Resolution 7594 Establish Stubbs Bay Lake Improvement District

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Stubbs Bay Lake Improvement District Proposal The following information has been submitted to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on April 28, 2025, for their consideration as the citizens of the Stubbs Bay Lake Improvement District, with the cooperation of the City of Orono, to move forward to establish the proposed Stubbs Bay Lake Improvement District (SBLID) in accordance with Minnesota Rules 6115.0970. -A written statement of lake problems and objectives: Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) and curlyleaf pondweed (CLP), both, non-native, invasive plants, have been problematic in Stubbs Bay for several decades. These two plants can reduce the diversity and abundance of native plants and therefore diminish the health of the bay. As well, these plants interfere with boating, swimming, recreation, and enjoyment in the bay. CLP can also adversely affect water quality. Other invasive species, e.g. flowering rush and starry stonewort, are found in nearby waterbodies and pose a risk of being introduced into Stubbs Bay. It is the intent of the SBLID to treat any invasive plant or animal that adversely effects the recreation, water quality, and ecological health of Stubbs Bay. Stubbs Bay residents, in coordination with the Lake Minnetonka Association (LMA), PLM Lake Management, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have developed a Lake Vegetation Management Plan (LVMP) (Exhibit A). In 2024, about 15-percent of the littoral area in Stubbs Bay was treated to control of Eurasian watermilfoil/curlyleaf pondweed. In 2025, the Stubbs Bay LVMP was approved and allow for the springtime treatment for CLP and a whole bay treatment for CLP/EWM to be done a fall 2025/spring 2026. Bay-wide treatments have proven to be effective in controlling Eurasian watermilfoil and curlyleaf pondweed in nearby bays and have plant surveys that show the diversity and abundance of native plants have improved in these bays without compromising water quality or aquatic life. The SBLID will design its LID to be consistent with the Carman Bay and St. Albans Bay LIDs. The Stubbs Bay treatments will build off the foundation established by the Lake Minnetonka Milfoil Project which was conceived in 2006 and refined over almost two decades of successful treatments on bays in Lake Minnetonka. The Lake Minnetonka Milfoil Project was done in a partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers and the DNR to assess new technologies and approaches for large-scale selective herbicide treatments to control and combat EWM. The majority of the costs for the Stubbs Bay treatments have been and continue to be voluntarily borne by the bay residents. In 2024, Stubbs Bay received an invasive species management grant from the LMCD. A Lake Improvement District (LID) has been proposed to more equitably, efficiently and reliably fund and administer this program. Other aquatic invasive species (AIS), those now in the bay as well as those which may be introduced in the future, pose threats to the bays health and recreation and are therefore a concern. Zebra mussels are found in the bay and while research to control them shows promise, there are no known controls available yet. Once a proven treatment for zebra mussels is identified, the LID will consider programs to control zebra mussels. If other invasive plants, animals, or pathogens are found in Stubbs Bay, the SBLID will determine the best course of action to address them on a case-by-case basis. After EWM and CLP are under control, the LID will consider programs and collaborations that further improve water quality.