Whether you are renting your cabin out to strangers, sharing it with relatives, or leaving it unoccupied until your next visit, you want to make sure it is safe. Windows and doors are the top two points of entry for residential/cabin burglaries. Forty percent of these burglaries are termed "no force" entries which means the burglar entered through an unlocked door or window. Here are a few tips to help keep your cabin safe.

• Make sure all of your doors and windows are securely locked when you leave.

• Illuminate all entrances (motion-sensored lights work well). Most intruders will not target a well lit residence/cabin. Keep an indoor light on a programmable timer to show the appearance of someone being home.

• Install an alarm system which, when tripped, emits a loud sound bringing attention or law enforcement to the area.

• Make sure that valuables are out of sight, and use window shades/curtains that don’t allow prying eyes to see what is inside.

• Keep all outdoor items picked up and put away. If you do not have storage space for your boats or larger outdoor equipment make sure you record the serial numbers, take pictures of them, and lock/chain them to secure objects.

Burglars usually spend under 60 seconds attempting to gain entry into a home. The more difficult you make your residence/cabin to enter, and the less visible you make your possessions, the greater the chance an intruder will just move on to an easier target.

With summer in full swing, most volunteer citizen lake monitors have been out monitoring and keeping an eye on the health of Wisconsin’s lakes. Many people have been emailing and calling about conditions they have seen. Low lake levels seem to be an issue in many parts of the state. People also commented that aquatic plants came up early and the pondweeds were in seed by the first week of July. Things were certainly a few weeks ahead of schedule this year.

Here are some updates for volunteer monitors and others interested in the Citizen Lake Monitoring Network (CLMN).

The CLMN web site has recently been updated. You can find local contacts, download publications (i.e. manuals, data forms, plant scan laminates, lists of lakes with Aquatic Invasive Species), and also view the training workshop schedule for secchi and Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) monitoring. There are some quick links to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) web site with information on special projects (i.e. Secchi Dip-In, remote sensing) and lake data. Be sure to visit www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/CLMN for all the latest information.

Entering Your Data

Our database manager, Jennifer Filbert, has worked her magic on the data entry process. For those of you who had a bit of a problem entering data on the web last year, you will be pleased to learn the process is a lot easier now. There is a step-by-step guide available in the "Active Volunteers" section of the CLMN web site. There are also a few quick links to the DNR site which include other helpful information on submitting data.

We are trying out a new concept in order to reach folks wishing to be trained in water clarity (secchi) and AIS. We are working with Land and Water Conservation staff, Resource Conservation and Development staff, Basin Educators, Lake Leaders and current CLMN volunteers to assist with trainings and host workshops. This winter we will evaluate the successes of the new partnership and see how far we can expand. Preliminary feedback has been very positive. Some of these "volunteer trainers" will be contacting other volunteers in their counties to see if they can offer refreshers or assistance with data collection and entry.

Ten percent of the lakes being monitored for total phosphorus and chlorophyll through the CLMN have been randomly selected to participate in the collection of Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) samples this summer. You will be notified by the DNR if your lake has been selected. The DNR will provide you with all of the necessary equipment, lab slips and shipping materials. The purpose of the QA/QC samples is to document the accuracy and precision of the field data collected by volunteers in the network. We will look at both natural variability and sampling error. This procedure will continue each year on randomly selected lakes to assure we get reliable chemistry data. We will share the outcomes from this study next spring.

With Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) documented in Wisconsin inland lakes, we need to modify our procedures for equipment sharing. We recommend you do not loan your equipment to other lakes. By not sharing, we will reduce the chances of spreading AIS and aquatic diseases such as VHS. Those lakes that are currently sharing sampling equipment should contact their CLMN coordinator to discuss how best to deal with this. We will try to get equipment for each lake involved in the sampling process.

Thanks to all of the lake monitors for a great summer season!

For more information about CLMN go to www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/CLMN or contact Laura Herman at lherman@uwsp.edu or 715-365-8998.

The statutes do not specify the procedure for soliciting bids, but most lake districts prepare a written request for proposals, specifying the work or material required and a deadline for bids. Typically lake districts contact vendors or contractors directly to request proposals. The Lake List is a great online directory to find businesses that provide lake-related equipment and services (www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/lakelist).

For large-scale projects it is a good idea to follow more formal bidding procedures, including detailed plans and specifications, and specially prepared bidding documents.

The board of commissioners is required to award the work to the lowest responsible bidder. This is interpreted to mean that if the commissioners feel a contractor will not be able to perform the work adequately, they are not obligated to award the work to that bidder.

