Mike Martinez, left, and Lee Merrill, both of Lawrence, fish Monday for bass on Lone Star Lake. Members of the Lone Star Lake Property Owners Association want to continue to use herbicide at the lake to kill leafy pondweed, which forms in water near their cabins, making it difficult to drive boats through it. But some anglers are saying the herbicide is dangerous to the aquatic environment and that its use is unnecessary.

A chemical used a year ago to kill a weed at Lone Star Lake is at the center of a disagreement between some fishing enthusiasts and property owners.

Members of the Lone Star Lake Property Owners Association say the chemical – Aquathol K – is needed to kill leafy pondweed, which forms in water near their cabins. The weed makes it difficult for boats to pass through.

But Lawrence fisherman Ned Kehde has argued that the herbicide is dangerous to the aquatic environment and that its use is unnecessary. He claims the weed will die in June when the weather gets warmer.

The use of Aquathol K was recommended by a wildlife biologist with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, said Mike Perkins, public works operations manager.

Douglas County commissioners are scheduled to take up the issue at tonight’s meeting.

“We thought, let’s let the County Commission get involved with this and they can decide how they want to go,” Perkins said.

Many of the 40 members of the Lone Star association plan to attend the meeting, said Clair Kuszmaul, association president.

Kuszmaul said pondweed is troublesome.

“There are some places small trolling motors can’t get through,” Kuszmaul said. “I’ve got a 40 horsepower motor and I’ve had to stop, raise the motor and take the (pondweed) off of it.”

Kehde protested the use of chemical after the lake was treated last year. He is out of town and unavailable for comment, but his wife, Pat Kehde, will be speaking at tonight’s county meeting.

Aquathol K is a poison and some states ban its use, Pat Kehde said.

“There are concerns about it in terms of what it adds to the chemical toxic stew that we all live in,” she said. “We don’t really know the long-term effects.”

Aquathol K is not supposed to have any long-term effects and it is not known to kill fish, Perkins said. After the chemical was used in the southwestern corner of the lake, also known as “cabin corner,” there were no signs that it killed or harmed fish, he said.

Richard Sanders, the KDWP biologist who recommended Aquathol K, said he depends on findings by the Environmental Protection Agency and other authorizing agencies to determine whether a chemical is safe. The chemical has been approved for aquatic use, he said.

Pat Kehde also claims that pondweed will die naturally as the weather gets hotter. But, Kuszmaul said, pondweed in areas that were not treated last year remained alive through the summer.

Pat Kehde also argues that pondweed makes good habitat for fish during spawning season.

“If you want Lone Star Lake to be a good fishery, you don’t poison the very habitat that the fish usually spawn in,” she said.

Only a small part of the lake – 4.64 acres – was treated with Aquathol K, Sanders said. The lake’s surface covers 195 acres.

Curly leaf pondweed became especially prevalent in the cabin area of the lake during the past few years. It is not clear why, although there are theories ranging from human habitation to the lowering of the lake’s spillway and dredging that took place at the lake several years ago.

Commissioners meet at 6:30 tonight in the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Mass. Other matters on the agenda are:

¢ Consideration of a conditional use permit for a child care center at First United Methodist Church, 867 U.S. Highway 40.

¢ Consideration of a conditional use permit for a Verizon Wireless cellular tower at 261 E. 1250 Road, Baldwin City.

¢ Commissioners will meet with the advisory committee for Hesper Charter Road Improvement District.