Fort McCoy biologists go diving to curb invasive plant species

Watershed Management Biologists Steve Rood and Derek Maki with Colorado State University who work in partnership with Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB) decided to dive into their work, literally, on June 15 to lessen the impact of invasive plant species in Fort McCoy lakes.

The two biologists, who are typically conducting fish surveys and other habitat work, did something different. They donned diving gear and went on the hunt in West Sandy Lake on Fort McCoy’s South Post to look for invasive plants in the lake.

“We were scuba diving to remove the aquatic invasive plants — Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed,” Rood said. “We have been managing these species in West Sandy Lake since 2011 and have been successfully able to keep the population under control with relatively minimal effort.”

Rood and Maki, both dive certified, are well skilled in looking for the plants. They are among many people who have been part of a diving program started by longtime Fisheries Biologist John Noble with the NRB decades ago.

“When we started doing the diving so many years ago, we found that it was an effective way to control the invasive plant species,” Noble said. “I did a lot of dives myself when it started, and it really makes a difference.”

Rood said the June 15 dive was only one of several.

“We typically do three dives at West Sandy each year to locate and remove these species,” he said.

Rood also said to keep the invasive plants under control helps keep the waterways healthy.

“If these species are left unmanaged, they out-compete the native vegetation and can result in extremely dense vegetation, which in turn can negatively affect the fish population in the lake and recreational activities on that water body,” Rood said.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s online information about Eurasian watermilfoil at https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatic/plants/eurasian-watermilfoil, it’s one of the worst invasive plant species for a waterway.

“Deceptively delicate and fragile in appearance, the Eurasian watermilfoil forms thick mats in shallow areas of a lake, quickly growing and spreading to block sunlight, killing off native aquatic plants that fish and other underwater species rely on for food and shelter,” the website states. “In North America, the plant threatens the diversity and abundance of native plants as well as the ecological balance of lakes and ponds, which in turn adversely affects recreational opportunities. If left unchecked, invasive watermilfoil will spread through a lake, or even to other lakes by transmission.”

Through the years of the diving program to remove the invasive plants at McCoy, Noble said it’s kept the invasive plants from spreading and has allowed Fort McCoy’s lakes to stay filled with native species.

“It’s been a great program, and I’m thankful for everyone who’s helped support it over the years,” Noble said.

Learn more about invasive plant species by visiting https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov.

Fort McCoy was established in 1909 and its motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.