One of the biggest threats to the health of Michigan lakes has been found in Glen Lake.
But while strands of Eurasian water milfoil (EWM) have been retrieved from the boat launch area on little Glen, no evidence has surfaced yet proving that the fast-growing invasive species has taken a foothold in lake bottomlands.
Rob Karner, Glen Lake Association (GLA) lake biologist, hopes it never does. The GLA has hired two contractors to conduct gridded searches of the lake using different methods starting in May.
“In essence, we’ll be looking for something we don’t want to find,” Karner said. “Our best hope is that we can get rid of it before it’s a problem.”
Until now, Glen Lake and the association that protects it have provided a rare success story in the battle to prevent invasive hitchhikers from crowding out native plants. A major reason is that Michigan’s 18th largest lake is easier to protect than most with only one boat launch. The GLA for years has maintained a boat-washing station and personnel to explain the importance of preventing non-native species from entering the lake environ.
But the role of GLA may change quickly by this summer, after ever-vigilant boat wash supervisor Victoria Velting found and collected five or six EWM fragments floating near the boat launch and attached to a boat trailer. The samples were recovered in September.
“We found fragments, a handful, but we have no proof of any living EWM on the lake … We’ve seen it on trailers coming to the lake and caught it before it got to the lake, but we’ve never found it on a trailer coming out of the lake,” Karner said.
EWM has played havoc on lakes across America, growing in its worse outbreaks into an impenetrable mat that prevents boating. It already has a history in Leelanau County.
EWM was observed near the Narrows of Lake Leelanau in 2021, which has resulted in one of the most aggressive, chemical- free treatment programs in the nation. The Lake Leelanau Lake Foundation has been laying acres of burlap over infestations, killing the plants and giving seed beds of native plants an opportunity to reclaim bottomland.
The project hasn’t been cheap, but it has been vigorously supported by riparians. Jennie and Darren Keller are contributing $250,000 for each of three years to fund milfoil work. Jennie Keller is also president of the Friends of Lake Leelanau Foundation, which has raised $7 million in pledges to support future projects.
The Glen Lake Association lacks that scale of assets, operating with an annual budget of more than $200,000. Karner anticipates that the lake community and local governments will step up to fund an EWM eradication program if it’s deemed necessary.
“It can be expensive. We’ve learned from Lake Leelanau, and they’ve established a sizable war chest, a foundation. Now we are no where near that. If we find we have infestation, we’re going to need the same size of war chest … historically Glen Lake Association members have been up to any task to keep the lake from being ruined,” Karner said.
The three townships with frontage on Glen Lake will also be asked to help with contributions of $3,000 toward the $26,700 billed by the contractors to survey the lake. So far only Glen Arbor Township has been approached, according to offi-cials in Glen Arbor, Empire and Kasson townships.
In Glen Arbor, the request was tabled at the March 19 meeting of the Township Board due at least in part to a lack of information, according to trustee Robert Hawley.
“If and when we act, it will be on the basis of what Empire and Kasson allocate. We just didn’t have enough information to act,” he said.
Kasson supervisor Greg Julian said his township had not been contacted by the Glen Lake Association, and a funding request was not on the agenda for the board’s monthly meeting scheduled to be held last night.
Empire Township in most years makes a $3,000 donation to the GLA for swimmer’s itch remediation, trustee Casey Noonan reported. The donation was included in the township’s 2024 budget but has yet to be allocated. Noonan said so far the board has not been approached by a representative of the GLA.
“We haven’t done anything specifically for milfoil yet,” Noonan said.
Two of 17 miles of Glen Lake shoreline are included in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. “(The National Park Service) has pledged support and is willing to help. That may include financial help, so we’re hopeful,” Karner said.
Glen Lake and Lake Leelanau are similar in that both are comprised of two basins, one deep and one relatively shallow, connected by “narrows” areas. EWM has been contained to south Lake Leelanau — the shallow body — and similarly would likely find little Glen Lake more conducive to its liking.
“The north arm of Lake Leelanau is like big Glen. We predict that big Glen will likely not be good habitat for it, but if it takes hold on little Glen we have a situation where it could be far more widespread. That’s where our focus is,” Karner said.
Two firms have been hired to deploy separate methods in surveying the lake:
• Zero Gravity Aerial, which will conduct drone surveys;
• And Restorative Lake Sciences in Spring Lake, which plans to use a double-toothed iron rake to delicately remove weeds and test the presence of EWM.
While some lakes with severe outbreaks employ chemical repellents, Karner believes less invasive methods are best for Glen Lake should EWM be found.
“If it’s just starting, it should be near the boat ramp. We’ll hand weed three or four times, digging up roots and containing the fragments, putting them in baskets. Then we’ll do it again the following year. That’s our best hope, that we can get rid of it before it’s a problem,” Karner said.
The GLA enjoyed success containing curly-leaf pond weed, which established near the Narrows. That patch has been completely eliminated, although the weed remains in Brooks Lake, which feeds into Glen Lake.
As warm temperatures bring on plant growth, Karner is asking residents to become part of the EWM eradication effort. Photos and a description of EWM can be found on the group’s website.
“If anybody is in doubt and has something washing up on shore or growing, we’ll come to their place. We need vigilance so if they have anything that looks like EWN, we’ll check it out,” Karner said.
Reports should be emailed to [email protected] along with a photo of the plant. Messages may also be left at the GLA office by calling (231) 3347645.
