It is very rewarding when the local government knows it has a problem and we can work together to get rid of the unwanted non-native weeds, said Kathy Hamel, Ecology s aquatic weeds specialist. Washington state citizens began funding the aquatic weed management grants with the boat trailer tax that started four years ago. One of the grants will be used to work on a statewide weed problem. Eurasian Milfoil is one of the most troublesome aquatic weeds infesting nearly 100 lakes in our state. Milfoil displaces native plants, stunts the growth of fish and can take over a lake making boating and swimming impossible.
Weevils eat milfoil.
In Vermont, weevils appear to be successful in controlling milfoil. Researchers at the University of Washington will find out where weevils are already located in lakes in our state. The research will tell us how Washington state might be able to use weevils to control milfoil. Eventually Ecology and the University of Washington hope to introduce laboratory-raised bugs into a test lake to see how well milfoil is controlled in Washington. The city s plan calls for divers dredging or actually weeding the weeds out of the sediment.