Here are a couple of my comments.
you say..."but the wrong species and too much of any species is a negative for everyone. I can assure you, topped out mats of hydrilla hold very few fish if any, and even kill fish that become trapped in them due to oxygen loss that is very common in areas with too much aquatic vegetation."
While this may be true in some cases, when people think about the best bass fishing lakes in the country, nearly all the top ones are filled with grass. guntersville, okechobee, rayburn, clear lake, etc. there is no doubt that grass translates into better bass habitat and also better fishing. some of the biggest bass that i have ever caught came from flipping jigs into matted up hyrilla on Guntersville lake.
when you talk about lake property owners not being able to use their docks. this is what i dont understand. the areas that were sprayed in chester frost park are shallow, stump filled areas. its not like they are deep docks. they cant run around full throttle in those areas anyway. I guess maybe i am missing something but it seems to me that the grass will tell them where its too shallow to operate a boat at full throttle. especially in these areas as they are full of stumps.
as for the chemicals, I would challenge anyone that thinks they are safe to pour a glass full and to drink it or to consume a small amount of it everyday over the next few years. i would be willing to bet you would end up with some form of cancer. if its so safe that you would allow it in your drinking water, then by all means, put it in your drinking water, but not mine. and you mention all the chemicals that are currently running in the water due to runoff. thats just another reason that we dont need to add anymore chemicals to the mix. unfortunately water treatment facilities in the US dont remove all chemicals from the water. this is evidenced in all the studies where pharmaceutical drugs are found in the water downstream of a waste treatment facility. Often one of these chemicals is estrogen found from birth control pills that is actually causing fish to have both male and female reproductive organs. i have read several studies on this. the chemicals from pesticides are no different. Keep in mind in our area we have TVA and their ash spill, runoff from coal plants, cooling water from nuclear plants, waste water treatment facilities that over the last year have had two major sewage dumps directly into the river, and all the chemical plants that process water and dump it into the river. we dont need anymore chemicals in the water. everyone i know has been affected by cancer in one way or another and most are linked to chemicals or exposure.
Keep in mind that I am also a lake property owner on chickamauga. i have a lot in soddy creek. and i grew up living with my parents inside chester frost park. We would never consider putting chemicals in the water to kill the grass.
with all this said, i respect you for coming on here and tying to clarify things. i just think we will have to agree to disagree. and in the end, its the way you provide for your family, so you should defend it. but your view is from the point of view that this is how you provide for your family and our view is to protect our families. Unfortunately people are so selfish that they only see the benefits of being able to clear grass from around their docks while not being concerned about dumping chemicals in the water that your neighbor drinks.
now that i have said my peace, lets all go fishing.
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you say..."but the wrong species and too much of any species is a negative for everyone. I can assure you, topped out mats of hydrilla hold very few fish if any, and even kill fish that become trapped in them due to oxygen loss that is very common in areas with too much aquatic vegetation."
While this may be true in some cases, when people think about the best bass fishing lakes in the country, nearly all the top ones are filled with grass. guntersville, okechobee, rayburn, clear lake, etc. there is no doubt that grass translates into better bass habitat and also better fishing. some of the biggest bass that i have ever caught came from flipping jigs into matted up hyrilla on Guntersville lake.
when you talk about lake property owners not being able to use their docks. this is what i dont understand. the areas that were sprayed in chester frost park are shallow, stump filled areas. its not like they are deep docks. they cant run around full throttle in those areas anyway. I guess maybe i am missing something but it seems to me that the grass will tell them where its too shallow to operate a boat at full throttle. especially in these areas as they are full of stumps.
as for the chemicals, I would challenge anyone that thinks they are safe to pour a glass full and to drink it or to consume a small amount of it everyday over the next few years. i would be willing to bet you would end up with some form of cancer. if its so safe that you would allow it in your drinking water, then by all means, put it in your drinking water, but not mine. and you mention all the chemicals that are currently running in the water due to runoff. thats just another reason that we dont need to add anymore chemicals to the mix. unfortunately water treatment facilities in the US dont remove all chemicals from the water. this is evidenced in all the studies where pharmaceutical drugs are found in the water downstream of a waste treatment facility. Often one of these chemicals is estrogen found from birth control pills that is actually causing fish to have both male and female reproductive organs. i have read several studies on this. the chemicals from pesticides are no different. Keep in mind in our area we have TVA and their ash spill, runoff from coal plants, cooling water from nuclear plants, waste water treatment facilities that over the last year have had two major sewage dumps directly into the river, and all the chemical plants that process water and dump it into the river. we dont need anymore chemicals in the water. everyone i know has been affected by cancer in one way or another and most are linked to chemicals or exposure.
Keep in mind that I am also a lake property owner on chickamauga. i have a lot in soddy creek. and i grew up living with my parents inside chester frost park. We would never consider putting chemicals in the water to kill the grass.
with all this said, i respect you for coming on here and tying to clarify things. i just think we will have to agree to disagree. and in the end, its the way you provide for your family, so you should defend it. but your view is from the point of view that this is how you provide for your family and our view is to protect our families. Unfortunately people are so selfish that they only see the benefits of being able to clear grass from around their docks while not being concerned about dumping chemicals in the water that your neighbor drinks.
now that i have said my peace, lets all go fishing.
emoThumbsup emoToast emoToast emoToast emoToast emoToast emoToast
NOt sure I'm buying this. My grandparents owned lake front property in upstate New York on Owasco Lake. This part of the country is one of the most conservative and environmentally protective places I've ever seen. Lots of country side and its hard to even find a water bottle on the side of any roads. They used these "harvesters" to chop down excessive weeds. True some were surely killed and it makes the normally clear lake muddy for a week or so but the fish numbers didnt seem to be hurting. We would catch some pretty good smallmouth in the days following this weed control because of the baitfish drawn to the scene. If Owasco Lake and the rest of the finger lake region think its the best way to control excessive weeds then I feel the same way. emoAngler