May 2, 2007 8:00 pm US/Central
Catching Lake Invaders One Camera At A Time
by Amelia Santaniello
(WCCO)
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Lake Minnetonka was first infested with Milfoil back in 1987 and it's been growing rapidly ever since. (File)
MN Department Of Natural Resources
Eurasian Water Milfoil has spread to more than 177 Minnesota Lakes -- and 400 Wisconsin Lakes.
Along with the weeds, Zebra Mussels are also threatening to take over. DNR Officials are trying to head off the problem on Lake Minnetonka by changing boaters behavior.
"Anything you see floating -- that's all Milfoil," said Tim Reichel.
Reichel couldn't wait to put his classic steam boat out on Lake Minnetonka, but the small weeds can cause big problems for the environment and boats.
Lake Minnetonka was first infested with Milfoil back in 1987 and it's been growing rapidly ever since.
"Now you can see the weeds on the bottom," said Reichel. "Later in the year ... I can't boat where we are right now because it's so weedy."
Last year, a solar powered camera was put up along Gray's Bay Launch to see if boaters were checking for milfoil. This year they're adding three more cameras.
"The cameras themselves, they're really not an inspection -- they're monitoring boater behavior," said Gregory Nybeck, the Executive Director Lake Minnetonka Conservation District.
Last summer, over a four week period, officials tracked the comings and goings on Lake Minnetonka.
"We caught 7.4 percent of the boaters launching into Lake Minnetonka with some type of weed hanging off their boats and trailer. After we postage signage, that percentage dropped to 1.7 percent," said Eric Lindberg, with Environmental Sentry Protection.
Most folks don't realize the cameras are even up.
Officials said they don't want to necessarily punished, but to teach boaters to behave better.
"Most of the people we've seen are doing a pretty good job of cleaning them off," said boater Tom Bird.
The additional cameras will be located at North Arm, Spring Park and Maxwell Bay. In conjunction with cameras, DNR officials will also spot check boats.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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