SCH Number 2007091100

Project Info

Title

Machado Lake Ecosystem Routine Vegetation Management and Maintenance Program

Description

The project proposed to alter ~10 acres of near shore and open water habitat to perform comprehensive vegetation management at Machado Lake. The project boundaries include the lake area as well as the surrounding areas consisting of the Wilmington Channel and riparian woodland to the north, the east and west shorelines, and the seasonal freshwater marsh downstream of the Machado Lake dam. The primary purpose of the project is to reduce excessive stands and mats of aquatic vegetation around the perimeter of the lake, primarily consisting of water primrose (Ludwigia ssp.) and to a lesser extent cattails and tules, to a manageable amount. The proposed project would restore at least a ratio of 60:40 of open water vegetation in the lake. RAP shall continue its practice of treating excessive vegetation with a combination of chemical and mechanical control methods. Becuase Ludwigia propagates when fragmented, the emergent vegetation is treate repeatedly with an aquatic herbicide and subsequently dead plant meterial is removed from the lake with mechanical harvesters. To guarantee the success of the Ludwigia removal project, the remaining root masses along the shoreline will be extracted. Additional maintenance activities that support the primary project purpose include clearing of trash and debris; removing fallen, dead or dying trees and shrubs; trimming of branches and tree limbs; mowing along the shoreline and lake edge; removing near shore vegetation and conducting brush clearance. Removal of a limties amount of invasive plants and revegetating those locations with native species will also be conducted on a routine basis; these management activities will be adopted as mitigation measures to reduce potential impacts to biological resources to a level of less than significant. Heavy equipment including the AquaMog, mechanical harvester, cookie cutter, and hand tools, will be used for the vegetation removal (primarily Ludwigia) in the lake. Other maintenance activities will utilize primarily hand tools. Dump trucks will be necessary for removal of large volumes of trash. Tree trimming trucks will also be utilized on roadways.

2 documents in project