A nasty invasive plant that’s made headlines for ravaging large swaths of Lake Leelanau has been found in Glen Lake, and crews are gearing up to determine the extent of the problem.

Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) has been in the news frequently in recent years as the Lake Leelanau Lake Association (LLLA) poured large amounts of time and money into battling the pesky weed there. After some fragments of it were found in the water near the sole public Glen Lake boat launch last Labor Day, alarm bells sounded.

“The key with this stuff is that you don’t want to wait,” GLA staff biologist Rob Karner tells The Ticker. “If it establishes itself and spreads everywhere, it almost becomes a ‘too late’ type of scenario…within a few years you can have a major infestation.”

Because the Glen Lake EWM fragment was detached and floating, it’s not clear if it was from the lake itself or a boat that visited from elsewhere. The GLA quickly hired a contractor to conduct a detailed aerial drone study to look for visual clues of EWM, and nearly 40 potential problem spots were identified.

Now, those involved are holding their breath as they wait for a detailed underwater study to begin as early as May. For the sum of $26,700, the GLA hired two companies with milfoil experience to conduct an extensive survey with underwater drones and divers, but the search can’t begin until the plant starts to grow again and can be readily detected.

“It’s sort of a tiered process with three layers. You've got the aerial drone, you've got the underwater drone, and then you've got the scuba divers in the water,” Karner says. “And once we’re in the water and find an active spot, then we're going to hand weed it right away.”

The GLA is in the process of asking Empire, Glen Arbor and Kasson townships – all in the watershed – to provide funding to help cover survey work. Empire has approved $3,000, and the other two are expected to decide on similar requests as soon as this month.

“We understand that this may or may not fit in their wheelhouse, so to speak, because they've got so many other irons in the fire,” GLA board President Stan Kryder tells The Ticker. “But we do very much appreciate their consideration, regardless of the outcome, because we’re trying to educate elected officials as well as private citizens about this problem. We can't do this alone.”

Karner says GLA has already been in contact with LLLA about the matter. While he’s certainly not happy that they’re struggling with the issue in Lake Leelanau, he is glad that a nearby lake association now has heaps of experience fighting milfoil and is ready to lend a helping hand.

“They're ahead of us in terms of having this problem manifest itself – they're walking through the storm and they're telling us how bad it is and what we need to do,” he says. “There's collegiality, there's collaboration, and all of that bodes well for us.”

LLLA is also in the process of winning the war for Lake Leelanau, Karner adds.

“The last four years they've been at it, and they're making great progress,” he says. “Their shift has gone from a major blaze to now putting out the small fires.”

GLA has operated a full-service boat wash at the boat launch for many years. Boat washes are among the best lines of defense against the spread of aquatic invasive species, which often spread from lake to lake as they hitch rides on or in boats.

Not only does the wash work to remove invasive species before a boat enters the water, but it’s extremely important from an educational perspective, Kryder says. Staff and volunteers work with boat owners to explain why the work is important, hoping they’ll win a battle for hearts and minds while they scrub.

“A big part of it is getting people to understand that if everybody does a little bit, it'll help our whole state. It's not just about our lake individually, it's everybody,” Kryder says. “Part of it is demystifying it and getting people to understand it and buy in.”

It costs about $40,000 a year to operate the boat launch, and GLA is bracing for the need to find major sources of funds should the upcoming survey find significant amounts of EWM.

“That’s really when the meter is going to start ticking,” Kryder says. “And that's totally independent of our boat wash, which is our front-line defense. Now we've got to go into the water and see how we eradicate it.”