The recent discovery of Eurasian water milfoil in Beaver Lake has prompted the manager of the county’s weed department to beef up surveillance efforts around the county for aquatic invasive species.

The weed department has applied for a $41,786 grant from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, department Director Jed Fisher said.

If the county obtains the grant, the money would be used to pay part of the costs to have county employees check the 273 waterways in Flathead County for the presence of any invasive species, Fisher said.

State personnel don’t have a specific date for notifying the county if its application is successful, Fisher said, but the intention is to do the work next summer, so he expects to hear from the agency sometime this spring.

The county must contribute about $34,000 of in-kind work to match the grant, Fisher said.

Fisher’s intent is “a complete search and destroy of small patches” of any noxious weeds found next summer.

The grant also would help pay for any barriers the county may need to buy to place over weed patches.

If any large patches of weeds are found that require some sort of chemical treatment, other funding sources would be sought, Fisher said.

The county checks bodies of water every year for invasive species, Fisher said.

But with all the water in the county, more places need to be checked more often, he said.

The grant would allow for expansion of that effort.

Fisher’s actions come in response to the Oct. 19 discovery of Eurasian water milfoil in Beaver Lake.

Beaver Lake remains closed to public use until it ices over, by order of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Once it ices over, the state agency intends to allow ice fishing, but will mark the infested area with signs telling anglers to stay out of that section of the lake.

Some of the milfoil was pulled up from the lake bottom on Oct. 31 and a barrier was placed on the rest of the weed patch. The barrier is designed to prevent the weed from breaking apart, floating to the surface, moving around the lake and planting itself in another area. The barrier also is expected to block sunlight from reaching the weed.

The patch will be evaluated once ice comes off the lake, to determine what to do next to battle the weed infestation, Fisher said.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.