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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Volunteers protect Lake Charlevoix for all

By B. J. Conley

CHARLEVOIX — Imagine a wall of tall grasses that reach so high that lake views are obstructed, and that are so invasive as the plant grows, that wildlife leaves the area and native grasses and flowers are crowded out.

   This may happen to two Lake Charlevoix waterfront homeowners who refused to allow trained volunteers to enter onto their property to treat an invasive plant known as Phragmites (frag-MY-teez).

   The two part-time Boyne City residents were the only homeowners around Lake Charlevoix that did not give permission, according to the Lake Charlevoix Association that conducted the work to reduce the Phragmites from around the lake.

   There is more than one species of Phragmites, most of which are not invasive. However the species, Phragmites australis, is a problem because it grows and spreads so fast.

   People are asked by the DNR not to try to manage it without training because they could inadvertently spread the plant and its seeds.

   Phragmites australis is insidious in its takeover of shorelines. Eighty percent of the plant is contained below the ground in a dense mass of roots that can penetrate the soil to a depth greater than six feet, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.  The plants range in height from six-to-16-feet and have horizontal roots that produce new shoots that continue until the roots exceed 60 feet in length.

   Approximately 40 volunteers received training from the state after which they surveyed the entire shoreline of Lake Charlevoix and Round Lake to identify stands of Phragmites so the plant could be treated with an herbicide. The treatment was conducted in September 2009.

   A grant was received from the Charlevoix County Community Foundation.

   The Lake Charlevoix Association collaborated with the Charlevoix County Conservation District in the endeavor. Kelly Martin from the Conservation District gave a presentation to county commissioners on Feb. 10 in the county building. She said 100 sites were identified and treated around the lake. Now the dead Phragmites need to be removed and a request was made to commissioners to provide assistance.

   County commissioner Shirlene Tripp made a motion, seconded by commissioner Ron Reinhardt, to support the removal of the Phragmites at a cost not to exceed $3,000. The motion passed 4-2, but it was rescinded later because counsel advised that there might be liability if a county employee was used for the task.

   Commissioners Tripp, Reinhardt, Shirley Roloff and Bob Drebenstadt voted to approve the support from the county and commissioners Joel Evans and Chris Christensen voted no. In a telephone interview, Evans said he was not familiar with the issue and that he based his vote on the potential liability. Christensen said at the meeting that he was concerned about the county budget. Sheriff Schneider said at the meeting that inmates could do the work, but that his concern was the cost of paying a bailiff out of his budget to monitor the inmates, according to the meeting minutes of Feb. 10.

   The Lake Charlevoix Association and others are continuing to seek a means of removal of the Phragmites before mid-April. For more information access the Association’s website at: lakecharlevoixassociation.org.

Courtesy photos

Mike Dow, treasurer of the Lake Charlevoix Association examines a stand of Phragmites on the shoreline of Lake Charlevoix.