Lake Manitau

Manitau just became a private lake for those who live there for the next year due to the fact that hydrilla was found while dredging the lake. I understand the fears of the dnr not wanting this to spread but why not just treat the weed? And how do they think it got there?? I'm worried that if property owners on say wawasee or maxi want to shut the public off of the lakes just start you a hydrilla patch and call the dnr and this will be how they handle it!! And why could you not use the lake in the late fall when most weeds have died off?

That's too bad, Manitou is a neat little place.

Rumor has it (no definitive source) that the closing will actually be longer than 1yr. More like 3. What will be interesting in this situation will be whether the 'local' owners will be allowed to put their boats on the water during this CLOSED period.

I was told that it could be up to 4 years, there not sure how long yet. But yes the people who live on the lake will get to use it. These lake associations just came up with a way to end tournaments! I wonder how this hydrilla got there? If you can't tell I'm not happy with the dnr's response to this weed.

The place is already choke full of milfoil anyway. Rochester Chamber of Commerce won't like it because they begged tournaments to come. It's the only town in IN I know of that welcomes tournament circuits with open arm. We had a junior invitational tourn. there earlier this year and there were several businesses came out to the weight in and provided all the kids and the parents with lunch and drinks. They were happy and thanked us for coming to their town.

Here's an article spelling out the issue and DNR's actions.

TI

10/6/2006
Lake closing
Manitou's hydrilla infestation prompts state order limiting boat ramp use

BY CHRISTINA M. SEILER
News Editor, The Sentinel

Boating access to Lake Manitou will be severely limited early next week to fight the invasive weed Hydrilla verticallata, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday.

Hydrilla grows so fast - one-half-inch per week - that it threatens to choke more than half of the lake.

Four DNR representatives spoke during a meeting at Rochester City Hall. They outlined their plan to kill the lake's burgeoning hydrilla population and prevent it from spreading to other Midwest lakes.

Preventing spread outside Lake Manitou is the top priority.

The plan includes closing the boat ramps and treating the lake for three or four years with the herbicide Sonar.

Potential cost: $500,000 per year for four-years. That's $2 million the state has to come up with to stem infestation, thought to be 2 to 3 years old. It's looking for federal funding first, from the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection Quarantine program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Lake Manitou's population is the first in the Midwest. It's also spreading. A Sept. 13 application of Komeen herbicide was designed to cut the most dense population back so it couldn't reseed or release buds, called turions.

State biologists found it during a routine plant sampling. They returned to the lake and sampled nearly 200 places. They found hydrilla:

? near the west and north shore from Wolf's Point to Poet's Point.

? along the north shore.

? near the intersection of Barrett Road and Bessmore Park Road;

? near the DNR White Creek boat access site;

? in the Prairie.

? surrounding Big Island.

If hydrilla were to go unchecked, more than half the lake could sustain it; all except the five original lake basins which are deeper than 10 to 12 feet, said aquatic invasive species coordinator Doug Keller.

"It's not going to be easy, but we can deal with it here," Keller said.

On Monday, DNR Director Kyle Hupfer signed a new state rule about hydrilla. That opened the way for Keller's management plan.

The plan:

? All public and private ramps will be cordoned off and locked.

? The only ones with keys will be those who have signed compliance agreements with the state. Even emergency responders have to sign the agreements, Keller said.

? The only people allowed to have boats on the lake, other than emergency responders and the DNR, will be those who own or rent pier space on the lake.

? Watercraft cannot be carried on to the lake to circumvent the closed launches.

? There will be no day use by watercraft owners. That means no bass fishing tournaments, no weekend visitors, no cottage renters with their own boats.

? Those who live on the lake and use canoes, kayaks, rafts, skis, trampolines, tubes and other toys must clean plant and sediment from them. It's illegal to possess, in any form, hydrilla in Indiana. Anyone caught with hydrilla on their boat, lift, toys, etc. after they've been removed from the lake will be ticketed and fined.

? Dredges working on the lake will have to be removed at the ramp, cleaned off by hand, power-washed and inspected before they can go to another work site or the head of the lake, where hydrilla has not yet been found.

The Lake Manitou Association and DNR, Keller said, will work together to formulate open hours for the DNR boat ramp at White Creek and Country Club Drive for those who want to take their own boats out. All boats coming off the lake have to be inspected.

He expects ramp closures to begin early next week, he told the roughly 100 people packed into the city hall meeting room.

The city's boat ramp is to remain closed at all times, except to those with compliance agreements. Keller will also be closing private ramps and easements to prevent people from sneaking in and out and risking spread of the plant to other lakes.

Once a boat is launched for the season next year, it can only be taken off the lake for: maintenance or repair; if the watercraft is sold to someone else; if it's coming off the lake for the whole season.

Keller reminded the crowd any possession of hydrilla in Indiana is now illegal, even if it's stuck on a boat. It takes at least a week for the plant to die in moist conditions so the plant probably would die at the storage facility, but care is still needed, he said.

When weeds are removed from boats, piers and trailers they are to be left lying at the boat ramp or on the shore or bank. They should not be thrown back in the water. They should not be put in the trash.

Anyone who sees someone pull a boat, or equipment out and not clean it off is asked to call the sheriff's office to get a conservation officer immediately. They could call city police to have a vehicle stoppped until the conservation officer arrives, Keller said