Weed Harvesting

Notice to property owners:

Please click here to view information regarding "Proposed Chemical Treatment for Euroasian water-milfoil, Townsend Lakes, Oconto County, Wisconsin"

Weed harvesting continues to be a major activity on the Flowage.

A weed harvesting map as published in the 2017 lake management plan has been printed, laminated and posted at the kiosks.

Volunteer helpers are needed to drive the weed harvesting equipment and/or help with their maintenance during the boating season. Volunteers don’t have to be expert mechanics, but an extra pair of hands would be appreciated. Contact John Zimdars at 920-676-7671.

Harvester equipment update:

10 ft. cutter on north end, upper: Machine is 60 years old. Mike Malueg, Mark Clements, Bob Kocken, Mike Gabryszek, Pat Krummel and Rich Schoonveld had 11 loads of weeds on the books for the summer so far (as of the September quarterly meeting). Volunteer mechanics had everything going and cutter was in place and working since Labor Day weekend. Pumps have been replaced, Hose blew requiring a trip on the weekend to Antigo for parts and got it going again. Machine chain on front conveyor is now broken. There are about 30 hours of weed harvesting being done compared with 50+ hours of repair, not counting time for volunteers to run for parts, etc. Thanks and accolades to all the volunteers working on these machines. There are many, many hours of work being done behind the scenes, with volunteers donating time during the week and nearly every weekend, just to keep it running. Volunteers work out in the sun and bad weather. Volunteer drivers are not playing favorites and cutting beyond the DNR-specific lanes. Weed harvesters are allowed to collect weeds that have clogged boat traffic and have opened lanes for owners to get their boats free from their docks. With winds carrying weeds that have been worked up by weekend boating into dock areas, harvesters are doing more pick up and collecting this summer than cutting. Budget plans for 2023 to replace this cutter.

8 ft. cutter on south end, lower: 43 loads of weeds and 100+ hours of cutting and collecting have been logged. Hours worked by Red, Dan Coopman and John Zimdars total 74 hours of labor to keep the machine running.