Milfoil Control Program

 The spread of the non-native aquatic plant Eurasian Water Milfoil (Myriophyllum Spicatum L.) in the lakes of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District is a continuing problem. Aquatic plants are, in most cases, an important component of any lake's environment. However, they can also have undesirable effects when they are too abundant or growing in the wrong place. Dense mats of surfacing milfoil can adversely affect recreational activities such as swimming, boating, water-skiing and fishing. Luxuriant growths can also affect flood control, irrigation, drainage, water conservation facilities and fish spawning areas.

Milfoil is a rooted aquatic plant colonizing in the 0.5 meter to 5-meter (18 inches to 16 feet) depth range. During the spring and summer, rapid growth from the root crown area produces reddish shoots that grow to the surface where emergent stem tips flower. Milfoil propagates and spreads primarily by stem fragmentation during the active growing season - floating stem fragments broken off the parent plant by wave action or boating activities are spread rapidly by natural water currents or by boat propellers. New plants grow when the fragments drift ashore and sink during the spring and summer months. Favoured sites for colonization are backwaters and areas of recent bottom disturbance. It takes only one small piece of milfoil to start a new plant which in turn can expand into a very large colony in a short period of time.