Matthew is out soaking up the rays on the USS Stiehler! Actually, he is treating for aquatic weeds. Fortunately, this year has been easy thus far with aquatic weed growth for a number of reasons. One, our equipment wash pad recycling system now prevents grass clippings from entering the lake by recycling water. This reduces nutrient loading. Also, aquatic weed growth tends to be more severe for a period after a dredging project. During dredging, sediment is stirred up that contains a hefty seed bank as well as nutrients that have settled and binded to the sediment. These nutrients, fuel the fire so to speak. After 3 years of aggressive treating, I think maybe we finally got ahead of the issue. Aquatic weed growth is something we scout for daily because it doesn't take long for it to become a major issue. It it gets too bad, and we treat, the fish become stressed because the decomposition of the dying weeds consume dissolved oxygen from the water. This oxygen is vital to our trout population. While it never occurred here, you often here of large fish kills when severe algae blooms are present. This is exactly why...the chemical reaction of decomposition consumes oxygen. When that oxygen is depleted, fish die. The simple solution: stay on top of it and don't let algae and or aquatic weeds get out of hand. We are environmental stewards and our main responsibility is to use care to be sure nutrient don't reach our water bodies in the first place.