Great Lakes shoreline owners gain easier way to manage invasive plants on lake beds

MADISON – People who own lakefront property along Lake Michigan and Lake Superior now have a quicker, less expensive permit process available to allow clean up of accumulations of zebra mussels, dead fish, and algae on the beach and to allow control of invasive plants like Phragmites.

“Lakeshore property owners will get the streamlined permit process they want for cleanup and sensitive beach vegetation and near shore habitat will be protected,” says Martin Griffin, the Department of Natural Resources policy coordinator who helped develop the general permits.

Effective Aug. 1, property owners can apply to remove algae, mussels, dead fish and similar large nuisance deposits or to remove and control emergent invasive plants on exposed lake bed.

Both general permits contain basic conditions the lakefront property owner is required to follow to protect the lakebed and public rights in the water, carry a $50 application fee and will be processed within 30 days. That contrasts with the individual permits that were previously the only option available and required a $500 application fee and a 30-day public comment period.The general permits are aimed at answering property owners’ requests for help in responding to the increased accumulations of invasive species, which exceed the property owners’ ability to clean up by hand, Griffin says.

Two trends -- near-record low water levels on the Great Lakes exposing more lakebed and increased populations of invasive species such as zebra mussels, quagga mussels, and blooms of the nuisance algae cladophora – are combining to leave large quantities of this biological material washed ashore.

The resulting mixture of algal mats and decaying zebra mussels and other invertebrates and fish have caused unsightly, smelly conditions at many sites ranging from northeastern Green Bay and the tip of Door County to Kenosha.

To compound this issue, the lakebed exposed as a result of lower water levels also has been taken over by dense invasive stands of Phragmites and other non-native plants that can eliminate the native plants that provide valuable food and shelter for fish and wildlife.

To qualify for a general permit to remove plant and animal nuisance deposits, people must:

• Limit removal to the plant and animal nuisance deposits.
• Assure the total amount of material removed is less than 3,000 cubic yards.
• Minimize equipment impact to the lakebed and surrounding vegetation.

To qualify for a general permit to manage invasive species growing on exposed lake bed, people must:

• Mow or spread herbicide in conformance with an invasive species control plan.
• Operate the motor vehicle in a way that minimizes impacts to the native lakebed material and any surrounding native vegetation.

People interested in applying for the general permits are encouraged to review information about this streamlined process on the DNR Web site.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Griffin (608) 266-2997 or Kristy Rogers (920) 662-5117