Dock Removal, Boat Inspections, and Aquatic Invasive Species

The leaves are falling which means freezing lakes and dock removals are right around the corner. Every year when docks are removed, the chance for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) spread increases. If you hire someone to remove your dock, do you know if they are using safe practices to avoid AIS spread? Talk to them to make sure they are cleaning their equipment when moving from lake to lake.

Another way to decrease the spread of AIS is by watercraft inspections. When you are leaving or entering a lake with your boat, make sure you are taking the right preventative steps. Three words to remember; clean, drain, and dry. Clean any mud, plants, and animals from your watercraft. Drain any water from the watercraft before moving to a different body of water. Dry the watercraft and anything else that was in the water. Also throw away any plants or animals you find, as well as unused fishing bait.  Find out more about watercraft inspection at the MN DNR website. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/watercraft_inspect/index.htmlink

Bryant Lake in Eden Prairie and Bush Lake in Bloomington both have a user operated boat cleaning station called CD3 which stands for Clean, Drain, Dry, Dispose.

The CD3 or Clean, Drain, Dry, Dispose station at Bryant Lake
Bryant Lake AIS station

 

 

All of this talk about AIS but what are some common species we see in Minnesota waters? Examples of AIS plants include Curly-leaf Pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil. Curly-Leaf Pondweed has a native look-alike, Clasping Leaf Pondweed. Curly-leaf forms dense mats, and has fine toothed leaf edges, whereas Clasping Leaf does not form dense mats and has smooth leaf edges. Eurasian watermilfoil also has a native look-alike, Northern Watermilfoil. Eurasian has 12-21 pairs of leaflets but Northern only has 5-10 pairs of leaflets. A few Invasive aquatic animals include common carp, zebra mussels, and rusty crayfish. Find out more MAISRC website for more information. https://maisrc.umn.edu/about-ais

Learn more about what the District is doing about AIS, including our new Rapid Response Plan, here: https://www.ninemilecreek.org/ais/