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Nov. 17, 2011
Deep Creek Lake is healthy, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary John Griffin stressed during the Garrett County commissioners’ public meeting on Tuesday afternoon at St. Peter’s Catholic Church parish hall in Oakland. More than 100 people attended the 2½-hour event, which focused on DCL issues.
Griffin and other state officials updated local residents and property owners about the status of the lake, reviewed their plans and goals for the watershed, and listened to public comments.
“Based on our three years of monitoring data, the overall state of the lake is healthy, which is good news – good water quality, diverse plant and animal life, and moderate loads of nutrients,” Griffin said. “That’s not to say there aren’t some areas of concern.”
As stressed by DCL property owners at the meeting, those concerns include sediment build-up in certain coves, the increase of an invasive plant called Eurasian watermilfoil, and low-water levels. Individually and collectively, owners indicated, these three major factors prevent them from using and enjoying their land to its fullest extent, which includes swimming, boating, and business development.
“We realize there’s been a lot of concern over the last year [about Eurasian watermilfoil],” said Director Bruce Michael, DNR resource assessment. “People are complaining that it’s exploding over the lake.”
He said field staff conducted an initial reconnaissance survey of the plant earlier on Tuesday to prepare for a more detailed study that will be conducted in the upcoming spring and summer. Michael said a targeted strategy would then be developed to assess the spatial distribution of the plant over the entire lake. That survey and existing data will then be used to develop a plan in 2012 to address the issue.
“We’re going to work with the property owners to look at some potential intermediate steps that we can do to protect infrastructure for the upcoming year,” Michael said.
He noted, however, that Eurasian watermilfoil is very difficult to tackle.
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