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Restart of Harvesting Program

Restart of Lake Minnetonka Conservation District Mechanical Harvesting Program on Lake Minnetonka 

On July 8th, the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District (LMCD) indefinitely suspended its Mechanical Harvesting Program for Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) on Lake Minnetonka. This was due to a decision by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) to suspend the Aquatic Plant Management (APM) permit issued for this project due to the State shutdown.

With the recent ending of the State shutdown, the MN DNR has communicated to the LMCD that State offices have reopened for business. Thus, the suspension on the APM permit by the MN DNR has been lifted and the LMCD may restart its Mechanical Harvesting Program for EWM.

The 2011 EWM Harvesting Program is scheduled to restart on Monday, July 25th. Harvesting is planned to commence on South Upper Lake, with the equipment proceeding to North Upper Lake (primarily North Arm and Crystal Bay). The LMCD is currently exploring possible alternatives to make up for lost time due to the State shutdown. These could include longer work weeks and/or extending the season by one week.

For further information, contact EWM Project Manager Judd Harper at (952) 745-0789 or jharper@lmcd.org.

Restart of Harvesting Program (pdf)