Author: Mark Clymer

Author Affiliation: LCWC

Journal: Unpublished Report for the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners and the Clark Township Board; January 27, 2015

Abstract: This Milfoil Control Project and it’s impact are part of a functional and ecosystem level effort in the Les Cheneaux Islands (LCI) watershed to balance native and invasive species by facilitating the natural diversity still present.

Results of this project indicate that some Aquatic weeds appear able to compete with Milfoil, and that Milfoil does not appear to be as severe an ecological threat in LCI currently as was witnessed in 2011‐2013. This statement does not mean there is no problem, only that under favorable conditions the Pondweed family, Naiad, Chara, and Eel Grass for instance, are able to successfully cohabitate with Milfoil, as demonstrated in the 2014 Aquatic Vegetation Assessment Site (AVAS) survey and a Point Intercept (PI) survey findings. Favorable factors include cooler water temperatures, less available sunlight, and the presence of Milfoil pathogens & predators.