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Residents on the Whitefish Chain of Lakes north of Brainerd are optimistic that efforts to contain an aquatic invasive species are working.  

In 2024, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed that starry stonewort was in a channel between Rush and Lower Whitefish lakes in Crow Wing County. 

It was the first time starry stonewort had been detected in the popular Whitefish Chain of Lakes. The invasive algae spreads quickly, and can form dense mats that choke out native vegetation.

The Whitefish Area Property Owners Association quickly mounted a counter-attack, with advice from the DNR and the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center.

They cordoned off the area with a silt fence, had divers hand pull the starry stonewort and treated the area with a chemical algaecide. 

On Thursday, DNR and volunteer divers again searched the area, collecting vegetation in mesh bags. Volunteers in rowboats brought the bags to shore so they could be analyzed and disposed of.

"What's happened is that it's really laid back,” said Tony Coffey, president of the property owners association. “We expected it to grow more biomass in September and October, but it didn't."

Starry stonewort is known for star-shaped white bulbils that can regenerate into new plants. 

"We think getting on top of it right away and containing it and treating it the way we have has attributed to why it's kind of it seems to be dying back right now,” said Michael Duncan, a volunteer with the property owners association who is leading the effort. “But we know the bulbils are still there for next year. We know that we haven't eradicated it."

Starry stonewort was first found in Minnesota in 2015. It's been confirmed in 35 waterbodies in the state.

So far, surveys of the Whitefish chain have not found any additional infested areas.

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Kirsti Marohn

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Starry stonewort, a fast-growing invasive algae, was discovered in the Rush Lake channel. The Whitefish Chain of Lakes Association mounted a counter-attack, including hand pulling, chemical treatment and monitoring.

Whitefish Chain’s early attack on invasive species shows signs of success

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