PORT ANGELES — Lake Sutherland property owners soon will decide whether to renew a $50 per parcel annual tax to control invasive Eurasian milfoil in the lake west of Port Angeles.
County commissioners voted 3-0 to allow a vote after nine property owners expressed overwhelming support for the Lake Sutherland Management District in a public hearing Tuesday.
No one testified against allowing a vote for a 10-year renewal of the district.
Ballots will be mailed Friday to those with lakefront property or have direct access to the lake.
Ballots are due by 5 p.m. Aug. 11. They can be mailed to the Office of County Commissioners, 223 E. Fourth St., Suite 4 or hand-delivered to Room 150 at the courthouse.
Cathy Lucero, Clallam County noxious weed control coordinator, said past efforts to remove the rapidly-reproducing underwater plant have been successful.
She cautioned that more milfoil control is needed to prevent the aggressive species from reinfesting the 300-acre lake.
“It’s considered to be the most problematic plant in Washington state because it becomes so abundant and it’s very, very difficult to control,” Lucero said.
Milfoil forms thick underwater stands and vast mats of vegetation on the water surface.
It can impede boating, water skiing, swimming and fishing, impair water quality and wildlife habitat and diminish aesthetic and property values.
“It’s a monster,” Lucero said.
“It can infest an entire lake within two years of introduction to the system. Each plant can be well over 15 feet tall with multiple stems.”
Eurasian milfoil was discovered in Lake Sutherland in 2000 during a state Department of Ecology survey.
The management district was formed by area residents in August 2004 when a state grant to control milfoil expired. The district was renewed in 2009 at the same $50 annual rate.
“It’s difficult to find and control every plant perfectly every year,” Lucero said.
“That’s why we’ve had to continue to keep up the effort.”
The district funds staffing and equipment for crews of property owners and volunteers who physically pull stems of milfoil out of Lake Sutherland.
“In the early days, we would remove approximately a ton of Eurasian milfoil in each of our major pulls,” said Mike Price, a year-round Lake Sutherland resident and proponent of the management district.
“Our pulls now are contained in a single 5-gallon bucket.”
Last year, 342 milfoil plants were found in Lake Sutherland, a 30 percent decline from 2012, Lucero said.
“Plants were found in less than half of the 21 sections that we divided the lake into,” she added.
“Our original investigations contained tens of thousands of plants that covered over 21/2 acres spread all over the 21 sections.”
The milfoil control season runs from mid-June to mid-November, depending on visibility and water temperature.
So far this season, 56 plants have been removed from the lake’s six most infested sections.
“It’s difficult to find and control every plant perfectly every year,” Lucero said.
“That’s why we’ve had to continue to keep up the effort.”
Thanks in part to the control efforts, Eurasian milfoil has not been detected in nearby Lake Crescent or any other Clallam County lake, Lucero said.
Although the deepest part of Lake Sutherland is about 90 feet, much of its shallow perimeter is susceptible to oxygen-blocking milfoil mats.
The lake is home to native kokanee and has been stocked in the past with cutthroat, rainbow and bull trout.
“Besides seasonal fishing, the lake is heavily used for many recreational purposes, including boating, water skiing and swimming,” Lucero said.
Eurasian milfoil was accidentally introduced into North America in the 1940s.
Fragments that break apart in the late summer can drift away, sink and spawn new plants, Lucero said.
Milfoil can also be carried from lake to lake on boats, trailers and fishing gear.
“While any plant remains, the threat exists,” Lucero said.
Numerous underwater springs contribute to water turnover in Lake Sutherland. The lake is flushed on its east end by Indian Creek, a tributary of the Elwha River.
Twenty-six percent of Lake Sutherland residents petitioned the county to continue the management district. Some of those residents are part of a steering committee that oversees the district.
Price and other public speakers noted that the tax has not increased since the district was formed.
“My concern is that if this doesn’t pass and there’s one plant left in the lake, which there will be, in three or four or five years we will be back to square one,” Price said.
Jim Haguewood, another Lake Sutherland property owner, said the district has been “very responsible with the money.”
“From my standpoint, a $50 investment to maintain my property value on Lake Sutherland is a pretty cheap investment and insurance policy,” Haguewood said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsula0dailynews.com.
