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Weed Management at Arivica Lake

3K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Delw 
#1 · (Edited)
There has been some discussion about weeds at arivica lake and the possibility of a fish kill, you can read about it by Clicking here .

**********Updated 7/9/06*************

Here's what I know as of now. Arivaca has come up considerably and the idea of getting a tractor in there to cut the vegetation is probably not viable at this time. So if anything happens it will require a whole bunch of volunteers with hand tools working to make it happen. Due to the large area that is covered with vegetation it is doubtful that much progress can or will be mde by this method. Additionally, with rains coming more frequently, its possible that it could be full by the time we mobilize and get down there. At this point there is probably not much we can accomplish beyond working up a good sweat!

As I type this the thought popped into my head that if the lake does come up full we might be able to actually utilize our aquatic weed harvesting boat to remove some of the biomass in place of a tractor and brush hog. I will be looking into that idea some more this afternoon. So all may not be lost just yet.

On the more optimistic side of things, we might get through this without any trouble. There's just no way to know right now. We (AZGFD) will be making more frequent stops at the lake in the coming weeks to keep a closer eye on things and I would appreciate hearing from anglers as they fish down there as to what they are seeing as well.

On the brighter side still, Pena Blanca has caught some water and its looking much better. The district officer reported that anglers should be able to launch most boats but reminds everyone to be cautious. He also reported that the lake was still seeing some inflow yesterday as well. And if you haven't heard, Patagonia is full and spilling so be careful there as well as there is a lot of debris floating in the lake.

I appreciate everyone's offer to help and the interest in making soemthing happen down there. Let's hope we get through this without any trouble.


Don Mitchell
Fisheries Program Manager
Arizona Game and Fish Department
555 N. Greasewood Rd.
Tucson, AZ. 85745
(520) 388-4451
dmitchell@azgfd.gov Don Mitchell


Cutting the weeds off the dried lake bottom is exactly what I'm working on. Biggest problem I have is figuring out how to get the weeds picked up once they have been cut. The idea is to remove the biomass in an effort to reduce the nutrient load once the lake fills up. The weeds decompsing is a concern but the nutrient loads from this biomass is a bigger concern.

I have access to a brush hog to cut the stuff, if there is enough interest, maybe anglers could help me in picking the stuff up and transporting off the lake bottom. It wouldn't need to go far, maybe up the hill into the upper parking lot. I can get a flat bed trailer as well to load it on. If someone is interesed in organizing a group of anglers to do that please give me a call and we can discuss it.

As for the veg in the lake, not much we can do at Arivaca or Pena Blanca until levels come up. Mainly because we can't launch the harvester!! I have clerance to spray the veg at Pena Blanca but again lake levels are a problem. The lake is already stresed and I don't want to stress it more at this time by spraying weeds.



 
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