For more information on lake districts, see People of the Lakes: A Guide for Wisconsin Lake Organizations, www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/districts.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eurasian water-milfoil, but you can call me EWM. I want to tell you about where I came from, how I got here, and why I need your help to stick around.

My ancestors came to this country from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. My great, great, great grandparents lived in a small lake near the Caspian Sea. They lived there until some of them got swept-up into a bucket of fish—common carp, I am told—and were shipped to a fish farm in Germany. There, they lived for many generations. And then, once again, some of my ancestors got stuck in a bucket of "German" carp and were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to a government pond in Washington D.C. Somehow, those ancestors of mine survived, even raised families. But it was a boring life in that fish pond. Boring, that is, until someone drained the pond. The next thing they knew, those ancestors were floating down the Potomac River. Others were dropping from a boat in a New Jersey lake. Some reached a pond in Georgia. Still other milfoil ancestors were growing in an impoundment of the Ohio River.

Imagine the thrill of finding yourself in a new lake, a new river! Just grow more shoots, more roots, perhaps some flowers and seeds…and the New World would be yours!

But it didn’t happen that way. And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, life in America wasn’t so good, at least, not at first.

My ancestors came to America around 1940. Things were different then. The shallows of those lakes and rivers were crowded with other plants. There were pondweeds and coontail and even my distant cousin, northern water- milfoil. Most of those greenies, and many others, were native to America. Somehow, my ancestors had to compete with them for food and space and sunshine.

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, things were different in yet other ways. Those creatures called humans were less abundant. They had fewer boats and smaller boat motors. They built cabins, set back from natural lakeshores. With fewer shoreline disturbances, those pondweeds and native milfoils could thrive. My ancestors, on the other hand, barely managed to get by. And yet, they did spread and occasionally did thrive. But always they had to face those native competitor plants.

Then things began to change. The human population was growing. And with more humans came more wealth, more leisure, and more technology. Those 6-hp Jon boats became 200-hp runabouts. Those seasonal cabins became year-round mansions, with lush lawns and concrete seawalls. Each shoreline disturbance took its toll on those native pondweeds. Their numbers dwindled. Gradually, sunshine reached the lake bottoms. With the sun came a burst of energy from my great, great grandparents. They grew new shoots, with tall stems and lush leaves. Now it was the pondweeds and those native milfoils that couldn’t compete.

But then, those humans began to use weed harvesters and chemical poisons to stop the growth of my ancestors. At first, things looked pretty bleak, not only for my grandparents but also for those pondweeds and native milfoils. For the same weed harvesters and chemicals that killed my ancestors also killed those native plants, the ones we had to compete with. Things looked pretty low.

But then a strange thing began to happen. As the weed harvesters snipped and the chemical herbicides narced existing foliage, lake and river beds opened to new plant growth. And were we ready! Lying on those lake beds, often for many years, were roots and stems of us milfoils that had escaped the harvester’s axe and the chemist’s poison. Our stocky roots and creepy stems could grow toward the sun and across lake beds that now harbored fewer pondweeds and native milfoils. Thanks to over-aggressive harvestings and whole-lake treatments with non-selective chemicals, a new generation of us non-native plants could thrive and grow lush plant beds, nearly free of competing plants.

With the increase in human population—their technology and greater use of lakes—came new opportunities for us Eurasian water-milfoil to become even more abundant than possible in earlier years.

I call upon you to help us EWM. We need your boats and boots and buckets to spread our foliage. We need more motor boats on those waters, more shoreline disturbances, more whole-lake treatments with harvesters and chemicals. In short, we need your help in keeping down those competitor plants, in opening more lake and river beds to our roots and stems. With your help, we EWM can thrive and ultimately dominate many more lakes and rivers in your state.

So to all of you human creatures, I say "Keep the EWM fragments coming, the shorelines disturbed, and the native plants down."

Recorded and transcribed by that (re)tired biologist, Sandy Engel

This is the story of a relatively new and invasive inhabitant of Wisconsin’s wetlands and shorelines. The bad seed in this story is a non-native strain of Phragmites australis, otherwise known as common reed grass. Unfortunately, in some places it is becoming all too common. It is usually found in wetlands, roadside ditches, and disturbed areas like shorelines now exposed because of low water levels.

This grass is not an ordinary, garden-variety grass. In the world of grasses, non-native phragmites (pronounced frag-mahy-teez) is a "monster." Able to tolerate a wide range of soil conditions and aggressive in nature, it can form dense, impenetrable stands that displace wildlife and native plant communities. In many cases it can grow thick enough to shade out shrubs and small trees. Growth along shorelines can inhibit navigation and block shore views. Imagine a lush lawn of Kentucky bluegrass growing 15 feet tall and you have
the idea.

