| November 4, 2003
News Release
Thursday, November 20 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Tahoma School District Central Services Center Board Room 25720 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Highway Southeast Maple Valley Hydrilla is an invasive plant that threatens freshwater recreation and habitat and is difficult to eliminate because it has several ways of reproducing. Hydrilla can reproduce by fragmentation, but beyond that the plant can also propagate through stolons (an aboveground trailing shoot), turions, and tubers. The major obstacle in the King County infestation is the tubers that can lie dormant in the sediment for 3-4 years before sprouting and are unaffected by herbicide until they sprout. The new control method is modeled after successful eradication projects in California and uses Sonar PR, a slow release herbicide with the active ingredient fluridone, in the two lakes to maintain low concentrations during hydrilla's growing season. The hydrilla that has been located during follow-up snorkel and SCUBA surveys all show signs of herbicide damage – an indication that with continued efforts eradication may be possible. King County staff will also preview next year's action plan and the draft Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan (IAVMP). Both King County and Washington State Department of Ecology staff will be available to answer questions or to hear concerns from the community. For more information about the project, meeting, or if you are unable to attend but would like to review the IAVMP, please contact Sally Abella, Lake Stewardship Program Manager, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks at 206-296-8382 or sally.abella@kingcounty.gov. Information about the Hydrilla Eradication can also be found online. Related Information |
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The King County Lake Stewardship Program is reporting positive initial results from a new hydrilla control method used on Pipe Lake and Lake Lucerne. This and other outcomes from this year's Hydrilla Eradication Project, ongoing since 1995, will be covered in an upcoming public meeting for the communities of Pipe Lake and Lake Lucerne - the locations of the only known hydrilla infestations in Washington.
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