Otter Lake has received provincial approval to lay canvas tarps at the Farm Lake boat launch in hopes of choking out the invasive Eurasian milfoil plant growing there.
A few weeks ago, the province’s Ministry of Environment approved the municipality’s request for a permit to install 7,000 square metres of tarps on the floor of Farm Lake, where the milfoil is the thickest. The municipality is currently in the process of sourcing the tarps, which it will purchase using provincial FRR4 money remaining from last year.
“It’s a significant help,” Quaile said of the funding, which will cover 80 per cent or more of the project’s total $60,000 cost.
Eurasian milfoil is an invasive species that grows from the bottom of lakes toward the surface. It grows profusely in the summer months, towering over other plants and aquatic life and denying them sunlight.
Milfoil is notoriously difficult to kill. It spreads easily, as it is chopped up by boat propellers and spread to other parts of the lake. It is also a perennial plant, meaning that it returns every year unless a strategy to kill it is deployed.
According to biologist’s reports, milfoil has been found in six of Otter Lake’s lakes: Farm Lake, Petit Lac Cayamant, McCuaig Lake, Hughes Lake, Otter Lake and Leslie Lake. Farm Lake is among the areas in Otter Lake where the milfoil is thickest, particularly near the public boat launch.
The municipality has closed the boat launch each of the past two summers, but hopes to be able to keep it open this year through the use of the fibreglass canvas tarps, which will be laid on the lake’s floor to suffocate the milfoil and hinder its growth.
Quaile said another possible method approved by the province is to send divers in to manually pull out the milfoil, but since the boat launch is covered by more than 80 per cent milfoil, the tarp solution makes more sense.
She said the municipality is aiming to get the tarps down soon, before the milfoil reaches full bloom, which usually happens by early- to mid-July.
As for the other five lakes where milfoil has been found, a biologists’ report received by the municipality in February shows areas in those lakes where the milfoil has grown particularly thick – mostly around the shoreline. In the coming weeks, Otter Lake will begin work on separate permit applications for those lakes.
In the meantime, the municipality is focused on preventing the spread of the plant. Residents of various lakes will soon receive brochures with information about the milfoil, including which areas to avoid. Quaile said the municipality will also install buoys to indicate which areas are thick with milfoil and should be avoided by boaters.
Parc Leslie found out in the recent biologist’s report that milfoil had been found in several smaller patches throughout Lac Leslie, as well as a more concentrated area where the cottagers are.
“We’re looking to get buoys and lineage to identify the patch near the park so that people can avoid it,” said general manager Shawn Myrick.
Myrick said the park will remain vigilant, as it did last year, to stop the spread. He said once again, the park will require boaters to show their boat wash card at the gate before entering, and they will also be holding information sessions for guests and summer residents.
He said the park unfortunately had to cancel its annual summer fishing derby this year due to the elevated risk associated with bringing many foreign boats into the lake.
“That’s what we’re doing to stop the spread,” he said.
Since Otter Lake implemented a boat-washing bylaw to curb the spread of milfoil in 2020, Quaile said the public has been increasingly mindful of washing their boats.
Data from the municipality says that the boat wash station at the municipal office was used 736 times in 2025, up from 673 the year prior.
Quaile said she was pleased to receive the approval to move forward with the tarps, but added that they are not a permanent solution.
“Using the tarps and pulling by hand doesn’t eradicate milfoil completely. It’s virtually impossible to get rid of it permanently,” she said. “These methods are really in the hopes of preventing spread and preventing it from taking over the whole lake.”
