New infestation of.......

[Lee Borgersen]

   Statewide search finds new infestation of starry stonewort.

  ......
A total of 200 volunteers across Minnesota turned out Saturday, Aug. 5 to participate in Starry Trek, a statewide search for starry stonewort that was organized by the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center and University of Minnesota Extension.

In Beltrami County, a total of 10 volunteers took part. After being trained to identify starry stonewort, volunteers fanned out and checked 20 lakes across the county.

After volunteers searched a total 211 public accesses on 178 lakes statewide, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed the invasive algae starry stonewort in Grand Lake in Stearns County. This is the first new confirmation of starry stonewort in a Minnesota lake in 2017. Starry stonewort also was confirmed this week Lake Minnewaska in Pope County, the DNR said.

No infestations were found in Beltrami County during the Starry Trek search.

Starry stonewort is an invasive algae that was first found in Lake Koronis in 2015 and has since spread to nine Minnesota lakes, including, Upper Red Lake, Big Turtle Lake, Moose Lake and Cass Lake in Beltrami County and Lake Winnibigoshish in Itasca and Cass counties.

The lakes that were searched Aug. 5 had been prioritized as potentially high-risk for a starry stonewort infestation based on a model created by MAISRC researchers along with local use information from Starry Trek local coordinators. The model took into account several factors such as temperature, precipitation, and pH.

"With over 13 million acres of surface water in Minnesota, it's incredibly difficult for state and local officials to examine every lake and river reach for invasive species," said Megan Weber, MAISRC Extension Educator. "We need as many eyes on the water as possible, and that's where citizen scientists come in."

Starry stonewort can grow tall and dense, forming mats on the surface that interfere with recreation and potentially displacing native plant species.

"On behalf of Beltrami] County, I'd like to thank all of the volunteers who came out to help check our lakes," said Bruce Anspach, AIS Lake Technician with Beltrami County, in a press release. "Protecting our lakes for future generations is really important to us all, and we want to make sure we're doing the best we can to prevent the introduction and spread of AIS."

To learn more about this event and other opportunities to get involved, visit the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center's website at www.maisrc.umn.edu.



Starry stonewort has been confirmed in Lake Winnibigoshish in Itasca and Cass counties, Moose Lake in Beltrami County and Rice Lake in Stearns County. To date, Starry Stonewort has been found in four Beltrami County lakes. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota DNR)

 
                     

[attachment deleted by admin]