Phragmites is a perennial grass that thrives in moist soils. Its reeds, or canes, are unbranched, rigid and hollow and can reach heights over 12 feet. A large, feathery seed head is produced in late July through September. Like all grasses, phragmites dies back to the ground in late fall. The canes are tough enough to remain standing for a few years after they die.

Phragmites spreads primarily by vegetative reproduction. Thick, intertwined roots can reach six feet deep while rhizomes (horizontal roots) spread the plant laterally. The plant also sends out stolons, or runners, with nodes every foot or so that are each capable of growing a new plant. Stolons from aggressive strains of phragmites can easily exceed fifty feet in a single growing season.

Native to many places in the world, phragmites has been and continues to be harvested by numerous cultures for a variety of purposes. For example, its long, strong canes make excellent roof thatch material. Native phragmites exists in Wisconsin and grows in sparse stands interspersed harmoniously with a variety of other native plants. It does not usually reach more than 8 feet tall. Its invasive cousin originated in Eurasia and poses a double threat here in North America. It not only out-competes native phragmites, it also interbreeds with the native strain, thus strengthening the aggressive tendencies of future plants.

Because phragmites can be so aggressive, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommends landowners watch for new stands of phragmites and control it before it has a chance to expand.

The best solution for control depends upon the location and density of the growth, and its proximity to more desirable vegetation. Considering that phragmites is a grass and has a thick root system, manual control efforts can be labor intensive. Digging and frequent mowing can keep phragmites in check, but may not kill it.

If your control will include the use of herbicides, you may need a permit. A permit is always required if the proposed treatment area is wet at the time of treatment. The rule of thumb is as follows: if you were to stand in the area where you plan to apply herbicides with just socks on your feet and your socks get damp, you need a permit. No permit is needed if the area is dry. Regardless if wet or dry, a product with an aquatic label must be used if you are treating below the ordinary high water mark. Habitat^�, Rodeo^� and other glyphosate formulations have aquatic labels. Roundup^� does not have an aquatic label, so it cannot be used, even on dry exposed beach areas. Habitat^� can only be applied by a certified applicator.

Whatever control methods are employed, follow up is necessary as some of the root system will survive. A moderate stand of phragmites can take 3-4 years to control.

By Bob Bultman
Door County Invasive Species Team
dcist1@gmail.com

www.invasiveplants.net/phragmites/ (exit UWEX Lakes)

http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/phraaust.html (exit UWEX Lakes)

www.botany.wisc.edu/wisflora/ (exit UWEX Lakes)

For information on control methods and permit requirements:

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/greatlakes/Phragmites2007.pdf (exit UWEX Lakes)

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/fhp/waterway/ (exit UWEX Lakes)

If you haven’t started entering your boat inspection data for this summer, now is the time to take on that pile of watercraft inspection daily work diaries that has been cluttering your table! So far in 2007, data have been entered by more than 35 people that represent over 127 boat landings. There are over 411 days worth of entries, which tops the number of entries that had been made by this time last year. This is great news! The information recorded during watercraft inspections is extremely important to the Clean Boats, Clean Waters (CBCW) program.

In the gathered data, many positive trends can be seen, such as an increase in boater awareness of aquatic invasive species and boater behavior in checking their watercraft for invasive species. This useful information is shared with legislators annually and helps justify the need for the future funding of grants and state support for volunteers at the landings. So, the records you keep at the boat landings really do make a difference!

This year, our database manager Jennifer Filbert has worked hard to make online data entry clearer and easier for volunteers. Detailed instructions on how to obtain a username and password and how to enter data are available on the CBCW homepage. To enter your data, go to https://dnrx.wisconsin.gov/swims/ or you can click on the link from the CBCW homepage.

Help keep up the current rate of data entry and make 2007 a record year for CBCW in the amount of data gathered. Thanks so much to all of you who volunteer your time to help keep Wisconsin’s lakes healthy! We look forward to sharing the 2007 data with all of you this fall.

For more information about CBCW go to www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/CBCW or contact
Erin Henegar at ehenegar@uwsp.edu or 715-346-4978

• If the computer will not accept your mailing address while registering for a user ID and password, just leave the whole address blank. There is a bug that causes it not to accept some addresses.

• Only one entry per landing per day can be recorded in the database. So, when entering your data, make sure you total everything for that day.

• You do not have to enter the time shifts for each individual volunteer – only the total amount of time spent at that landing that day. However, if you’d like to keep track of the data anyway, you can record it on your own or enter it in the ‘Comments’ area.

