RAINYRAMBLES
Weeding woes
Considering options for
invasive species removal
BY REBECCA LEXA
As someone who has volunteered a sig-
nifi cant amount of time to habitat restoration
eff orts at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
and elsewhere, restoration activities are near
and dear to my heart.
Some of my current eff orts are being
given to Loomis Lake. At 2 miles long, it is
the largest freshwater lake on the Long Beach
Peninsula. While the lake’s west side is a mix
of houses and fragments of forest, the east
bank is almost entirely wooded. A large por-
tion of this area is owned by Columbia Land
Trust.
With its share of kayaks and fi sh-seekers,
the lake can be popular with visitors on warm
summer days. It’s a marvelous place for bird-
watching, with nesting wood ducks and
ospreys in the summer and trumpeter swans
in the winter. Great blue herons can be seen
year-round, as can the additional native biodi-
versity in and around the lake.
I volunteer with the Loomis Lake Res-
toration Group, a band of citizens dedicated
to protecting the lake from invasive plants.
These species, which have formed massive
clusters, threaten the survival of the lake’s
landscape. Brazilian elodea and Eurasian
watermilfoil are the two most common and
pernicious plants. These live within the water
column rather than on the banks, and because
Loomis Lake is quite shallow, they can now
be found across the entire lake, with clusters
largest at the southern end.
Not only is this overgrowth diffi cult to
navigate with most boats, but as the plants die
and decay, they add to the silt on the bottom
of the lake. This speeds up the rate at which
the lake fi lls in, and threatens to transform the
spot into a wetland or meadow.
Recent lake restoration meetings have
drawn a few dozen residents on average, and
the group has been assisted by various local
representatives and organizations.
Historically, the best-known option for
controlling elodea and watermilfoil has been
the use of herbicide. Sprayed directly on
invasive plants, it signifi cantly knocks back
growth but never kills off entirely. Within a
few years, the lake is back to its clogged state.
This ongoing cycle means that restoration
advocates are looking for other options.
While previous doses of herbicide were
acquired using grant funding, recent propos-
M.J. Cody
The shallow, weedy Loomis Lake is a challenge to negotiate. Perch and large-mouth bass lurk
below the surface.
Rebecca Lexa
An invasive Brazilian elodea, left, and native
Canadian elodea, right. Notice the signifi cant
size diff erence between the two species.
als have since been denied. Instead, advocates
have reached into their own pockets to con-
tinue the eff orts.
The Loomis Lake Restoration Group has
discussed the possibility of introducing trip-
loid Asian carp. However, they’re expen-
sive in quantities needed for a lake of this
size, among other issues. Unfortunately, there
aren’t any herbivorous freshwater lake fi sh
native to this area that are large enough for
the job of cleaning up.
Mechanical removal has also been brought
up, but is unrealistic simply due to the mas-
sive amount of plant overgrowth in the lake.
Uprooting each plant individually would take
an immense amount of time. Even if resto-
ration advocates could aff ord to use some sort
of machine to gather up as much of the elo-
dea and watermilfoil as possible, both plants
reproduce from even the smallest fragments.
The restoration group has also discussed
planting more native species in place of
spraying. I recently surveyed the water col-
umn of the lake to see what native species
were still present. Along with three, possi-
bly four native pondweeds, I found abundant
amounts of the native Canadian elodea. Some
were only found mixed in with the invasive
species, but the Canadian elodea and Rich-
ardson’s pondweed both had some patches
that resisted invaders.
But being able to identify native species
isn’t the same as being able to cultivate and
successfully reintroduce them. However, it’s
a start.
Rebecca Lexa is a naturalist, nature edu-
cator, tour guide and writer living on the
Long Beach Peninsula. Find more about her
work at rebeccalexa.com.
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022 // 13