— Last Updated: September 9, 2026
For over a decade, the Kelly Lake Advancement Association (KLAA) has managed Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM) through localized harvesting and spot treatments. While these efforts have had some impact, they function as perpetual suppression rather than long-term control. To protect Kelly Lake's 367 acres, its walleye fishery, and shoreline property values, we propose shifting to a coordinated, multi-year management model designed to systematically reduce EWM to trace levels.
Project KLEAR is a working proposal designed to serve as a starting point for community discussion. Every phase remains open to feedback, technical refinement, and adjustment as we evaluate the best financial and environmental path forward together.
This 5-year plan combines modern point-intercept mapping, targeted selective chemistry, professional Diver-Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH), and preventive inspection infrastructure — building on the survey and management-planning work KLAA already completed for Kelly Lake a decade ago, so we're not starting from a blank page.
A Word on Timing: WDNR's grant funding runs on a fixed annual clock. The pre-application step for the cycle that would fund Year 1 field work is due September 15, 2026 — just days from this update. That doesn't mean the board needs to rush a vote on the whole five-year plan; it just means someone should send WDNR's regional biologist a short letter of intent now, while the rest of the plan is still being discussed. Missing this window doesn't kill the plan — it just pushes the whole five years back by a year.
Year 1: Confirm the Groundwork, Map the Lake, and Targeted Basal Treatment Before any boats go out, we'll take a quick, low-cost step: checking with WDNR to confirm that KLAA's existing lake management plan still covers the work below, or refreshing it if needed. The good news is KLAA already did the heavy lifting on this once, so this is a refresh, not a rebuild.
From there, we begin with a professional Whole-Lake Point-Intercept Survey, paired with hydroacoustic mapping, to pinpoint exact EWM density and depth contours. Rather than broad chemical applications, licensed applicators perform a targeted GPS-guided treatment of ProcellaCOR* on high-density bed locations. This minimizes chemical load while stripping out major seed banks before native plants are impacted.
*ProcellaCOR is a highly selective aquatic herbicide that targets milfoil growth hormones without harming native pondweeds. It holds an EPA "Reduced Risk" classification, and its federal label places no restrictions on swimming, fishing, or drinking water use in treated areas.
Year 2: Diver-Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) Operations Following initial mass reduction, professional DASH crews deploy during peak summer growth under their own WDNR harvesting permit — a standard, separate step from the herbicide permit that we'll build into the timeline. Using targeted coordinates from spring surveys, divers extract remaining plant structures and root systems by hand into suction hoses, capturing fragments in onboard mesh bags to prevent spread. Because DASH crews typically clear about an acre or less per day of careful, hands-on work, the exact crew size and season length will be fine-tuned once Year 1's survey tells us how much dense growth actually remains.
Year 3: Deep-Water Suppression & Integrated Biocontrol For isolated EWM clusters along drop-off zones, benthic bottom barriers are deployed by certified divers to block light and suppress root crowns. In shallow, non-navigational pockets where mechanical removal is difficult, we'll also ask our WDNR biologist whether augmenting native milfoil weevils (Euhrychiopsis lecontei) makes sense here. Wisconsin research on weevil stocking has been mixed, and weevils tend to fare better in areas that haven't just been chemically treated — so if we move forward with this piece, we'd target untreated pockets rather than the Year 1 herbicide zones, and start it as a smaller pilot rather than a lake-wide commitment.
Year 4: Targeted eDNA Monitoring & Rapid-Response DASH We transition to genetic water sampling (eDNA) alongside visual plant surveys. Water samples collected across key lake sectors detect hidden EWM fragments at low concentrations. Confirmed positive locations trigger short, targeted DASH spot-clearing sessions before new beds establish.
Year 5: Shoreline Prevention Infrastructure To prevent reintroduction from outside watercraft, KLAA installs a dedicated CD3 waterless boat cleaning station at the main public boat launch, giving visiting and local boaters powered air, vacuum, and manual tools to clean, drain, and dry their gear. Prevention infrastructure like this typically draws from its own WDNR funding category, separate from the treatment dollars used in Years 1–4 — so it shouldn't have to compete with the rest of the plan for the same pool of money.
Year 6 & Beyond: Long-Term Monitoring Phase With EWM reduced to manageable, trace levels, intensive capital expenditure ends. Ongoing monitoring transitions to the standard KLAA budget, utilizing low-cost annual point-intercept monitoring and Volunteer Lake Ambassadors to maintain launch inspection protocols.
Throughout Years 1–5, we'll also build in a light annual check-in survey — largely volunteer- and university-supported — so we can track real progress year over year and keep our grant reporting current, rather than waiting until Year 4 to look closely again.
By scaling technology to standard industry solutions, total projected costs are roughly $485,000 over five years. These are planning-level estimates — Year 2 onward will be refined once the Year 1 survey tells us exactly how many acres need attention.
Total 5-Year Estimated Cost: $485,000
A Note on Funding & Transparency: The authors of Project K.L.E.A.R. will never ask for, accept, or manage private donations. The Kelly Lake Advancement Association (KLAA) is the sole governing body. All "Anchor Angel" pledges and donations to meet the required local match must be made directly to the KLAA.
Funding Architecture (Avoiding Property Tax District Creation):
Beyond invasive weed management, we know Kelly Lake's fishing reputation needs serious attention. Heavy summer boat traffic and loss of native weed cover have put heavy stress on our panfish and walleye populations.
As part of our multi-year rollout, we recommend integrating three simple, high-impact habitat steps:
True self-governance means citizens stepping up to solve problems without waiting for top-down mandates. We are not a shadow board, a new authority, or a fundraising committee — just neighbors who spent the time researching the science and the grant math so the community wouldn't have to start from scratch.
We have no desire to lead a committee, and we will never accept private donations. We are simply dropping this blueprint into the public square. Now, it belongs to you. If you believe this is the right path for Kelly Lake, we encourage you to take this plan, share it, and champion it at the next KLAA meeting.
Whether the KLAA adopts this exact blueprint or refines it to best serve the lake, we have every indication that the required local match will materialize once the board takes the lead — and getting a few of those commitments in writing early will only make the case stronger. There are generational families on Kelly Lake who are more than ready to quietly fund a serious, multi-year effort once KLAA is ready to go.
To advocate for this plan, direct your feedback to the current association leadership:
Email: President Kenneth Darby — kennethdarby46@yahoo.com
Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.
Sitting by the lake.
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