Help Save Our Lake From Eurasian Milfoil

Don’t lose 20% of your property value
Don’t let the quality of your lake deteriorate

Six Mile Lake Association is a group of property owners who work together to protect the quality of our lake. Only 1/3 of all lakefront property owners are members of the association even though dues are only $25/year. We are all volunteers and the only sources of our funds are dues, donations and fundraisers.

Our problem:

An invasive water weed, Eurasian Water Milfoil, was discovered in our lake in 2008 by Kevin Cronk, Tip of the Mitt aquatic ecologist.

How these weeds affect our lake:

Severely restricts boating and fishing – threatens the safety of swimmers
Provides poor fish and wildlife habitat
Decreases property values for lakefront homeowners – up to 20%!
Can grow up to 1 inch per day
Reduces in-lake biodiversity, crowds out all other vegetation
Reduces circulation, creating problems with dissolved oxygen and bacteria

The solutions:

Chemical treatment – instant fix, needs state permits, expensive, repeated at least yearly, disrupts ecological balance, shallow wells will have to be bonded

Harvesting, vacuuming – instant fix, needs permit, fragments that re-root, expensive, needs to be repeated at least yearly

Weevil planting – insect that feeds only on Eurasian Milfoil, not an instant fix, needs certain environment, environmentally friendly, will multiply over time

In the past the lake association decided on the third option because it is less expensive than the others, and is not harmful to the environment. EnviroScience, an ecological consulting firm, has found our lake is able to support weevil colonies because much of our shoreline is left in a natural state where the weevils will overwinter. The natural state is at least 4-5’ of unmowed vegetation, which also keeps geese and ducks off your lawn! Colonies are established by tying mesh bags of weevils on existing plants in an area of milfoil large enough to support the colony.

The professionals decide where to place the weevils and how many to put in – at least 3,000-5,000 in one location. The weevils multiply and gradually spread on their own, looking for food. Repeated plantings are needed and the weed is never eradicated but rather controlled by the weevils. This solution does not produce immediate results; it may take years. The committee is also considering the application of chemicals along with the weevil plantings and is looking at all options. This will be a much more expensive approach.

Plantings and costs to date:

2009 6,000 weevils planted at a cost of $4665.00
2010 12,000 weevils planted at a cost of $8,265.00
2011 16,000 weevils planted at a cost of $12,450.00

Total cost: $25,380.00

We have worked long and hard to raise these funds by donations from members, dues and fund raisers. In 2010, we applied for and received a $4000.00 grant from the Charlevoix County Community Foundation and received a $350 contribution from East Jordan Iron Works. We have received no government funds. We are working hard to find more sources of funding, including a possible tax assessment in the future which will be fair to all. We welcome any suggestions on other sources and anyone who is willing to work on this.

This year everyone has seen an explosion of Eurasian Milfoil on our lake. It will take a lot more money to control this problem. So we need every property owner to step up and be a good steward of our valuable asset!

PLEASE DONATE

This year we have a goal of raising $30,000.00 to continue with our treatment program. There are approximately 300 lakefront and lake access properties.

We are asking each property owner to invest at least $100 in your lake. Thank you in advance for your help!

Further Reading & Information:

Eurasion Milfoil Brief

Revised 2012 Six Mile Lake Milfoil Solution Proposal

2011 Lake Summit Meeting Notes

2011 Six Mile Lake Enviroscience Meeting Power Point Presentation
(PDF version of above)

EnviroScience Summer 2011 Survey Report For Six Mile Lake