Milfoil & Lake Management

Eurasian watermilfoil is an aggressive invasive aquatic plant that can choke a lake, foul props and swimming areas, and crowd out native vegetation. It was confirmed in Deer Lake in 2007 (and was likely present a few years before it was identified). Because there is no way to eradicate it, control is an ongoing, forever job.

The Lake Management District (LMD)

Deer Lake property owners voted to form a Lake Management District to fund milfoil control. The LMD has been renewed several times — most recently in 2021 — and pays for the annual survey, hand-pulling, diver work, and targeted treatment.

How control works

The lake is swim-surveyed and cleaned around its entire shoreline twice each season — once in mid-to- late July and again about two weeks after Labor Day — with divers also walking the docks at Haney's Bay, Tamarack, Cedar Bay, and Pine Bay where boat-pulling isn't possible. Problem areas are knocked back with treatment; most of the lake now turns up only scattered single plants. (See the 2024 Milfoil Removal Report for the area-by-area detail.)

What you can do — Clean, Drain, Dry

• Clean all plants, mud, and debris off your boat, trailer, motor, anchor, and gear.
• Drain live wells, bilges, and ballast tanks before you leave any water body.
• Dry everything completely — or disinfect — before launching in Deer Lake.
• Don't rake or rototill milfoil; fragments start new plants. Report new growth to the board.

The same habits help keep zebra mussels out — the next invasive heading toward the region. Washington and Idaho run watercraft-inspection stations on major highways; stop if you're directed to.