Fishermen are being urged to avoid spreading hydrilla at Ross Barnett Reservoir, not only from one place to another within the popular lake but also to other state waters.
Aquatic weed specialists recently found hundreds of active acres of the non-native vegetation, including one huge patch in a part of the lake where it has never appeared — the shallow Pelahatchie Bay area where an outbreak could spread rapidly.
It required an extra herbicide treatment, a third this year, on what is considered the greatest vegetation threat to the shallow reservoir.
“We just had to have two further rounds of spraying, both for hydrilla and the other for hyacinth,” said Barnett Reservoir general manager John Sigman. “That’s $100,000 we weren’t expecting to have added to our vegetation control program.”
Hydrilla required the most expensive treatment, costing $80,000 to treat an estimated 374 acres at 14 different active sites located by officials from Mississippi State University’s GeoResources Institute.
Because many of the areas were in backwaters popular among bass fishermen, it is possible, MSU officials said, that anglers spread it — and, boy, I hope unintentionally — on their boats or motors.
State fisheries biologists confirm that hydrilla is easily spread. One leaf of the plant can take root in the right conditions and begin a new colony.
“We have an educational program in place to inform fishermen of the danger of spreading different forms of vegetation from one lake to another,” said Ron Garavelli, chief of fisheries for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We have included pamphlets in the envelopes when we mail boat registrations. We have signs posted at many of our state lakes, warning fishermen to watch for “hitchhikers” that might be on their trailers, boats and other equipment. Hydrilla is one of the worst.”
Said Sigman: “We just want fishermen to realize the problems related to hydrilla and how easily it spreads. We’d like to encourage them to take precautions.”
B.A.S.S. Elite Series pro Pete Ponds of Madison said other states have stepped up their efforts to prevent unwanted vegetation. Elite Series anglers travel from all corners of the country creating a fear of non-native introduction.
“In our two tournaments in Wisconsin this year, state officials had equipment at each ramp to spray our boats and trailers to prevent the spread of vegetation,” Ponds said. “They are getting serious about vegetation control just about everywhere we go.”
Hydrilla has been a concern since first located on Barnett Reservoir about eight years ago. An extremely shallow lake, it is considered vulnerable to a widespread outbreak.
Reservoir officials had been warned that 2012 could be one of the worst years for unwanted vegetation, since last winter was so mild. The lack of an extended period of freezing temperatures promoted growth of hydrilla, which does not tolerate cold temperature. Those fears have been realized this year across the southeastern United States, MSU officials said.
The timing was unfortunate. Fishermen and boaters had recently reported an outbreak of hyacinth, which was traced to a backwater lake source above Lowhead Dam (where the reservoir begins). A free-floating plant that can ride wind and water currents, hyacinth patches were spotted flowing over Lowhead Dam. Hyacinth quickly spread downriver on the upper end of the reservoir, forming colonies around snags and in lily pad fields.
Treatment of the hyacinth, which is a lot less costly, was underway when the hydrilla was found.
Vegetation treatment has long been controversial at Barnett Reservoir, pitting fishermen, who see it has a plus for fish habitat, against reservoir and contractors hired to treat the outbreaks.
Fishermen see hydrilla as a positive, pointing to lakes like Alabama’s Guntersville and Texas’ Amistad where hydrilla is prevalent. Both are among the most popular and productive bass fishing destinations in the country.
Barnett officials and aquatic vegetation specialists see it as a threat to fish populations, boating opportunities and water quality, especially since the 33,000 acre reservoir is so shallow.
Earlier this year, lake officials reached out to bass fishermen to get their input on its vegetation control program — basically giving them a seat at the table in discussions.
At the request of fishermen, reservoir officials agreed to study spraying backwater areas already choked out by a combination of native and non-native vegetation. A pilot project by MSU is underway to study the impact and the feasibility, with one of the most popular backwater areas undergoing extensive spraying while another is used as a control area.
Prior to that agreement, spraying was limited to non-native grasses — hyacinth in early years and most recently hydrilla — unless native grasses were found to be restricting boating channels.
Both sides need to continue working together, and preventing the spread of hydrilla should be No. 1 on the agenda.
It is undeniably in the best interest of both sides.
Fishermen must realize that where hydrilla is located, officials are adamant it will be treated. Because the treatment requires extremely strong herbicides, it will be costly and will cause collateral vegetation kills.
That includes the very popular lily pad fields that bass fishermen love, and that are a defining characteristic of Barnett Reservoir.
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