LAKE SUTHERLAND — Residents of Lake Sutherland Management District 2 voted to extend the district by 10 years to help control invasive Eurasian watermilfoil.
As a result of the election, the Clallam County Board of Commissioners will adopt an ordinance re-creating the management district in the next few weeks.
Property owners surrounding the lake proposed an annual assessment of $100 per parcel to use for the milfoil control program. That was an increase from the $50 per parcel that was proposed in 2014.
The assessment will begin Jan. 1, 2025.
The ballots to approve or deny the district’s renewal were counted on Wednesday.
Ballots were sent to each landowner holding an interest in parcels within the district’s boundaries.
Owners cast one vote for each dollar of assessment proposed.
Owners with fractionalized interests in parcels cast votes in proportion to their interest.
The election mailed out 394 ballots, or 37,210 total votes, according to a press release. One hundred sixty-seven of those ballots, or 42 percent, were cast.
Yes votes totaled 96.7 percent, or 161 ballots, while no votes were 3.3 percent, or six ballots.
The election saw an increase in yes ballots compared to the same election held in 2014. At that time, 88.19 percent were yes votes while 11.81 percent of votes cast were no.
Eurasian watermilfoil forms dense surface mats that can shade out native vegetation, alter water quality by increasing temperature and decreasing oxygen and interfere with recreational activities such as boating and swimming.
The surface mats these plants create offer little to no food or habitat for wildlife and create stagnant water that encourages mosquitoes to breed.
The milfoil is kept under control through the help of volunteers who pull the plants, dive, tend boats, tabulate data and document activities.
Eurasian watermilfoil was first discovered in the 350-acre Lake Sutherland in the summer of 2000 by the state Department of Ecology.
At first, the Department of Ecology funded control of the invasive species.
When that funding ran out in 2005, landowners voted to approve formation of the Lake Sutherland Management District 2.
That district was reauthorized for five years in 2009 and again for 10 years in 2014.
Seven landowners and three alternates guide the district’s Steering Committee.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
