LAKEPORT — A standing room only crowd of Lake County residents attended the Lake County Vector Control seminar on Thursday evening on the creatures the inhabit Clear Lake. The seminar drew such a large crowd that dozens of people were turned away because the Board Of Supervisors chambers were completely filled. In fact, the crowd stretched all the way out of the courthouse to the sidewalk. Most of attendees were there to learn more about the lake including the weed and algae problems.
The principal speakers were retired biologist Norm Anderson and Vector Control biologist Bonnie Ryan. Also in attendance were Dr. Harry Lyons and Dr. Robert Lane. Lyons is an expert on Clear Lake and the algae and Lane is a renown researcher on ticks and Lyme disease.
Anderson and Ryan talked about the food chain in the lake and how important the zoo and phytoplankton are to the fish and bird life. She explained that the role of Vector Control is to monitor the lake and the county and to keep track of the insects and small microscopic creatures. Ryan brought living specimens of various plankton that reside in the lake and projected them on a large screen. The plankton swimming around drew ahhhs from the crowd. Ryan said that each species is a vital part of the food chain and that Clear Lake is a rich ecosystem.
As expected, the blue-green and other species of algae drew many of the questions from the crowd. The questions ranged from which can be done to eliminate it, to is it a product that can be harvested and sold? Lyons said there are several things that can be done to control the nuisance algae and they range from using floating islands of plants to use up the nutrients to aerating the algae mats with sprinklers. He said that to date it hasn”t been shown that it would be profitable to harvest and sell the algae. Lyons went on to say the species of algae called Lyngbya is back but not in the thick concentrations of last year when algae mats clogged up the harbor at Redbud Park in Clearlake.
Jamesina Scott, director of Vector Control, talked about the mosquito problem in the county. She said the reason there are so many mosquitoes this year is because of the three year drought where the mosquitoes laid there eggs in the mud banks around the lake and this year the full lake flooded those mud flats and which in turn resulted in millions of mosquitoes being hatched. Scott said another problem is the species of mosquitoes called Tree Hole mosquitoes. Tree Hole mosquitoes lay their eggs in cavities of standing water in oak and other large trees. It is the primary carrier of heartworm in dogs. She said Lake County presently has an epidemic of heart worm cases.
The seminar was hosted by the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee. Chairman Greg Giusti said he thought the seminar was exceptional and the committee plans on having similar events in the future.
