Aquatic invasive weed treatment on hold

Time to treat an invasive weed infesting Eagle Bend’s waterways may be slipping away as spring run-off causes water levels in the Flathead to begin to rise.

At least one concerned group says treatment should happen now, but Flathead County says it must follow the proper process before beginning treatment.

The $10,000 that the Eagle Bend Yacht Harbor Association allocated to aid in the control effort sits untouched, waiting for action from Flathead County. The Flathead Lakers are holding onto an additional $4,000 in funds promised by a private citizen who is waiting for the same county decision.

Decisive action from the county could take at least another month, if not longer.

Erik Hanson, a consultant from the Flathead Aquatic Invasive Species group, said by that time it could be too late to stop another season of growth and the spread of curleyleaf pondweed from Eagle Bend’s waterways into Flathead Lake and River.

“It is sad,” Hanson said. “Because, one, we’re going to have to spray more herbicide, two, it’s going to cost more, and three, we may lose the ability to control it.”

Now, when the water levels are low, the water in Eagle Bend’s channel is contained behind a dam and the water in the lake and river is low enough, it’s below that dam. Applying a herbicide that targets curleyleaf would be effective because of the low concentration of water in a key target area and the fact that pondweed is one of the first plants to grow.

Flathead County deputy attorney Tara Fugina said county commissioners can’t make a decision on anything until the county weed board puts forth a new weed plan. This is especially true because the county considers Eagle Bend Harbor and channel to be privately owned waterways, Fugina said.

“The citizen’s have asked county commissioners to do something and they can’t because they can’t just walk onto private property and do whatever they want,” Fugina said. “There’s a process the county has to follow whenever they are entering private property.”

Curleyleaf pondweed is listed as a 1B priority on the Montana Department of Agriculture’s noxious weeds list. This means the state wants to see eradication, prevention and education of the weed incorporated into county weed control plans because the county is responsible for dealing with noxious weeds.

The aquatic weed consists of a thin stem with blue-green leaves attached in an alternating pattern. Turions, a hard pinecone-like bud that falls off the plant, form in the spring. They are carried by water currents to new locations in late summer. Wherever they land, they can start a new plant. Turions’ germination rate is 60-80 percent.

Treating noxious weeds on land is cut and dry. If the weed is on private property, the landowner is responsible for it. If the landowner doesn’t take care of the weed after being notified by the county, the county steps in, cleans it up and charges the landowner for its cost.

“It’s unlawful for landowners to let noxious weeds propagate on their property,” said Dave Burch, Montana Department of Agriculture’s state weed coordinator.

Treating aquatic weeds is tricky. Water ownership and responsibility are murky at best. While a private citizen could own the land under the water, the water itself could be public.

Hanson said Eagle Bend could start treatment, but wants help from the county in developing a treatment plan and securing permits for the aquatic application of a herbicide.

Eagle Bend Yacht Harbor Association board members did not return the Bigfork Eagle’s phone calls before press time.

“Truthfully, Eagle Bend could do most of this on their own, but there is liability and risk, and the public perception of a private landowner putting herbicides into public waters,” Hanson said. “There’s no (official) support from public agencies right now, so it’s a hard step for them to take.”

One of the hold-ups for official public support from Flathead County is that the county hasn’t updated its weed control plan since curleyleaf pondweed was put on the Montana Department of Agriculture’s official list of noxious weeds in 2010.

According to Burch, Flathead County hasn’t updated its plan since 2007, and the current plan doesn’t cover aquatic weeds, only terrestrial (on land). The Department of Agriculture requires counties to update their plans every two years.

The county weed board is in the process of hammering out a new weed plan that includes a plan of action against aquatic invasive weeds. Head of the county weed district, Jed Fisher, said the board hopes to have the new version to county commissioners by mid-May.

After commissioners vote on the plan, then the county can start the process of taking action and notify the landowners of intent.

Hanson identified the aquatic invasive species and performed a survey of the area last August. Curleyleaf pondweed encompasses 40 percent of the plants in Eagle Bend’s harbor and channel.

It was also found in patches along the Flathead River bottom leading upstream for a couple of miles, in Fennon Slough and in two places in Flathead Lake—just outside of the harbor in Somers and along a seawall outside of Bigfork.

The Flathead County weed control district was notified of the survey and its results in September of last year, Hanson said.

After waiting for the county to take action since last fall, a group from Eagle Bend, the Flathead Lakers, Flathead AIS and various private citizens approached county commissioners on March 26.

“It would have been helpful if the county commissioners and the county attorney’s office were brought up to speed when we first informed them (the county weed board) of this problem last fall,” Flathead Lakers board member Steve Rosso said. “Someone needs to raise the flag, to raise the priority of this issue.”

It was a last ditch effort to get some county support behind spraying the weed before water levels rise.

Hanson said if the process starts right now, it could still take a long time. Once the county notifies landowners, the county then needs to get permits for the herbicide, perform an environmental assessment on the property and waterways, and hold a 30-day public comment period because the water could be public.

After that the county and landowners could get to work on actually controlling the spread of curleyleaf pondweed.

Burch said the county and private landowners need to work together to come up with a workable solution.

“Until that plan comes together or something else happens, we’re all sitting in limbo,” Burch said. “If we don’t do anything with it then it will continue to spread.”