Lakefront property owners and anglers are being called upon to help stop the spread of invasive, non-native aquatic plants into lakes by being on the lookout for them.

Non-native aquatic plants damage lakes by spreading more rapidly than native plants, disrupting lake ecology, creating nuisance conditions and interfering with recreational use of lakes. Doug
Keller, aquatic invasive species coordinator with the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife, said “We do not know how many non-native plants are in Indiana lakes or where they are spreading.”

Costs to control invasive species are staggering. They cost the U.S. $140 billion a year. The recent appearance of hydrilla in Lake Manitou in Rochester has already cost Indiana more than
$700,000 in control efforts. The total cost at Manitou to eradicate the plant is expected to approach $1.5 million. Since 2006,
DNR biologists have stepped up efforts to inspect lakes at risk of hydrilla, but they can’t be everywhere, so they need
help from private citizens.

Keller said the most important thing that can be done in advance of new invasive plants showing up in a lake is to identify and organize people who should be involved and making sure that they know what to look for. With this in mind, the IDNR is offering a new workshop on July 30th to train citizens to identify aquatic invasive species of concern for Indiana.

Join us on July 30th from 4:30-7:30 at the North Webster Community Center as Doug Keller (IDNR Fish & Wildlife) and Lisa Ritter-McMahan (IDNR Hoosier Riverwatch) present an aquatic invader ID workshop.

*Registration for this workshop is free, but required.  This free workshop includes dinner and tickets for a free tour of Webster Lake aboard the historic Dixie Sternwheeler at 8pm.  Contact Hoosier Riverwatch at nrec@dnr.in.gov or 317.562.1338*

Thanks to our sponsors for this workshop:

• Indiana Lakes Management Society
• Aquatic Control, Inc.
• Kosciusko Lakes and Streams program at Grace College
• Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation