Hello HLSIO supporter,
We hope this finds you safe and healthy and optimistic about what summer will be like at Higgins Lake. These are unusual times to say the least, and it sometimes feels as though the rules of everyday life are changing daily. We would like to take a few minutes to give everyone an update on where things stand today regarding our fight against swimmer’s itch (SI).
Your HLSIO board has been quite actively involved in the details of what we will be doing this summer and although some aspects are now different than earlier planned, other aspects will continue as in the past
What’s new?
We are happy to announce our website, www.hlsio.org is now operable. We hope you will find it helpful and informative. Please use the website to continue reporting Common Merganser broods as they appear on our lake. Early and multiple reporting of brood sightings enables us to confirm identification and aid in early brood relocation. Please continue to report any cases of SI you may experience to help us in identifying potential SI hot spots.
As everyone is aware, key players in Lansing have changed per our last statewide election. A consequence of this is that HLSIO will no longer receive state funding through the Michigan Swimmer’s Itch Partnership (MISIP). For the past three years MISIP has provided financial support to be used for combating swimmer’s itch in Michigan. During that time, HLSIO has been able to defer some of our costs by utilizing our portion of the overall funding.
What’s still the same?
HLSIO will again be working with Swimmer’s Itch Solutions (SIS) and Dr. Curt Blankespoor and Dr. Randy DeJong. In addition to trapping and relocating Common Merganser ducks as in the past five years, SIS will be assessing the potential of other waterfowl and snail combinations contributing to SI on Higgins Lake and updating our information on snail infection to determine exactly how we compare today to five years ago. This will give us science-based information about how to proceed in the future to keep swimmer’s itch cases to a minimum. As the season progresses, we will continue to evaluate potential new practices to secure even more knowledge to help us fight SI.
In addition to Merganser duck relocation we will once again be relocating Canadian Geese. It has been determined that these birds may also be contributing to SI and we will be moving them off our lake for the third straight year.
What we have accomplished in the past has been significant but the need to remain vigilant about our future is ongoing. Our current maintenance program is something that we must continue or we risk falling back to infection levels of 6 years ago. In years past, we have made a fundraising request at this time of year. Although we would certainly welcome any contributions at this time we are mindful of the unusual personal and professional impacts that may be caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic. We plan to reevaluate the lake situation later in the season when hopefully there is a clearer understanding of the socioeconomic landscape and we look forward to your support at that time.
We have many reason’s to be optimistic this summer. We continue to be guided by the same successful plan that we have used for the last five years to fight SI. We once again expect that the cases of SI will be minimal and we will be working with the same scientists who have been instrumental in our swimmer’s itch reduction. Your HLSIO board continues our work to look to the future and make sure that we are staying current with methods for SI reduction and seeking to find new ideas to improve results in the coming years.
Thank you for your past support. Your generosity has given Higgins Lake back to our community. The HLSIO board considers it a privilege to work on your behalf as stewards of our initiative to combat the public health problem of swimmer’s itch at Higgins Lake.
Stay safe and enjoy the coming summer.
Your HLSIO Board
Bill Carey, Neal Cooley, Dale McDonald, Ed Nellist, John Ogren, Greg Semack, Bob Schneider, Dianne Wagner