EWM Update

The following notice has been sent to all Joe's Pond Association Members: 

Arrowwood Environmental has completed an aquatic vegetation survey of the Joe's Pond littoral zone.  The link to the report documenting their findings is attached to this message including maps and data recording what they found and where. [Link unavailable here. See Joe's Pond Association website.]

In summary, the only Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) found on the Third Pond was a few small plants in very shallow water up in the inlet cove.  These plants were removed during the survey.

Several scattered plants were found in the Second Pond which were marked with buoys and a significantly larger number on the First Pond.

The takeaways from this survey, from the JPA perspective, are as follows:

• The survey must not be considered a 100% definitive confirmation of the locations of all EWM in Joe's Pond.  The report only documents those plants that were found from a visual surface survey and limited underwater searching at the time of the survey.  Water visibility was not ideal at the time of the survey.
• It is not surprising that the only plants found on the Third Pond were upstream of the 2025 herbicide treatment area.
• The inlet cove discovery emphasizes that intense vigilance of this area of lakeshore sections G & H must be maintained.  Please  note the AE cautionary statement about the presence of a rare native milfoil (alternate-flowered milfoil) in this area.
• The close proximity of the inlet cove EWM location to the Channel Drive/Islands herbicide treatment zone reinforces the JPA admonition to all boaters to avoid navigating through littoral areas whenever possible including the broad area along the Sandy Beach shoreline all the way around the north end of the lake to the Clubhouse Cove.  This includes the area between the islands and the Channel Drive shoreline which, although very popular with boaters, MUST be avoided.
• The EWM locations found in the Second Pond are outside or on the edge of the JPA-designated navigation channel.  These locations will be a management priority for the JPA EWM Harvesting Team.  Please stay inside the yellow buoys delineating the edges of the littoral zone and the navigation channel.  Better yet, unless your camp is on the Second Pond, please stay out of this part of the lake altogether.
• The vast majority of the EWM found on the First pond is inside the JPA-designated watercraft exclusion area.  It is of utmost importance that boaters honor this restriction, stay out of this area and avoid transporting EWM fragments back up into the Third Pond.  This area will be a priority for the suction harvesting operation scheduled for July 13-17.
• A few EWM plants were found near the Point Comfort rental fleet docks.  These are scheduled to be hand pulled by the JPA this week.
• There must be no diminishment of our monitoring and surveying of the littoral zones in all lakeshore sections.  It is at this time of year that the responsibilities of the Lakeshore Section Coordinators (LSCs) are of paramount importance.  We cannot let EWM get the upper hand on us like it did last year and cause us to choose an herbicide treatment in order to level the playing field and avoid uncontrolled EWM proliferation.  Our vigilance and our effectiveness in suction and hand harvesting can reduce the potential for another expensive treatment.
  
  

Our success at effectively controlling EWM spread and growth depends on the contributions of ALL JPA members and your guests and renters.  Please do your part to avoid causing watercraft-induced fragmentation by traveling through littoral zones only to access and egress your docks.

Thanks everyone for doing your part.

For the Joe's Pond Association

Joe Hebert, President

Barry Cahoon, Eurasian Watermilfoil Management Coordinator