Onterra, LLC

Town of Saint Germain Vilas County, Wisconsin

Aquatic Plant Management Plan

June 2006

Sponsored by:

Town of Saint Germain &

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Invasive Species Grant Program

ALPL-006-04, ALPL-007-04, & ALPL-008-04

135 South Broadway Suite C De Pere, WI 54115 920.338.8860 www.onterra-eco.com

Town of Saint Germain Aquatic Plant Management Plan 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This section will be included in the final document.

Acknowledgements

Town of Saint Germain 2 Lakes Committee

INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 4

STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION ...................................................................................................... 4

RESULTS & DISCUSSION....................................................................................................................... 7

AQUATIC PLANTS AND THE LAKE ECOSYSTEM........................................................................................ 7 Introduction to Aquatic Plant Management and Protection ................................................................ 8

Permits ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Native Species Enhancement........................................................................................................... 8 Manual Removal............................................................................................................................ 10 Bottom Screens .............................................................................................................................. 11 Water Level Drawdown................................................................................................................. 12 Harvesting...................................................................................................................................... 12 Chemical Treatment....................................................................................................................... 13 Biological Controls ........................................................................................................................ 15

Analysis of Current Aquatic Plant Data............................................................................................. 16 Primer on Data Analysis & Data Interpretation............................................................................. 16 2004 & 2005 Surveys..................................................................................................................... 19 Alma Lake...................................................................................................................................... 21 Moon Lake..................................................................................................................................... 24 Big Saint Germain Lake................................................................................................................. 27 Fawn Lake...................................................................................................................................... 30 Lake Content.................................................................................................................................. 33 Lost Lake ....................................................................................................................................... 36 Found Lake .................................................................................................................................... 39 Little Saint Germain Lake.............................................................................................................. 42

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN................................................................................................................... 45

LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................................ 51

METHODS ................................................................................................................................................ 52

Table of Contents

Town of Saint Germain Aquatic Plant Management Plan 3

Figures 1. Town of St. Germain in relation to Ecoregions of Wisconsin. ...................................................... 17 2. Spread of Eurasian water milfoil throughout Wisconsin Counties. ............................................... 18 3. Diversity of project lakes. .............................................................................................................. 20 4. Floristic quality of project lakes. ................................................................................................... 20 5. Alma Lake Floristic Quality Analysis. .......................................................................................... 23 6. Alma Lake Occurrence Analysis. .................................................................................................. 23 7. Moon Lake Occurrence Analysis................................................................................................... 26 8. Moon Lake Floristic Quality Analysis........................................................................................... 26 9. Big Saint Germain Lake Occurrence Analysis. ............................................................................. 29 10. Big Saint Germain Lake Floristic Quality Analysis. ..................................................................... 29 11. Fawn Lake Floristic Quality Analysis. .......................................................................................... 32 12. Fawn Lake Occurrence Analysis. .................................................................................................. 32 13. Lake Content Occurrence Analysis................................................................................................ 35 14. Lake Content Floristic Quality Analysis........................................................................................ 35 15. Lost Lake Occurrence Analysis. .................................................................................................... 38 16. Lost Lake Floristic Quality Analysis. ............................................................................................ 38 17. Found Lake Floristic Quality Analysis. ......................................................................................... 41 18. Found Lake Occurrence Analysis. ................................................................................................. 41 19. Little Saint Germain Lake Floristic Quality Analysis. .................................................................. 44 20. Little Saint Germain Lake Occurrence Analysis. .......................................................................... 44

Tables 1. Alma Lake species list. .................................................................................................................. 22 2. Moon Lake species list................................................................................................................... 25 3. Big Saint Germain Lake species list. ............................................................................................. 28 4. Fawn Lake species list. .................................................................................................................. 31 5. Lake Content species list. .............................................................................................................. 34 6. Lost Lake species list. .................................................................................................................... 37 7. Found Lake species list. ................................................................................................................. 40 8. Little Saint Germain Lake species list. .......................................................................................... 43

Maps (inserted before appendices)

1. Project Location 2. Alma Lake Aquatic Plant Communities & Transect Locations 3. Moon Lake Aquatic Plant Communities & Transect Locations 4. Big Saint Germain Lake Aquatic Plant Communities & Transect Locations 5. Fawn Lake Aquatic Plant Communities & Transect Locations 6. Content Lake Aquatic Plant Communities & Transect Locations 7. Lost Lake Aquatic Plant Communities & Transect Locations 8. Found Lake Aquatic Plant Communities & Transect Locations 9. Little Saint Germain Lake Aquatic Plant Communities

Appendices

A. Public Participation Materials B. Saint Germain AIS Monitoring Protocol C. Compiled Aquatic Plant Species List for Project Lakes D. Little Saint Germain AIS Project Update (Partial) E. Town of Saint Germain 2006 Summer Lakes Coordinator Position Description

Figures, Tables, Maps, & Appendices

Town of Saint Germain 4 Lakes Committee

INTRODUCTION The Town of Saint Germain contains over twenty named lakes. Each of these lakes is susceptible to or currently experiencing the negative effects brought on by the introduction of non-native and invasive species, such as Eurasian water milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus), and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). These negative effects include the loss of important native plant communities and their associated habitat value, water quality degradation, reductions in