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The battle against Invasive Species on Portage Lake has begun! We have two primary threats at this time - Phragmites (pronounced frag - MY - tees) and Eurasian Water Milfoil.
Earlier this year, the township board contracted an aquatic consulting company for about $7,000 per year. A one year contract has been signed and a survey and recommendations are planned.
In the May 2009 township board meeting, a resolution to tentatively create a special assessment district was passed. A millage to fight invasive species is being considered. We have had 3 community educational meetings this year, May 21st, June 24th and July 14th. For more information, see the Initial FAQ and the 2nd FAQ.
Two formal public comment meetings are planned - Monday July 27th or Tuesday August 11th. A 3rd FAQ from the July 27th session is available here that describes the Special Assessment District.
A demonstration project behind Farr Center was done late last year to spray and subsequently burn a large stand of phragmites. It showed we can pretty much wipe out phragmites if we have a sustained program. We need to keep this up if we don't want our lake taken over by these invasive reeds. See the video above for what is being done at Beaver Island, Michigan.
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The invasive species committee recently addressed questions on how the aquatic herbicide treatments might affect the Portage Lake Fishery.
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