Crystal Lake & Watershed Association
Dave Wynne was the first of two speakers explaining the role of the Crystal Lake & Watershed Association.
The Association is a non-profit that has responsibilities in several areas involving Crystal Lake, including management of its lake level and water quality. The Association's biggest project is its battle with swimmer's itch.
The Crystal Lake group has joined with other lake associations and an academic from Oakland University in researching the cause of swimmer's itch and ways to control it. They have identified the cause of the problem--parasites that pass from common mergansers to snails and then find human bodies as they search for mergansers--and they have settled on removal of merganser chicks as the solution.
The Crystal Lake group has joined with other lake associations and an academic from Oakland University in researching the cause of swimmer's itch and ways to control it. They have identified the cause of the problem--parasites that pass from common mergansers to snails and then find human bodies as they search for mergansers--and they have settled on removal of merganser chicks as the solution.
As was noted during the Q&A that followed Dave's presentation, swimmer's itch is not a new phenomenon, and it is unlikely to be eliminated overnight. Several members shared their suggestions for reducing the severity of effects from exposure.