Panel urges shift in efforts in milfoil fight

BOISE – There's about $1 million left to spend in Idaho's massive fight against milfoil, but eradication efforts may look a little different this year after an audit of the battle released Monday.

The review, conducted this fall by a six-person panel of out-of-state experts, recommends more public involvement and tweaking the scope of the effort from elimination to control of the weed in certain high-traffic areas, such as the Panhandle.

The Idaho Department of Agriculture has already incorporated some of the recommendations, including a longer application period for grants, said Matt Voile, manager of the department's noxious weeds section. Both Voile and several stakeholders said they were pleased with the audit, saying it offers constructive suggestions.

Milfoil eradication became controversial this summer after county governments, tribes and other entities used herbicides and other methods in an attempt to clear North Idaho waterways of the pesky plant, which is easily spread among lakes and rivers by boaters.

Legislators approved $4 million for the effort, which the Department of Agriculture hurried to award.

It eventually dispersed about $2.2 million, enough to control more than 5,000 acres of milfoil, Voile told lawmakers Monday.

Much of that money went to Bonner County, which wiped out about 3,000 acres. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe treated 334 acres at the southern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene, using herbicides and hand-pulling by divers.

Susan Drumheller, North Idaho associate for the Idaho Conservation League, said the report addresses some of her organization's concerns, including limiting the eradication efforts in some areas.

The report states that prevention of re-infestation "may not be an achievable goal" in Idaho waterways. It suggests aggressively reducing milfoil in enclosed bodies of water to non-detectable levels where "practically and economically feasible." For large lakes and rivers, it recommends cutting milfoil to levels that "do not significantly interfere with fish, wildlife or public recreation use."

The state defines eradication as "the elimination of a noxious weed based on absence as determined by a visual inspection by the control authority during the current growing season," a description Drumheller said was impractical.

The audit also calls for more independent surveys of milfoil.

The report calls for a stable source of annual state funding. Gov. Butch Otter has requested an additional $4 million in this year's budget to fight noxious weeds, and Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Sandpoint, said lawmakers know they need to set aside more money for the project.

"They are aware that they can't just go in and spend the people's money and walk away from a project like this, because you'll go back to zero really quick," he said.

David Lamb, lake ecologist for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, said he plans to apply for another grant this year. His request may include funding for herbicides, bottom barriers, suction removal and diver hand-pulling – the "least effective" method the tribe used last year, he said.

Anderson said he is considering legislation to create an invasive species sticker program that would generate money for boat wash stations and other uses, but will talk to the governor first. Otter has called for no new fees in the upcoming budget.

New efforts to stem the spread of milfoil this summer will include boat wash stations at Hauser and Priest lakes.

Voile also said officials discovered in late fall that the Kootenai River is infected. The department will work with Canadian authorities and the Kootenai Tribe to control the weed on the river, parts of which are protected habitat for native fish.

The Department of Agriculture began accepting grant applications Monday. The deadline is March 16.