Reprinted with permission:

                        Mayor’s Update

        Eurasian Milfoil Project – Farm Lake

I’d like to share with you new developments in our struggle against Eurasian Milfoil.
As you may recall, in Fall 2025, the Municipality applied for permission from Quebec’s
environment ministry to deal with the Milfoil in Farm Lake by installing benthic tarps in two
areas and hand-pulling it in other areas. At the end of April 2026, we were granted permission to
lay benthic tarps at the boat launch and at the northern bay. Over 80% of the vegetation in these
areas is Milfoil and each area is approximately 7,000 square metres. We also received permission
to hand-pull the Milfoil in specific areas of the lake that contain less than 80% Milfoil.
 
The tarps must be laid down as soon as possible in the Spring before the Milfoil has grown too
high. Unfortunately, the company that supplies the tarps could not have them fabricated and
delivered in time to install them in May/early June 2026.  
All that to say, we have to wait until Spring 2027. It was a disappointing setback by a year but
we had no control over the Ministry of Environment which took considerable time to approve
our application.
At this point, these re-usable benthic tarps have been ordered. They are costly (roughly $60,000)
but we were fortunate to have received funding from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing’s FRR program which is covering most of the cost.
The company that supplies the tarps will also provide divers (at an additional cost). The divers
have experience dealing with Milfoil (both laying tarps and hand-pulling). The tarps are intended
to remain in place for at least 10 weeks before removal. They estimate it would take up to 8 days
to install and another 8 days to remove.
We have just recently submitted a grant application to La Fondation de la Faune du Québec to
help cover the cost of divers and we should know by February 2027 if we are successful. All
going well, the project will be completed over two years at the most affected areas (the boat
launch in 2027 and the northern bay in 2028). Divers will also hand-pull in certain areas
containing less than 80% Milfoil. The Greater Otter Lake Residents Association (GORA) has
provided a letter of support for our application and the Board has offered an in-kind contribution
(e.g. volunteers in canoes or kayaks to be present on the surface when divers are laying tarps or
hand-pulling). There may also be a need for lodging for the divers while they are here. 
 
I should point out a couple of things as well: 1) before making any intervention in a lake, we
must apply to the Ministry of Environment for permission; and 2) each lake requires its own
separate permit application along with a schedule of when the work is to be done.
 
So, the reality is that we cannot over-commit on what we can accomplish in one year. We know
of five other lakes in the Municipality that contain Milfoil. Quite simply, we cannot deal with all
lakes in one year. We will have to spread out the work over a few years.  It’s an issue of timing
and money.

Most of the Milfoil colonies in the other lakes are not as dense or as large as those on Farm Lake.
This means that hand-pulling by divers is the appropriate method. We hope to be in a position to
move forward with that activity on another lake in 2028 (pending available resources).
Meanwhile, the Municipality has installed buoys and signs across these other lakes to alert
boaters of the Milfoil locations. We recently developed a new brochure which helps to explain
what people can do to prevent the spread, how to identify Milfoil, how to report areas that may
contain Milfoil, the importance of paying attention to signs and buoys, and the need for boat-
washing, etc.
A group of residents on Leslie Lake has delivered the brochure door-to-door to property owners
on the lake. Door-to-door visits are a really great way to raise awareness. It’s my understanding
that GORA will soon be hand delivering the brochures to Farm Lake residents as well.
Controlling the spread of Milfoil and protecting our lakes is one of Council’s several main
priorities. We believe it is important to be proactive on invasive species and we are doing all we
can. An Invasive Species Committee has been in place for the last nine years. We work together
in Committee to plan our strategies for the lakes, prepare applications for permits/funding, etc.
and we make recommendations to Council as a whole.
We are grateful for the support from groups of lake residents, many of whom have provided their
boats to take biologists over the lake to do their mapping work, etc. Obviously, we need
volunteers on the lakes to help raise awareness. I encourage anyone who is interested in
distributing the brochures to drop by the Municipal Office to pick up copies.
Protecting our lakes from invasive species is essential to Otter Lake’s future. Healthy lakes
attract visitors and permanent residents, strengthen local businesses, and help our community
thrive. By working together, we can safeguard our vital assets – our lakes!