• If you are unsure of the name of your landing, you can click ‘Show Map’ to see where
  it is located. If your landing is not listed, you can contact Jennifer Filbert to have a
  landing added.

For help with data entry or using the database, please contact Jennifer Filbert at 608-264-8533 or Jennifer.Filbert@wisconsin.gov.

In 2008, the Wisconsin Lakes Convention celebrates its 30^th birthday! We will reflect on the accomplishments we have achieved by working together these past 30+ years and explore ways to build on those successes. The Wisconsin Lakes Partnership is inviting lake organization members, resource professionals, researchers, students and other lake enthusiasts to submit proposals for educational presentations, field trips and hands-on workshops for the 2008 Wisconsin Lakes Convention.

This convention focuses on the state of Wisconsin lakes, how they have changed over time, and what we have collectively learned over the past 30 years. Come celebrate the pure enjoyment of our state’s greatest resource! Sessions will feature topics such as:

Presentations that highlight local lake management experiences are encouraged.

Submission guidelines and an application form can be found on the UWEX-Lakes web site at www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/conventions. If you would like an application form in hard copy,
contact us at 715-346-2116.

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes (WAL) has moved! They are still located in Madison, working to influence legislation to benefit Wisconsin’s lakes. If you are not familiar with this association, you’ll want to check out their web site at www.wisconsinlakes.org. Support their work and your lakes by becoming a member.

New contact information:

4513 Vernon BLVD, Suite 101
Madison, WI 53705-4964

Phone: 608-661-4313
Toll free (in WI) 800-542-LAKE (5253)
Fax: 608-661-4314
Email: info@wisconsinlakes.org

Do you know an outstanding person or group who dedicates time and talent to our state’s water resources? We encourage you to nominate them for the prestigious Wisconsin Lake Stewardship Award. For more information call the Wisconsin Association of Lakes at 608-661-4313 or www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/conventions.

Resident Bacteria May Help Clean Phosphorus from Lakes

In recent years, Madison residents have focused new attention on water quality problems, such as the unsightly, odoriferous blue-green algae blooms caused by an overload of phosphorus within area lakes.

In reality, those problems began in the city more than a century ago. They originated in an era when "wastewater treatment" meant dumping largely untreated sewage back into the lakes, says Katherine McMahon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. "Phosphorus is something that once it gets into the lakes, it’s very hard to get out," she says.

McMahon received a prestigious $400,000 National Science Foundation award, which provides early-career support for creative projects that integrate research and education, to investigate this water quality challenge. She will use her expertise in wastewater engineering and biology to study how the bacterial community affects phosphorus cycling in different eutrophied lakes.

For three years, she will collect weekly bacteria samples from Madison-area Lakes Mendota and Wingra during ice-off seasons, as well as monthly samples when the lakes are frozen. Likewise, her collaborator, Guang Gao of the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology in China, will sample Lake Taihu, a lake that supplies drinking water to 40 million people in Shanghai and surrounding cities.

Ultimately, McMahon hopes her research will contribute to a future solution to excess phosphorus in any lake. "Eutrophication of freshwater lakes is a problem everywhere in the developed world, as well as in many developing countries," she says.

We are pleased to announce that Jim Kreitlow has accepted a brand new position as a Lake Coordinator with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in the Northern Region.

Now we will have three DNR Lake Coordinators in the Northern Region, each covering six counties. This will expand the abilities of the northern DNR Lake Coordinators to serve the public. Jim will cover the central counties in the north (Ashland, Iron, Price, Rusk, Sawyer and Taylor), working with lake grants and lake issues. (Pamela Toshner covers the western counties and Kevin Gauthier covers the eastern counties of the DNR Northern Region.)

Jim may be familiar to some folks in northern Wisconsin. He has an extensive background in water resources, having spent most of his 22 years with the DNR working on water quality issues in northern Wisconsin, both as a water resources biologist and a watershed team supervisor.

Jim is a seasoned professional who brings excellent skills and experience to the position. We welcome him to his new role in the Lakes Partnership.

Contact Jim at james.kreitlow@wisconsin.gov or 715-365-8947 at the Rhinelander office.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on revisions to chapters NR 19 and 20, relating to control of fish diseases and invasive species. The proposed rule makes permanent and clarifies recent emergency measures for the control and prevention of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) in Wisconsin waters.

Titled "No Child Left Inside," this conference will offer concurrent sessions and workshops that will allow time for hands-on and interactive experiences (and time to go outside!) - Stevens Point, Wisconsin.