schafer’s

Weed Harvesting

Lake Onalaska has had a long history with aquatic vegetation that has slowly been restricting navigation and use by shoreline owners over that past 2-3 decades.  Conventional farming techniques throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as the advances in drainage techniques have created a sediment and nutrient overload that has only exacerbated the issue.  With every rainfall and during the annual spring floods more and more sediment, nutrients and fertilizer come down the river and into the lake. 

Aquatic Vegetation

The harvester is equipped to cut weeds up to 6’ deep and loads them on deck where they are hauled away for use as organic fertilizer. SMS is excited for the future of the weed harvester and the potential that it has for providing solutions throughout the area for aquatic vegetation.

Lake Onalaska

a 7,688-acre body of water created when Lock and Dam #7 inundated former backwater areas of the upper Mississippi River in 1937.A resource like this has a huge economic impact on the surrounding areas providing some of the best fishing in the region drawing in thousands of people a year that fish it year-round.

Lake Onalaska’s position and size slows the flow of the water which allows the sediment to settle, and this creates enhanced vegetation growth and harmful algae blooms.  Schafer’s Marine Services (SMS) is hoping to provide relief to this issue with an aquatic weed harvester. 

We will be able to harvest weeds around homeowners’ docks to allow them to store boats and access the lake from their properties.  We are also continually working with state and federal agencies to provide better navigation through the vegetation.