10-23-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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is no way for the LID to raise funds other than tax receipts and occasional grants, so we must have suffi- cient funds on hand at the beginning of each treatment season. A question was raised regarding why the expenses doubled from 2021 to 2022. Kieper stated that the biggest factor is the use of ProcellaCor, which is a selective herbicide that targets milfoil, vs. Diquot, which is a broad spectrum herbicide. ProcellaCor is roughly 10 times more expensive than Diquot per unit of treatment. Nielsen stated that we save some money by using a mixture of Diquot and Procel- laCor vs. in the past using just ProcellaCor alone. The cost of all chemicals also has gone up. In addi- tion, the acreage treated varies from year to year. An audience member questioned whether we have the LID's funds in an interest bearing account. Kie- per stated no, but we will look into that with the bank. VI. Unfinished Business None VII. New Business A. 2023 Aquatic Plant Survey of Carman Bay Kieper reviewed the results of the LID treatments this year. A Point Intercept Survey done on Au- gust 10' detailed how much Eurasian Watermilfoil (milfoil) and Curlyleaf Pondweed (CLP) was left after treatments. (This report, "2023 Aquatic Plant Survey: Carmans Bay..." is available on the CBLID website.) The survey took 167 samples in the bay to observe the abundance and density of all weeds. The DNR goal, and ours, is to have less than 20% occurrence of CLP and milfoil, the only plants we can treat for, at the time of the survey. CLP dies off naturally by mid -summer, so very little of it was found. Milfoil had an occurrence of 18%, meeting our goal of under 20% and a density of 0.2%, almost zero, with only small fragments found. This means we had a successful treatment year. Prior to treatment, the DNR must approve our plan for areas to be treated. Only areas with a high density of invasives will be approved. There were areas not treated because the density of the milfoil was too low, and they showed up in the Aquatic Plant Survey. Nielsen said that before treatments began 15 to 20 years ago, the density of milfoil was near the max on a scale of 0-4. To be at 0.2% is a huge improvement. Invasives will not be eradicated. There was discussion about the invasive species we can and do treat for, milfoil and CLP, and the native plants we cannot treat for. We cannot imagine a future in which the DNR would allow us to target native plants. The last two years the lake level has been low and the water warm, which sup- ports both invasive and native weed growth. We recognize that Bay residents are currently seeing a lot of weeds, but the weeds people are now seeing (in September) are overwhelmingly native plant species that the LID is not allowed to treat. Last fall the Lake Minnetonka Association (LMA) conducted an inspection looking for Starry Stonewort at 4 - 5 launch ramps in Lake Minnetonka. They fortunately found no Starry Stonewort. LMA now feels they need to inspect for Starry Stonewort annually. Once it is established it is al- most impossible to eradicate, and very expensive to control. 2 10/1/2023 Attachment A - CB LID Minutes