Weed removal from Lake Scugog

COURTNEY McCLURE, for The Standard

SCUGOG: If you live on Lake Scugog, you may have noticed loose weeds laying on your shoreline.

According to the Director of Communications and Education from the Scugog Lake Stewards, Barbara Karthein, Lake Scugog has always been a “weedy lake.”

The Township of Scugog ‘weeds’ the lake twice, every summer, to get rid of unwanted weeds. This is done by machines called harvesters.

If you find rooted, living roots brushing against the shoreline of your property, and you wish to remove them, you must apply for a permit from the Trent-Severn Waterway. If you’re granted permission, you can clear a small area around your dock or wherever the weeds may be.

According to the External Relations Manager for Parks Canada, their responsibility is to maintain safe and unimpeded access through marked navigation channels. This includes maintained buoys and working to keep channels free of debris, so boats and other vessels can safely pass-through local waterways. This also may include vegetation in some cases, including weeds.

Parks Canada works with property owners and will help them address concerns of vegetation on their property shoreline. Uprooted vegetation can be collected by hand without a permit. If residents have questions about aquatic vegetation removal, they’re invited to contact the Trent-Severn Waterway at: pc.on-tsw-vnts.permits-permis.pc@canada.ca.

The weeds at the bottom and around Lake Scugog support the lake’s ecosystem: birds, fish, turtles, and a lot more. The weeds also help sustain an abundance of plant life and help them reproduce.

But what about loose weeds?

If you happen to find some weeds washed up onto the shore of your property, here’s some advice from the Scugog Lake Stewards. Homeowners around the lake can remove washed-up material, including weeds, from their shoreline by raking. But the staff at Scugog Lake Stewards encourage people to remove aquatic mats of dead plants in order to store, drain and dry them.

Make sure to dry these materials away from the shoreline. Leave them there for at least a week or so; if there’s rain, leave them out to dry even longer.

The staff suggests this because of how some aquatic plants disperse. This especially applies to invasive species of plants.

According to Ms. Karthein, Lake Scugog is home to many invasive species of plant life. And she said, Port Perry residents must work to limit further dispersal of these plants.

When raking, it’s best to rake the weeds onto the shore, then away from the shore and allow them to dry.

Still, the staff at the Scugog Lake Stewards discourage frequently and heavy shoreline raking. Raking too much reduces and may eliminate the growth of healthy shoreline plants which help nutrients flow into the lake.

These nutrients provide stability for the mud at the bottom of Lake Scugog. This increases the number of microscopic organisms, making the lake a healthier ecosystem for animals and plant life.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

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