Greetings, Lake Vilbig Residents
Biologist Report, March 29, 2023
This letter is to talk about our March 2023 management efforts. I came out twice on March 29th. March, in like a lion and out like a lamb. At least, that’s what they say. This one was more like a lion, out like a fire-breathing dragon. It has been an exciting month full of pretty extreme weather.
Welcome to 2023. Thankfully we are in what is commonly called maintenance mode for pond management. While in this mode, it is less critical always to be there as we can generally discover and attack any potential issues. Think of it like your lawn care company. Once they get the yard in order and the weeds diminished, with the flower beds looking great, it’s all about mowing, edging, and weed eating on the 29th.
Water temp was 65 F. Alkalinity was 130, and pH was 8.0. Still a lot of birds. Cormorants, Canada Geese, and coots primarily. But there were also domesticated and wild ducks (mallards). The water was a little off-colored. Some areas had a lot of colors, while other regions were more precise. To me, it is an indication of some plankton bloom. Average depth readings were at 32 inches. But it depended on where these depths were taken. Sometimes it was as little as 15 inches and as much as 45 inches. The water was a bit stained and raining the morning I was there. So the stained water was just a little stirred-up sediment—nothing to be concerned about.
