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Carp Communication

To the Emerald and Sylvan Lakes Community,

 

Consistent with our commitment to communicate fully and frequently with the community, the Emerald and Sylvan Lake Association Board is 1) updating you regarding the active carp infestation in our two lakes and 2) seeking your support to take steps to assess and manage this time-sensitive issue impacting us all.  

 

Please take a few minutes to review and consider the information below.  

 

First, a few facts about carp in Emerald and Sylvan Lakes:

  • Carp are not native to Emerald and Sylvan Lakes. 

  • Carp are active feeders, disturbing algae-inducing sediments and uprooting plants as they forage. They consume massive amounts of aquatic vegetation, putting them in direct competition with native fish, waterfowl, and invertebrate species. Carp only digest half of the food they eat and expel the rest which greatly contributes to nutrient load and algae blooms. This leaves a trail of environmental destruction in their wake.  

  • Carp grow quickly and consume native aquatic vegetation and plankton. Carp feeding patterns choke out the native fish (Bluegill, Perch, Northern Pike, Specs, and Bass) and destroy our lakes’ fragile ecosystems.

  • Residents, especially resident carp bowhunters, are seeing more young and old carp in our lakes. 

  • Young carp mean more carp in our future because: 

    • Carp live up to 50 years:

    • A single carp can lay 300,000 to 1,000,000 eggs during its lifetime with 78% to 90% hatching per year -- dramatically increasing carp populations if uncontrolled. 

  • Native fish, especially bluegill, are one of the best defenses against carp. They consume eggs and larvae of carp, so we should not overfish the native fish in our lakes. 

 

Second, a few facts about uncontrolled carp in nearby lakes. 

Many of you may have heard or read articles on the severity of the carp problem and consequences for our local lakes -- such as Hess and Brooks. These lakes are dealing with thousands of carp which have greatly diminished lake water quality. Last summer, Hess Lake tested positive for harmful algae bloom (HAB) caused by an unhealthy lake ecosystem. HAB can cause illness in humans and possible death in animals, so residents were unable to enjoy water activities such as swimming.

 

Avoiding the fate of Hess and Brooks Lakes means we need to work hard and work together to take control of the carp situation in our beautiful lakes.   

 

Recognizing that carp are a threat to the health of Emerald and Sylvan Lakes, your Board conducted research using these tools:

  • Educational videos 

  • Aquatic educational classes

  • Reading scientific articles about the carp behavior and controlling carp infestations

  • In-depth conversations with a DNR Fish Biologist 

  • Onsite visits with Hess Lake Team to learn about  their experiences with carp infestation.

  • Based on recommendations from the DNR and the Hess Lake Carp Team, we spoke with Carp Solutions. Carp Solutions specializes in developing and applying innovative, science-based tools and strategies for common carp management. 

 

Your Board Recommends Partnering with Carp Solutions To Provide the Following:

 

1. Electrofishing* Survey to determine the magnitude of the carp problem

  • Conduct a carp population survey around the perimeters of both lakes. 

  • Collect and dispose of as many carp as they collect.

  • Sample approximately 30 carp collected in order to “age” them. Based on the results of that sampling, advise how aggressive we need to be in fighting the infestation.  

  • Conduct electrofishing sometime during July to October. The process takes about 3 days. We will inform you of the timeline and if this impacts lake usage. 

  • Use no volunteers -- due to liability and safety concerns.

  • Obtain all necessary permits.  

 

  • What is Electrofishing?

Electrofishing is a fishing technique that uses direct electricity flowing between a submerged cathode and anode. This affects the movements of nearby fish so that they swim toward the anode where they can be stunned and netted. This results in no permanent harm to native fish or turtles as they return to their natural mobility state in as little as 2 minutes from being stunned. 

 

2. Shoreline Baited Box Nets

  • Conduct additional tests of shoreline baiting to determine if electric baited box netting will help our lakes.

  • If electric baited box netting is determined to be beneficial: 

    • Bait used is a select attractant that only attracts carp. 

    • Carp are trained to feed within a specific area of electric netting.  

    • Once carp are trained to aggregate at the bait, resident volunteers remove them using remote electric box nets. 

    • 100% removal of carp by netting is done with no harm to native fish or turtles.

    • Volunteer lake residents take an active role in baiting the sites daily and monitoring/reporting results. 

 

3. Preventing Future Migration. Carp Solutions did an early review of Emerald and Sylvan Lakes as well as adjacent lakes. They suspect that carp moving into our lakes from Kimball Lake, Pickerel Lake, and Penoyer Creek may be exacerbating our infestation. Therefore, after concluding the Electrofishing Survey and Shoreline Baited Box Nets, Carp Solutions will suggest additional steps we might take to prevent carp migration from other waters.  

 

Estimated Cost for Carp Solutions to Complete Electrofishing and Shoreline Baiting (Steps 1 and 2 Above): $13,000 

 

What we are asking you to do: 

1) Review the information in this email and direct questions to the lead Board Member on this project, Laura Pacifici. 

Email at l_pacifici@yahoo.com or call her at 616-481-6670.

2) Participate in a virtual "Special Meeting" to be held on Thursday, February 27th at 7 p.m.  At this meeting we will vote to approve the funding for this additional expense.  Details of the virtual meeting will be communicated via FB, Website and Email.

 

If we wait to put this to a vote at the Annual General Meeting in June, we will miss the opportunity to take action this summer. 


Contributions

If you are interested in contributing to the Carp Campaign, please contact Laura Pacifici.

Broken down by household the amount is $62.20 ($13,000 / 209), however, any contribution would be helpful and appreciated.

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The carp pictured above are from our two lakes. Many thanks to Michael, Austin, and Adam for sharing them with us.

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@2025 Emerald Sylvan Lake Association

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