Brian Price and Annalise Povolo
Eurasian Watermilfoil and Lake Leelanau
August 1, 2 - 4 pm

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Eurasian Watermilfoil is an invasive aquatic plant first discovered in Lake Leelanau in 2018. Learn about the threat that this plant presents to Lake Leelanau, and by extension, to other Leelanau lakes. The presentation will help you to understand the threat posed by this plant and other invasive species, the location of infestations in Lake Leelanau, the biology of the plant, and its potential to spread and damage recreation and property values on the lake. Also learn about the partnership of the Lake Leelanau Lake Association and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to bring this plant under control and prevent its spread, especially the novel use of very large biodegradeable burlap barriers to smother the invasive plants on the bottom of the lake.using a deployment technique adapted from our Great Lakes commercial fishing heritage.

Brian Price spent summers at his family's cottage on South Lake Leelanau's Billman's Beach. After graduation from Oberlin College with a degree in geology, Brian returned full-time to Leelanau County and began work as a commercial fisherman for Lang's Fishery. During his 15 years as a fisherman, worked primarily out of Leland but from Munising on Lake Superior, and then finally training trap net crews for the Grand Traverse Band from a tribally-owned boat based in Omena.

Beginning with the formation of the Leelanau Conservancy in 1988, Brian worked as its first full-time employee, and was Executive Director for 27 years. In retirement he resumed his interest in Lake Leelanau and being on the water, becoming the Lake Leelanau Lake Association's part-time Lake Biologist beginning in 2018. In the summer of 2019, Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) was found in Lake Leelanau. Brian and Tribal fisheries biologist Dan Mays researched non-chemical control techniques and together developed a plan to bring EWM under control in the lake using large biodegradable benthic barriers (basically large burlap tarps) deployed from a modified pontoon boat. This work is now in its third year and holds great promise for providing a new technique for battling this invasive aquatic weed in similar lakes.

Brian and Susan Price live on a farm in Cleveland Township, where they raised four children who now all have started families of their own.

Annalise Povolo is the Director of Administration and Programs for the Lake Leelanau Lake Association (LLLA). She joined the LLLA as its first full-time employee in March 2022, after being involved with the Association for the past two summers as the dive team leader for its Aquatic Invasive Species Remediation and Monitoring program. In addition to working on the lake, she is involved with the Association’s other programs, fund-raising, community engagement, volunteer coordination, and administration. Annalise recently completed her Master’s degree in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Bremen in Germany. Prior to that, she worked as a scuba diving instructor in Thailand, as an English teacher in Vietnam, and as a state worker for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Research Station in Charlevoix. During her undergraduate program at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE), Annalise was active in environmental advocacy groups and worked in SNRE’s Office of Communications. She is a Lake Leelanau native and is thrilled to be able to use the skills she has acquired to help protect the lake on which she grew up.