[Mpls] Milfoil on Calhoun

[Tracy Nordstrom]

Hello All,   After canoeing this past weekend through the acres of milfoil on Calhoun (the worst I've ever seen it), I have a question for Park Board Commissioners who regularly post and other concerned citizens regarding the health and safety of our lakes:  what is going to be done, both in the short term and in the long term, to rid our precious lakes of this noxious weed?    I know that the Park Board has tried pests in cages at Cedar, with limited results, and I have a feeling that the big blue harvesters are just providing an aesthetic solution to the problem.  As a swimmer in Calhoun, I know that the harvesters leave lots of tendrils of the milfoil loose and then those pieces are free to re-establish themselves elsewhere in the lake.  The harvesters don't seem to be doing what people think they are, they are simply shearing off the tops of the plants and encouraging stronger root growth (like cutting back any plant) and leaving lots of free-floating cuttings.  What about the idea of chemically "killing" the entire lake and then, when the milfoil is completely eradicated, re-stocking it with fish?  Is there research available as to the benefits/risks of the various methods of ridding lakes of milfoil?   I know people have touted the heightened bass fishing in Calhoun as a result of the "habitat" provided by the milfoil (see STrib article quoting Park Board's Jeff Lee this past weekend), but I don't think that that benefit justifies our allowing this non-native weed to multiply and potentially damage our great lakes in perpetuity.   Any and all comments welcome.   Tracy Nordstrom East Calhoun