Resident urges Dane County help for shoreline weed collection; staff outlines limits of county harvesting program

A resident who identified themself in the transcript as "c books" told the commission volunteers had been collecting weeds at Bernie's Beach and asked whether the county could help with coordination and cost-sharing for hauling and disposal. "So I sent the email out, regarding, like, lake weeds and the collection of lake weeds," the speaker said, describing shallow areas where harvesters could not reach and asking if the county could assist volunteers rather than leaving the work to private owners.

David Rowe, the county's lakes manager, replied that the county's aquatic plant-harvesting program is limited to cutting vegetation in water deeper than three feet and that using machinery on the lake bed can jeopardize state permits. "Our aquatic plant harvesting program that the county conducts is to cut abundant growing vegetation in the lake that prevents the beneficial uses," Rowe said, adding the county does not perform shoreline bed cleanup with its harvesting machinery. He described a barge-based pickup service funded by participating municipalities and lake associations to collect material placed at docks for removal, and said private owners or municipalities typically handle shoreline cleanup unless they participate in such shared programs.