Floridone -Yahara Lakes Association

DNR wary of fluridone to clear lakes of weeds

Solution to lake weeds begins at home

Problems Defy Simple Solution

We won't save lakes by playing it safe
Eric Farnsworth July 21, 2005

Madison and Dane County purport to be proponents of technology to further science, medicine and even Internet communication.

Why then is it sitting on its laurels while its premier natural assets, the chain of lakes, become an unusable, unsightly and noxious liability?

While Susan Lampert Smith in her Sunday column suggests using a "magic potion" to save our lakes, there is really no magic to it. It is science and it is available to those who are willing to recognize that inertia means loss of the asset and deterioration of the quality of life.

This isn't about a few lake property owners. At least they still have a view, even if they can't motor through the weeds or swim or breathe in the noxious mix we call a lake.

This is about every resident of this county who endures its tough winters with visions of summer fun on the lake - only to be told the beach is closed and the water is too choked with weeds to fish or frolic.

With the UW Center for Limnology in Madison, with the overwhelming support of those who use the lakes, and with our quality of life at stake, why is our state Department of Natural Resources speculating about or being leery of possible fixes?

Do what scientists do - experiment in a section of the lake with a proven product like Sonar or equivalent, evaluate the effects, report the results to the appropriate commission charged with oversight of the lakes, and then start a public discussion about remedies and costs.

Of course you have to be careful when altering the ecosystem of a lake, as DNR coordinator Graham warns. But these ecosystems have already been significantly altered by man. Now it's man's obligation to fix it.

If the DNR is too cautious or too worried to take an initiative that carries risks, then let's let them off the hook and create a Commission to Save the Lakes that isn't too gun-shy to act.