Town Hall Meeting

Paul Shain, TLA PresidentNed Greedy, TLA Executive Director

June 19, 2010

Tomahawk Lake Association

We’re all about protecting and enhancing the quality of the Tomahawk Lake Watershed

TLA’s Organizational Structure

• Our Organizational Structure– Volunteer organization with paid Exec Dir.• Board of Directors with 3 year terms• Key Operating Committees comprised of board

members and other volunteers• Executive Director (who does all the work!)

– We need and welcome new volunteers who want to get involved.

TLA’s Organizational Structure

• Our Committees – and their purpose– Environment and Education – focus on AIS treatment, DNR

interaction, education of members, CLMP (John Rybski)– Membership and Fundraising – Engage with interested

Lake users to join TLA and solicit contributions to fund our organization. (Kris Hunt & Jim Andersen)

– Marketing and Communications – responsible for communicating with our members and other interested parties through email, our website, and printed materials. (Rebecca Bortner)

TLA’s Financial Model

• Annual budget of $200,000– Sources:• DNR Grants, Member Donations, Town Support

– Uses:• Wages, EWM Treatment, Education, Communication

TLA’s Membership Drive

• Membership Advantages– Meet your neighbors– Stay up to date on key initiatives impacting the lake– Help preserve Tomahawk Lake– Engage with other lake users on key TLA initiatives– Help fund our activities

You can join right now at the desk, or on our website (www.tomahawklake.org)

TLA Key Initiatives

Ned GreedyTLA Executive Director

The Scope of TLA’s Activities Is Expanding!

• Lake Monitoring• Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Controls• Scientific Research• Education

Comprehensive Lake Management Plan (CLMP) is our guide

• 5 year plan – Defines our mission, states our goals – sets into motion our plan

• We’re all in this together– TLA membership & lake shore owners– State of Wisconsin– 4 townships – Minocqua, Woodruff, Lake Tomahawk, Hazelhurst– All who use and enjoy Tomahawk Lake

Lake Monitoring• 5 yearly Surveys that Chart our course– Fall AIS/EWM Survey – WDNR mandated – early

September -defines location, size and shape of treatment areas for the next year.

– Spring AIS/EWM Treatment Surveys –WDNR Mandated - process begins after ice out - confirms fall survey – adjusts for changes - establishes treatment timeline

Lake Monitoring - continued– June Sentinel Survey – Late June – whole lake EWM

inventory – 17 sectors -all volunteers – results guide Hydraulic Conveyor System team and survey crew

– Post Treatment Survey – early July – WDNR mandated – treated areas – evaluates treatment result on both EWM and Native Aquatic Plants

– Final Sentinel Survey – early August – whole lake survey – guide HCS to new sites – aids TLA survey crew in identifying areas to evaluate for treatment following year

Who does all of these surveys?

– TLA Sentinels – 17 teams of volunteers – headed by Roger Cote – (715) 358-6118 – requires two days a summer on the water

– TLA Survey Team – TLA Executive Director Ned Greedy & additional staff member

EWM in Tomahawk Lake

EWM Treatments

• Two tiered approach:– Chemical Application of aquatic herbicide in large

areas of infestation – aquatic 2,4-d in both liquid and granular form.

– Hydraulic Conveyor System - Targeted to areas of new growth - areas not chemically treated due to ecological sensitivity – areas too small or isolated for chem. treatment – areas where chem. treatment failed.

Chemical Applications• 60 areas (polygons) treated in 2010– Three test areas of liquid (Kemp Bay, Echo Bay, and south

side of Windy Point) – selected for their isolated locations where results can be evaluated.

– 57 areas of granular application in other areas of lake

WDNR Chemical Application Mandates

• Treatment no later than May 31st

• Water Temps at surface no higher than 60 degrees

• Schedule early in spring• By WDNR permit only

2010 Application Conditions• TLA’s target conditions requirements:– Water temperatures at 57 to 60 degrees at plant

depth.– Plants in “viable” condition – green stems below

lowest leaf branching – able to absorb the herbicide.

– Treatment before June 1st (WDNR)

In 2010 all of these conditions were met!

Hydraulic Conveyor System• Beginning third year of operation– 2009 set benchmark to measure success– 88 locations cleared of EWM– 6 - 32 ft trailer loads of EWM taken to landfill– Removes the total plant: leaves, stems, roots, and

“cloud”– System continues to be refined

HCS in Action

2010 HCS Operations

• Success of 2009 brought a new challenge. Boat couldn’t hold all of the daily harvest and had to return to dock each noon to offload.

• For 2010 TLA made the commitment to HCS future operations by purchasing new undercarriage with additional 12 inches of freeboard. Crew can now operate 8 hours per day uninterrupted.

TLA Lake Research

• 2009 chemical treatment experience highlighted our need to know more about “what works”

• This need has led to our participation in two studies:

Army Corps of Engineers Study: The effects of Chemical Treatment of liquid 2,4-d in lakes:

– Joining appox. 20 other lakes in N. Wisconsin & U.P. in study

– Examining the rate of concentration fall off after treatment date & treatment effectiveness.

– Possible benefits to TLA: Better results of treatments & lower cost

TLA & UW – Stevens Point Partnership: Study of Local Environmental Effects on Granular 2,4-d Application Success.

• TLA designed study – 2 + year partnership with UW-Stevens Point Limnology Dept.

• Studies Tomahawk Lake environmental factors and how they effect chemical application success rates.

Long Term Goals of our Treatment Programs:

– Control and reduce the areas of infestation of EWM & all aquatic Invasive Species in our watershed.

– Reduce our dependence on chemical treatments in our efforts.

– Preserve and Enhance the long term water quality of the Tomahawk Lake Watershed

Education

Our day to day operations require us to be in the “Here and Now”,

But to meet our long term goals we have to be “In The Future”

Education is a long term investment!

Clean Boats Clean Waters

• Our front line against both old and new Aquatic Invasive Species– Both Paid Staff and Volunteers.

• Educates our lake users on: – What the AIS are.– What to look for.– What they can do to fight them.– Why it’s in their interest.

Clean Boats Clean Waters

• CBCW use complimentary boat/trailer inspections and lake user surveys to get our message across.

• This program targets responsible lake stewardship by all who use and enjoy Tomahawk Lake

• We need volunteers – minimal time requirements – 2 to 4 hours per month.

CBCW in Action

The 1st annual Tomahawk Lake Fair

• Aimed at kids and their families• A “hands on” event• When: Saturday August 7th , 10:00 am – 5:00 pm• Where: Lake Tomahawk City Park• We need volunteers to make it happen• Our flyer tells the story….

Question & Answer• We welcome your feedback• We want to understand concerns you

might have• We want suggestions for other issues TLA

should focus on