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5.i. Staff Report- letter of support for Big Marine Lake Association Staff Report Date of Meeting: January 17, 2017 To: City Council From: Neil Soltis, City Administrator Re: Letter of support for Big Marine Lake Association grant Background: Mike Blehert. President BMLA is again applying for an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) grant from Washington County and is seeking a letter of support from the City of Scandia. Issue: Should the City provide support to the BMLA grant request? Proposal Details: The following information was provided by Mike regarding the 2016 program and plans for 2017. In 2016 the Big Marine Lake Associations (BMLA) worked to kill and reduce to acres of Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM) in Big Marine Lake (BML). The results for 2016 were excellent. The new and more expensive herbicide that was used by PLM (applicator) was more effective than that used in 2015. 19 acres were treated in 2015 and 12.5 in 2016. Of the 12.5 acres treated in 2016, 6.5 were new, but next to some of the spots treated in 2015. The other six acres treated in 2016 were regrowth in the areas treated in 2015. So, 6.5 new acres were treated in 2016 plus the original 19 treated in 2015 adds up to a total of 25.5 acres that have been treated over two years with the multiple herbicide treatment protocol. The Sept 20th delineation of these areas conducted by Blue Water Science found about 2.5 acres within the 25.5 that will need treatment in 2017. Even with the extremely long fall and extended growing season, I'm confident that at least 85% of the 25.5 acres will be clear of EWM in 2017. There will also be three spots totaling about five acres outside of the 25.5 that will need treatment. So, the 2017 total should be about eight acres. Our long term goal of reducing EWM to less than five acres/ year is in reach. For reference, herbicide treatment started in 2009 with 9.5 acres, spread to 40 acres in 2014 and will be about eight acres in 2017. In 2017, the BMLA has proposed another new treatment technique for low density EWM. The low density EWM is typically the result of fragments that float into a recently treated area. These new plants are hard to find with a rake or by sight in 10 ft . of water and over time can coalesce to repopulate the area. Next year, the BMLA will employ Scuba diver(s) to use a high pressure lance that the BMLA has made to inject the root balls of new plants. This has not been done before. I have read lab research that proves the herbicide is absorbed by both the plant above the sediment and by the roots and that the herbicide is translocated from the roots to the rest of the plant. But, root injection has never been applied in the field. Options: 1. Approve a Letter of Support for the 2017 grant 2. Take no action on the request for a Letter of Support Recommendation: Option 1 – Approve the Letter of Support