(WDNR) Aquatic plants form the foundation of healthy and flourishing lake ecosystems - both within lakes and rivers and on the shores around them. They not only protect water quality, but they also produce life-giving oxygen. Aquatic plants are a lake's own filtering system, helping to clarify the water by absorbing nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen that could stimulate algal blooms. Plant beds stabilize soft lake and river bottoms and reduce shoreline erosion by reducing the effect of waves and current. Healthy native aquatic plant communities help prevent the establishment of invasive non-native plants like Eurasian watermilfoil.
It makes sense that the best fishing spots are typically near aquatic plant beds. Aquatic plants provide important reproductive, food, and cover habitat for fish, invertebrates, and wildlife. It's aquatic plants that fashion a nursery for all sorts of creatures ranging from birds to beaver to bass to bugs. In order to maintain healthy lakes and rivers, we must maintain healthy native aquatic plant communities.
Click here to obtain more general information from the WDNR website regarding management of aquatic plants.
The following links provide additional specific information about aquatic plant management: