Explore Okoboji
Listen Now! music notes icon
Listen! music notes icon 77° sun icon
  • Home
  • News
  • Dickinson Co. Supervisors Approve Emergency Allocation To Battle Eurasian Watermilfoil Infestations On Several Of The Iowa Great Lakes

Dickinson Co. Supervisors Approve Emergency Allocation To Battle Eurasian Watermilfoil Infestations On Several Of The Iowa Great Lakes

September 06, 2022 Steve Schwaller

(Spirit Lake)– We told you several weeks ago about eurasian watermilfoil being found in several of the Iowa Great Lakes. The highly invasive plant was discovered nearly a month ago in Upper and Lower Gar, East Lake Okoboji and Lake Minnewashta. The weed can literally choke off a lake, making it very difficult if not impossible for navigating. Terry Wilts of the East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation told the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors today (Tues.) some emergency chemical treatments were done just days ago on a little more than two acres near a boat ramp on Upper Gar, where the weed has become prolific…

“The optics of the Okoboji lake system having a boat ramp closed over Labor Day didn’t look great, and so an emergency treatment was performed there.”

Now, Wilts says they’re looking to expand the treatment to other areas already being heavily impacted by eurasion watermilfoil, at an estimated cost of $335,000. $75,000 of that will come from lake restoration funds from the state, with another $75,000 from marine fuel tax revenue; and $50,000 each from the East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation and the Okoboji Protective Association. The group today (Tues.) requested the county kick in the remaining $85,000 that’s needed. Bill Van Orsdel of the Iowa Great Lakes Association expressed the urgency and magnitude of the situation referring to an infestation on Lake Minnetonka which has shut down a major part of that lake in the twin cities area…

“I want to say how serious this is. This will shut the lake down. Minnetonka was not able to move as quickly as we are able to move and there are parts of Minnetonka you cannot get a boat through. This is equivalent to a high water disaster, and if we don’t nip it in the bud right now, we’re going to have the same problem right here. It’s going to take money. We’ve got the solution, we need more money.”

Mike Hawkins, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, told the supervisors experts he’s consulted with are confident the treatments will work, but he added there’s no guarantee of re-infestations in the future…

“We have an opportunity for a quick strike to possibly eliminate it. It could be reintroduced, you know, quickly, but we’ve got a good track record at least here of keeping it out. The other possibility is that it’s in other locations that won’t get treated already, but I think the department and all of our partners that have been working on this, are willing to take that chance. That was unanimous with the working group, good representation across the drinking waters, the cities, the Chamber of Commerce, we’ve got a county representative that sits on that as well, a good group of folks. It was unanimous to try and make this attempt.”

Supervisor Tim Fairchild said eurasian watermilfoil and other invasive species are likely going to be an ongoing issue and recommended the county take a longer-term approach…

“I think it would be very foolish of us to fund this one time and think that we’re going to get away with this. I think it’s going to have to become a budgetary item.”

Hawkins added he’s concerned about the weed spreading to other lakes in the area, such as West Lake Okoboji, Big Spirit and Silver Lake near Lake Park, which so far, are not infected. He reminds boaters it is illegal to transport a boat with weeds on it, adding boats must be cleaned, drained and dried.

Pointing out the serious economic ramifications on the lakes area, the supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the emergency $85,000 allocation. Work on the erradication will be getting underway in coming days. Officials say time is of the essence.

The chemical used to treat eurasian watermilfoil is the same as that being used on curly leaf pondweed.

Meanwhile officials say the infestation appears to be much worse than first thought in some locations. Hawkins made reference to a boat pulled out of the water over the weekend near Parks Marina that he says had a lot of eurasian watermilfoil on it.

Back to News