For years, Northern Wisconsin lakes have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to control Eurasian water milfoil with herbicides. The Lower Eagle River Chain of Lakes Commission, formed in 2007, is a prime example.

After a decade of chemical treatments costing up to $250,000 per year, the Commission stopped using herbicides. Within a few years, the milfoil population began rebounding. Manual removal is expensive — around $2,500 per day — and never fully effective.

An aquatic ecologist and others recommend a management-focused approach: targeting plants that interfere with navigation and recreation rather than trying to eradicate the entire population. Mechanical harvesting efficiently manages growth, maintains recreational access, and avoids repeated herbicide costs.

Spending hundreds of thousands on eradication is costly and temporary. Strategic, long-term management is the sustainable way forward for our lakes.

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