10th/11th Crow Wing Lakes Association

Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP)

This page is dedicated to the education and action plans of lake shore owners in regards to curly leaf pondweed.  The lake association has supported a two prong approach to controlling Curly Leaf Pondweed: 1) Raking/hand pulling and 2) Application of Hydrothol 191 dry chemical.   Hand pulling can be effective, but do your best to removal all plant fragments from the water.  Lake owners have also been applying Hydrothol 191 with success (DNR Permit IS now lakewide, so you do not need an individual permit for treating CLP).  At our current rate we are using approximately 3 buckets of Hyd 191 annually.  Note from Kim, at this time we are applying the chemical to control curly leaf pondweed ONLY.   Chemical will not be available to control other native lake weeds in front of your property.

Next some history information and best practices.  A little further down the page you can find some links with more information.

How did the CLP get into the lake?   Curly Leaf Pondweed has been around in Minnesota lakes for almost 100 years.  In some lakes, CLP co-exists with native plants and does not cause problems.  In other lakes, it becomes the dominant plant and causes significant problems (formation of dense mats of vegetation preventing swimming/boating activities, the promotion of phosphorus levels increasing algae bloom, and the limiting of native plants which clarify water and provide habitat/food)*. (*Source: Wendy Crowell, MN DNR Exotic Species Program)  According to Chip Welling, MN DNR Invasive Species Biologist, it is estimated that many lakes unknowingly already have CLP present, but that the turions are either dormant or the patches so small, it is un-noticable until it gets an opportunity to propagate.

How can you prevent CLP from spreading to your lakeshore property?

Avoid removal or agitation of existing native aquatic or lakeshore plants.  Yes, you need to put in and take out your dock and watercraft each year, and you need to be able to swim and enjoy the lake because that’s what owning a lakehome is all about.  However, any CLP turions floating around a lake will seek any bare or agitated sediment areas as an opportunity to grow, grow, grow.  If you do not want this invasive in your area, try to limit the disturbance of native plants as much as you can, and educate yourself on plant identification and vegetation growth cycles.

Limit nutrient run-off:  Use only lawn fertilizer with NO phosphates and apply only in the fall.  Create a buffer zone/filter strip of native plants/un-mowed lawn between the lake and your yard.  Never fertilize right up to the lake edge. Collect and compost lawn clippings and fallen leaves. Do not rake them into the lake or burn them near the shore. Finally, be sure that your septic system is operating correctly and not draining into the lake.

Educate your guests:  if you have friends or family visiting your lakehome bringing watercraft, make sure they know their boats, trailers, live wells, bait buckets, etc. need to be clean, clean, clean before putting into the lake so as not to contaminate it with any invasives in lakes they may have been in before visiting

LINKS Section

Click the link below to access our lake association plan of action for dealing with Curly Leaf Pondweed.

Lake Association CLP Plan of Action

Click the link below for a good summary of curly leaf pondweed, how it propagates, how it gains an advantage, and how it reacts to various control options.

Lake Ass. CurleafPondweed-WendyCrowell

Click the link below to see some cost info for a lake that has curly leaf pondweed in more advanced stages.   Treatment costs per year are presente for the Portage Lake Association

Lake Association Cost of CLP in Portage Lake

Click the file below to access the vegetation survey that was completed by Darrin Hoverson of the DNR in 2009.  This excellent summary shows the native diversity of plant life within 11th Crow wing.   It also shows locations and some density info for native and invasive species within our lake.
MinnesotaDNR 2009 Aquatic Vegetation Survey of 11th Crow Wing Lake

Click the file below to find out how to stop aquatic hitchhikers.  Boats and boat trailers are the primary path for the spread of invasives.  Good info here to make sure you and your guests do all they can to prevent the spread of all invasive species.

Lake Association-Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers