Well it starts tomorrow,grass killing,the bright side is they are only going to spray 20 acres.

Yeah, I can understand the urgency...with colder weather coming on and all...

We wouldn't want to take a chance on seeing if nature could take care of it, would we?

so i guess all the work on the petitions and such is for naught then?

The good news is they will think things are going good for those that what to get rid of it. What they are spraying is only a drop in the bucket for the amount of grass that is on the East (new) Lake. Also..... pulled some of that stuff up on the West (old) Lake of a hump. Oh my!!!!

City To Begin Hydrilla Treatment On Lake Tyler
By STEVE KNIGHT
Outdoor Writer


The city of Tyler Water Utilities Department is contracting to have about 27 acres of hydrilla treated on Lake Tyler East today.


The treatment comes at the request of property owners on the northern end of the lake who are unable to access their boat houses because of the vegetation density.


According to a news release from the city, the amount of hydrilla on the lake has expanded from less than 40 acres in May to "in excess of 100 acres."


Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists conducted a study of the amount of hydrilla on the lake Monday and told the Tyler Morning Telegraph the actual amount was 537 acres.


"Our goal is to balance the needs of all stakeholder groups who utilize the lake," said Greg Morgan, Tyler Water Utilities director, in the news release. "Boaters and swimmers prefer to keep the hydrilla to a minimum, whereas the fishing community would like to keep the hydrilla as a habitat for fish."


Morgan went on to say that with today's treatment, "we are striking a balance for all involved."


According to the city, today's treatment will be only be near developed areas of the lake.


The city also had said it planned to treat a boat lane leading to the Texas Highway 64 boat ramp. However, TPWD biologist Richard Ott said a permit for creating the boat lane had not been approved by the state agency. Applications for treatment on public reservoirs must go through TPWD.


"Our intent is to open up a corridor to the (Highway) 64 boat ramp as soon as that is approved -- if not by tomorrow, then most likely next week. We purchased more than the 22 acres of product so that we could go back to create the boating lane if needed," said city spokeswoman Susan Guthrie in an e-mail response to the paper Tuesday.


The areas that will be treated are those that do not contain other native grasses and will be done using Aquathol, a chemical treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in water sources.


The Tyler Morning Telegraph also has been told that the areas being treated will range from 50 to 200 feet from the shoreline.


Cost of treating the 27.5 acres is $31,875, with funding coming from Tyler Water Utilities maintenance budge that comes from the sale of water.


"It is important to keep the growth of hydrilla under control as it can be extremely invasive and out-compete native species and cover too large an area," said TPWD fisheries biologist Dan Bennett in the release. "It can decrease sunlight and diminish oxygen which can result in fish kills and be a nuisance for recreational boaters. A certain amount of vegetation is considered good, however, hydrilla has a tendency to get out of control quickly."


Hydrilla is native to Africa, Australia and parts of Asia. It was brought into the United States through Florida in 1960 as an aquarium plant. It first made its way into public waters in Texas in 1969 and has since been found on about half of the state's lakes.


The plant is able to grow in water up to 15 feet deep. It grows to the surface and forms mats, making it difficult to boat through. Bass fishermen like it because fishing along its edges can be productive.


Only a small amount of hydrilla has ever been identified on the West lake.


Hydrilla was first discovered on Lake Tyler East in 1993. Following a two-year drought in 2005-06, it covered more than 1,200 acres in 2007. The city contracted to treat about half of it that year. The remainder was flushed out of the lake by heavy rains that resulted in flooding.


While the amount of hydrilla on the lake will vary from year to year, biologists say it will be impossible to eliminate because the tubers and seeds it grows from will always be in the lake.

That sucks.

Anyone up for going out on the jet skis?

Now all we have to do is figure out the best presentation for fishing the decaying slime that will result from the hydrilla kill-off.

Gee, why don't I trust the city when they say they are only going to kill about 5% of the grass on the lake? Hmmm...maybe it's because the last time they "spot treated" they killed every sprig. Of course, their claim was that they didn't actually kill it. No, it was all the rain that fell around the same time that just "washed it over the spillway."

I guess it never rains on other lakes with hydrilla like Rayburn and Nacogdoches. If it did, why wouldn't all the grass get washed out of those bodies of water like it supposedly did at Tyler?

guess our petitions are no good now, since they started spraying

I just hope they stick to what they are saying...I am doubtful though...

The petition may yet come into play. We are still working on getting a seat at the stakeholders table. There was no way to stop this one. There will be no way to stop it in the future. What we will have to accept, hopefully is a compromise. Approximately 550 acres have been identified as holding hydrilla. This will come up again very soon, as another spraying will be recommended. We need the Tyler City Council to listen to the recommendation of an appointed focus group, that includes fishermen. Up to this point, the fishermen have not had a unified voice, but we are working towards that. Our efforts have not been wasted, as we have been heard recently. We will continue to be heard until they acknowledge us as equal stakeholders.

Keep making the calls............ ask them to appoint a focus group to "help" the city meet the needs of all stakeholders. They have been trying to do damage control the last couple of weeks. They know they have angered people........ voters of Smith County.

seems like they always "identify" more hydrilla than whats really there?

Yeah, ain't that the truth. 537 acres? I don't know, that is a little hard to believe.

I learned how to bass fish on Tyler when it had grass in the mid 90's. I have since moved south and mostly fish Conroe. I started fishing Conroe when it had hydrilla about 4 years ago. My suggestion to ya'll is not to fight the spraying too much. If they decide they do not want the hydrilla and get tired of having to fight about the spraying, you are probably looking at them putting white amur carp in the lake. The carp will then void the lake of any vegitation for 10 years or more. It has now happened to Conroe twice. As long as they spray it will at least come back every few years and allow for some good spawning seasons. You just have to adjust the way you fish the years in between.

RKT agree, but you cannot tell me the fish do not get bigger and more abundant with the grass in place for baitfish.