As in past years, there is no problem with purple loosestrife at this time, the -20 temperature has taken care of that problem, at least for the next few months.

We placed 12 pots of beetle-infested plants at locations that in past years supported purple loosestrife (PL) growth, our one significant aquatic invasive species on the chain.  This year it was found in the same areas where it was previously experienced.  The main three areas are:

• The marsh on private property behind the old Pine Forest Lodge area.
• The bay-like swamp on the northeast corner of Round Lake.
• The large stumpy bay north of the logging dam.

In addition, a significant population of PL was found just west of the trail leading back to Tucker Lake on the north end of Round Lake.  By the time we located those plants we only had two pots left so we placed them there.  We will target this area for more plants in 2017.

As in past years, the beetles were provided from the DNR through a program at McNaughton at no cost to the Association.  We hope that will continue in 2017, as we see little evidence of a native population taking hold.

We physically dug-up plants and cut flowering heads where practical, prior to seed maturity.  It should be noted that all our efforts will NOT eliminate the PL, but merely keep it at bay.  The DNR tells us that is about the best we should expect.

Thanks to our PLCLA members who identified several PL plants near the Thorofare Bridge and reported and removed them.  We again encourage anyone that is interested in doing their own spot checking to contact us to discuss how to collect the weeds and what to look for.

As for the other species of invasives that have been identified as a risk for our lakes (low probability), we continue to take samples of the aquatic plants and have NOT found any evidence they have been introduced to our chain.