SEIS - Eagle Lake Property Owner's Inc.

populations or hig'hly irregular year classes develop. Interest by fishery agencies in maintainingan aquatic plant community under pressure from recreational users to limit plant growths shouldnot be centered on protecting milfoil (or other invasive species), but rather should focus onrestoring the native assemblage at a density appropriate to the range of lake use objectives.Many seed-producing species will become re-established when milfoil is eradicated. This hasbeen demonstrated in nearby Lake George (Eichler et aI., 1995). Milfoil control programs see,kto eliminate milfoil, but this does not equate to the loss of the plant community. Rather, it is apre-requisite for the restoration of the native community, There may be a temporary loss of plantcover and biomass, typically on the order of a season, but this is not even certain with lower doseSonar® treatments, and re-growth of other species from seeds is invariably observed thefollowing growing season.The threat of lakewide infestation to recreational interests is severe. Although certain nativespecies can indeed produce nuisance conditions (e.g., Potamogeton amplifolius or Nymphaeaodm"ata), the density of milfoil exceeds that of virtually all native species and the potential forswimmers to become entangled is a real safety issue. Likewise, boat propellers can becomeimmobilized by milfoil, but not by most native species. The utility of a waterbody for virtuallyall recreational uses can be seriously diminished by milfoil infestation.Recreational impairment translates into economic loss. In Eagle Lake, as many as 80 hectares(200 acres) out of 170 hectares (420 acres) oflake area could be affected, although impacts arelikely to be most severe in water