Spirit Lake, IA (KICD) — The annual meeting of the Spirit Lake Protective Association typically draws around fifty people, but the crowd spilled outside of the Miniwaukon lodge Saturday morning, no doubt fueled by recent reports of invasive species in the Iowa Great Lakes, and an outbreak of purple bacteria near Buffalo Run – linking Big Spirit to Easte Hottes Lake.
Fisheries Biologist Mike Hawkins told the crowd the Iowa DNR is seeking permits from the federal government that will allow treatment of Eurasian Water Milfoil on 19 acres of West Lake Okoboji. He says they already have the 7 thousand dollar a gallon herbicide Procellacore on hand and are ready to go.
He said zebra mussel counts are up precipitously this summer, but that population varies from year to year.
Hawkins says lakes in the entire region are seeing a log of algae this year, and the best way to combat that long-term is preventing phosphorous – found in many common lawn treatments – out of the lake.
S.L.P.A. officers John Smeltzer and Joe Ulman say they’re also in talks with conversation groups on the Minnesota side of the border since much of the Big Spirit watershed is there. In fact – there’s a meeting scheduled for today.