like to do so, or if you would like to purchase another, please contact Doug Dorgan at 655-1894.  In addition, we have 4” X 4 “ drink coasters available (see below) and are available in sets of four for $10.  These are also available through Doug.  We will have mouse pads shortly.  All proceeds from the sale of these items go to the lake association for newsletter mailings and other activities.

 

Doormat

 

Coaster
ELPPA NEWSLETTER May 2008
PAGE 2

 

Weevil information for newcomers

 

In 2000 Eagle Lake had a solid ring of Eurasian water milfoil (EWM) along the entire shore.  Boat props would foul and swimming was just not fun! To manage the EWM, we have used native North American weevils since 2001.  Weevils are grazers like sheep that only eat milfoil.  Their grazing has been effective in keeping the EWM 1.5’ to 3’ below the lake surface and in some locations the EWM is gone.  It was understood that the weevil control of EWM would not happen overnight and by 2004 and 2005 no EWM broke the surface of the lake.  In 2006 there was a resurgence but last year (2007) weevils, for the most part, regained control. This year EWM control should again be more like 2004 and 2005.  At $142 for lakefront and one half that for back lots, the $35,000 expense is a bargain compared to $130,000 + for lakes that have used herbicides for the same 7 years.  Ackley Lake property owners are on their second special assessment and have spent 4 times that amount already.

 

 

2008 Weevil Update

 

Last year although the weevils had recovered sufficiently to keep most of the EWM down, swimming and using rafts in some locations was a problem.  In response to complaints, Dr. Cubbage explored several options.  We are pleased to report that EnviroScience, Inc. has asked if they could harvest some of our EWM for use at their facility to raise weevils.  Because they are frequently in Southern Michigan we will be able to stock weevils at no cost in locations that need it as the season develops.  If the EWM problem is larger than expected, we will be able to purchase weevils at a reduced cost if necessary. 

 

Dr Cubbage has examined several other SW Michigan lakes this spring that have EWM problems.   It appears the EWM in some lakes has hybridized with the native milfoil species and the concern is that the hybrid plants may not be as tasty to the weevils to the point that biological control may be lost.  Increasing herbicide resistance is already a fact.  EWM has become more resistant to even herbicide combinations.  This emphasizes the need to limit sources of lake nutrients as soon as possible.

 

 For more information see the ELPPA website at:  http://www.mlswa.org/elppa-382/ewmmanagement.html

 

Care and Feeding of Weevils

 

 Leaving yards alone until mid-May will allow the weevils to get into the water and start laying eggs on the growing tips of EWM.  Females lay 2 eggs per day.  Within 25-30 days those eggs have grown up and are laying eggs, too.  When eggs hatch, the larva bore into the stem and eat downward, in effect mowing the EWM landscape. 

 

Your ELPPA board thanks you for continuing to protect the weevils on several levels: Don’t forget to keep PW craft and boats at a no-wake speed when in the weed beds.  Weevils do a great job of “mowing” the EWM so that it doesn’t foul up the boat propellers. 

 

Weevils and Panfish

 

In 2006, EnviroScience conducted a study to examine this question.  Lake Bonaparte in northern NY has a large bluegill population and has been using weevils since 2002.  Fish were sampled by electroshocking. Survey results indicated approximately 75% of the fish population was bluegill.  Gut-content analysis of 60 fish confirmed that milfoil weevils were not common food, in fact only one of the bluegills was found to have had a single weevil among its stomach contents.  These observations have been supported by recent work by Cornell University that demonstrated a lack of relationship between weevil and sunfish abundance.

 

 These results are supported by EnviroScience’s observations in nearly 100 lakes they successfully stocked over the past nine years. The vast majority of these lakes have large sunfish populations, and a number can be considered overstocked with small or stunted populations. Owing to their small size, inconspicuous nature, and because they spend a good part of their life cycle within the plant stem, milfoil weevils just don't seem to be “worth it” as a food source for panfish in most cases.  A recent study (2006 –07) conducted in Michigan supports the other research, indicating weevils do not take a big hit from panfish.

 

 
 
ELPPA NEWSLETTER May 2008
PAGE 3

 

GATES DRAIN EXTENSION APPROVED

You should have received notices from the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner, dated April 7, 2008 regarding a meeting for the Gates Drain.  A Board of Determination ruling is required to legally alter the drain boundaries. Eagle Lake Drain (east side of the DNR launch site) is part of the Gates Drain.  Last year after spending $140,000 to dispose of arsenic contaminated silt from Briggs Pond, Paw Paw Village petitioned the Drain Commissioner to extend the drain to include Briggs Pond (the pond beside LaCantina Restaurant in Paw Paw) south of where the river passes under Red Arrow Highway. 

 

The Board of Determination met April 30, 2008 and approved the extension.  The ruling gives the Drain Commissioner the authority to assess costs of dealing with the new segment.  Costs could exceed $1 million.  Seven units of government in the Gates Drain would be assessed anywhere between 5 – 20% of the cost (each) and the remainder would be spread among the property owners.

 

On the good side, arsenic contaminated sediments should be left alone.  MDEQ has required the Village to leave the arsenic contaminated sediments in place in the SW corner of Maple Lake.  Paw Paw is likely to ask the Drain Commissioner to address the contamination.

 

In addition to Dr. Cubbage’s comments, members of the public identified more cost effective options to reduce contaminated soil erosion. We will keep you posted!!

 

Garlic Mustard

 

Garlic mustard is an invasive exotic land plant that is crowding out native wildflowers and everything else along roadsides and in woods and perhaps even in your yard.  Here is a website with excellent information, drawings and photos, if you wish to wade through it.

http://www.econetwork.net/~wildmansteve/Plants.Folder/Garlic%20Mustard.html

 

But briefly, if you see the plant shown below the only way to get rid of it is to pull it up before it forms seeds (formed by mid-summer).  Use of herbicides will only kill the native plants you want to preserve.  Nature centers all over the country have volunteer days to pull the stuff up.  

 

 

Don’t just toss it away.  It has more vitamin C than most fruits and veggies.  The leaves and blossoms are great in salads.  Chuck Cubbage tried it and liked it.  There is even a cook book “on-line”.  The photo showing the blossom is a plant in its second year.  The first year plant is just a short whirl of leaves also shown below.

The blossoms look like this:

 

First year leaf whirl

 

Second year blossoms

 

 

 

 

ELPPA NEWSLETTER May 2008

PAGE 4

 

 
No More Fertilizers…Now What?

Excerpts (by CPCubbage) from an Article by Dane Terrill

Flowerfield Compost Tea

http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/compost-tea/flowerfield-compost-tea.html

 

 “Compost Tea is the environmentally correct answer.  Compost teas are full of beneficial microbes that put the life back into soil that has had its life-giving qualities removed by excess applications of chemicals: fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

 

When chemicals are applied the root zone is flooded with nutrients.  Plants take up the nutrients they can use immediately but the rest leaches down and is no longer available to the plant. These chemical nutrients take the form of water-soluble salts. These salts kill the natural biology of the soil. With the natural biology gone, plants are forced to wait for their next “fix” of chemical fertilizer.  The excess chemicals that were not used by the plants leach into aquifers, streams and lakes causing further ecological problems.  

 

Being good stewards to our beautiful lakes, streams and aquifers requires us to change our actions.  STOP spoon-feeding these plants and instead enhance the beneficial organisms in the soil and regenerate the biology.  Applying compost tea 4-6 times per year will help regenerate this biology and in turn decrease the leaching of chemical and synthetic fertilizers into our watersheds.

 

Natural eutrophication (lake aging) is inevitable but not desirable. Lawn fertilizers are fertilizing our lakes with nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.  For obvious reasons we are now asked to stop applying chemical fertilizers to slow down the eutrophication we have accelerated.

 

Compost tea (AACT-Actively Aerated Compost Tea) is made by agitating and aerating good organic compost in water.  The resulting “tea” is an organic, non-toxic, non-phosphorous soil amendment and foliar spray, full of beneficial microorganisms and trace minerals.  The compost tea can then be applied through hoses and sprayers as a soil drench or foliar application. The number of organisms in the original compost is magnified making the good benefits of compost go much further.

 

Benefits of Compost Tea

1) Increases the growth, vigor and health of vegetables, trees, shrubs, turf, etc.

2) Decrease run-off and leaching of toxic chemical fertilizers

3) Leaves lawn and sports fields a safe place to play

4) Protect plants from disease causing organisms

5) Transform compacted soil into healthy soil

6) Reduce water usage

7) Improve nutrient retention

8) Detoxifies soil

 

ELPPA Board comments on Compost Tea

As part of ELPPA’s dedication to ensure that you receive the best possible information, contact was made with Dr. Elaine Ingham, President, Soil Foodweb Inc. SFI, Corvallis, Oregon, one of the nation’s most knowledgeable soil ecologists to ask her opinion of compost tea use.  Below is her response:

“Application of teas in riparian areas is very much beneficial to the system, and often helps to reduce mosquito, midge and other noxious insect infestations in aquatic and riparian systems. Establishment of the natural nutrient cycling processes in lakes, rivers and streams helps to balance the nutrients in more normal balances and reduces weed problems as well.  Many benefits are possible, we just must have the testing done to make sure that the organisms established are the ones, and in the right balances, for the system we want to establish.“

To find more information on Compost Tea go to: http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/compost-tea/flowerfield-compost-tea.htmlor contact Dane Terrill at: 269-327-0108 or email composttea@yahoo.com

 

ELPPA NEWSLETTER May 2008

PAGE 5

 

 

Five tips promoting organic lawn care*

 

1.         Test your soil.  Send a soil sample to you local county extension service.  They’ll measure the soil’s PH and its mineral and nutrient content.  For best results, test soil in mid- to late spring or early fall.  

 

2.  Get rid of thatch.  Brown patches of thatch are breeding grounds for disease, and they prevent water and fertilizer from penetrating the lawn.  To remove thatch, rake vigorously with a heavy wrought iron or bamboo rake.

 

3.  Add compost.  Top-dress with a fine layer of compost at least once a year.  Spray with compost tea at least three times a year.

 

4.  Mow grass high with a sharp blade.  Never remove more that one-third of the grass blade at one time.  Leave grass clippings on the lawn to return nitrogen to the soil.

 

5.  Water infrequently but deeply to promote root growth.  Always water in the morning.

 

   *Reprinted with permission “Lush Lawns the Organic Way”- Gardening How/to July/August 2007

 

EAGLE LAKE FACTS

The lake level is as high as it has been since the mid-1950s.  It is now a few inches above an elevation marker Chuck Cubbage put in place at the water’s edge in the spring of 1998.  The lake elevation on the USGS map is listed at 753’ above sea level established in 1941. In 2004 the lake was about 34” lower than it is now. 

 

The annual ELPPA breakfast and meeting is going to be June 28, 2008.  Details will be posted on the website. We will again have a breakfast starting at 9:00 AM.  The meeting will start at 10:00 AM.  Please remember to bring your own chairs.  The $15 annual dues will be accepted at the meeting if you haven’t paid yet.

 

 

 

 

 No Longer A Property Owner At Eagle Lake?

 

Please Call, write or email Doug Dorgan or Pat Cubbage at the numbers or addresses shown on the address page and let us know and we will remove your name from our address list. 

 

And if you have a neighbor who failed to receive this newsletter, or a joint owner at another location who would like to receive a copy, Pat or Doug can handle that also.

 

Milfoil Management Survey

 

We know the weevils have rebounded, but we need to gauge your satisfaction with the EWM management.  It is important to put your response into context with the cost of the EWM management.    To that end, in 2001, each lake front owner was originally assessed $142 and back lot owners half that.  To date that has been the only expense.  Originally, we had considered herbicide treatment and received a bid for $65,700.  Ackley Lake also used a Special Assessment District (SAD) in 2001 and chose herbicides.  They paid over $65,000 for the first assessment and have renewed the assessment for a second herbicide treatment at the same amount.  That means we have paid $35,000 for a lake 2.5 times larger than theirs.  In the same time, they will have spent over $130,000.  On the enclosed page are some questions we would like you to respond to.  Please bring them to the annual meeting or mail them to ELPPA c/o Chuck Cubbage, 43682 Eagle Lake Dr, Paw Paw, MI 49079.   That will help us continue managing EWM in a way that protects the lake resources and provides for your needs, too.