IRON RIVER TOWNSHIP—After an April 1 public hearing about Eurasian water milfoil problems on Iron Lake, the Iron River Township Board voted not to close the lake’s boat landing.

At least not for now. But if boaters aren’t willing to take simple steps needed to prevent the invasive species from spreadimg, Supervisor Mark Polley said, closing the lake will remain an option.

The hearing was held to hear from DNR and area conservation district officials about the milfoil problem and what can be done to battle invasives that have already established themselves. The Iron Lake Association plans to bring in a private firm to battle the milfoil on the lake, using a special type of beetle.

The more immediate topic, though, was whether to close the landing—something the Lake Association had requested and that the Township Board has gone back and forth on. They made the request in the name of improving the odds against the aggressive milfoil, which is threatening to take over the lake.

Iron River Township Treasurer Dennis Stafford said the Lake Association asked for the closing so no more visiting boaters can bring in invasives to further harm the lake. The Township Board at first voted to close the landing but later rescinded the motion because it didn’t know whether it has that authority.

There are many other lakes in Iron River Township, but the Iron Lake landing is the only one operated by the township.

The visiting speakers didn’t seem to think closing the lake would make much of a difference. Ann Hruska of the Dickinson Conservation District noted no township-run landing in Dickinson County has been closed.

If the Iron Lake landing is closed, noted Bill Ziegler, DNR fisheries biologist, the DNR would no longer stock the lake or manage its fish population. Several DNR conservation officers at the meeting pointed out that the state (DNR) would not enforce the closing. It would be up to the township.

“I don’t think you would do anything,” said Ziegler, “except inconvenience lots of anglers. I understand your frustration, but that’s a fairly drastic step.”

Most of the meeting was a discussion of the fight against Eurasian water milfoil, which came from the Baltic Sea to the St. Lawrence Seaway via ballast water from ships.

“It’s all over now,” said Hruska. She talked about the work being done at Sawyer Lake, north of Channing, where the invasive had established itself for years.

What happened at Sawyer Lake is of special interest to Iron River Township and Iron Lake residents. There, officials used the same MiddFoil process that the Iron Lake Association is planning. MiddFoil features an aquatic beetle native to Canada and the northern U.S.

According to the Enviro Science Inc. website, “MiddFoil has proven itself to be the only long-term, environmentally-friendly alternative to herbicides and mechanical harvesting for large-scale infestations.”

Using MiddFoil weevils at Sawyer Lake, said Hruska, has cost $120,000 so far. It took several years to develop a large enough population of the weevils to control the milfoil, she said. Today, there is still milfoil in the lake, but it never comes to the surface. The weevils have it in check, allowing the native species to reclaim the lake.

The only alternatives to weevils are chemical products—Hruska said it is hard to get state permits to put the herbicides on the lakes. As a biological solution using a native species, no permit is needed for the weevils.

A third option is mechanical harvesting. The problem with that approach is that little pieces of the plant can be cut off—and only a little piece of milfoil is enough for it to re-establish itself in the lake bottom.

The sad truth, township residents were told, is that neither the chemicals nor the weevils will completely eliminate Eurasian water milfoil once it has been established. “Once it’s there,” said Ziegler, “it’s there.”

“Management is expensive and never-ending,” noted Susan Wojdula of the Iron Conservation District. Prevention, she said, is the best way to go—but for Iron Lake and many other lakes in the region, it’s too late for that.

In Michigan, the DNR is not the state agency in charge of invasive species in lakes—the Department of Environmental Quality is. But, Ziegler said, only four people at the DEQ have responsibility for invasives, and none of them works on the problem full-time.

“We’re not passing the buck,” said Ziegler. “That’s just the way it is.”

In addition, said Wojdula, the DEQ’s work on invasives has to be self-funding, greatly limiting what it can do. The current fee structure ends in September, and one proposal is to raise fees by 40 percent, with the extra revenue earmarked for the fight against exotic species. They are looking for a state legislator willing to introduce the bill.

Other Midwest states—Minnesota and Wisconsin were cited in particular—have established programs aimed at exotic species. Minnesota has had laws and fees in place since 1991.

In contrast, Michigan’s first laws were passed in 2005, and the Legislature did not cover the cost of managing the program. “There is so little infrastructure in Michigan,” said Hruska. “They have laws,” she said, “but no financial backing to make it work.”

“We can’t go to any one department to get an answer,” noted Mike Sheehy of the Iron Lake Association. “The whole thing is a screwed-up mess.”

Sheehy said his group decided to go with the beetles because it seemed “the only way to get a handle on it. We don’t have any help.” The idea of quarantining the lake, he said, came because they want to “give the weevils a chance.”

Another possibility is putting buoys around Iron Lake’s infestation areas, so boaters can’t enter those areas. That was done at Sawyer Lake and at Runkle Lake in Iron County. One of the conservation officers present said a DNR permit would be needed to buoy off part of a lake.

While problems with Eurasian water milfoil have been around for years, said Wojdula, some people apparently still haven’t gotten the message. She mentioned a fishing derby she attended where—to her horror—she saw kids dumping unused bait into the lake.

That’s one way invasive species spread to new lakes. “It’s not just the weeds hanging on a boat,” she said. “We really need to educate.”

That led to a discussion of how to get an education effort started in the local schools. Wojdula said citizens have to show their interest and that it is important to them. “There’s loads and loads of stuff on the internet.”

She also suggested that the township’s summer workers distribute “clean boating” guides at the township landing. The Iron Conservation District, she said, has many materials available on invasive species. Signs for boat landings are also available from the county office.

The bottom line for many people at the meeting is that Iron Lake is changing, and it’s not a change for the better.

“We’re just concerned about the lake,” said one man. “I don’t want to live on a bog someday.”