DNR Permit Rules for Removing Lake Weeds in Wisconsin

Which rule covers your project: NR 107 or NR 109?

Two chapters of the Wisconsin Administrative Code run aquatic plant management:

• NR 107 covers chemical and biological control, meaning herbicides and things like grass carp. A permit is always required to put herbicide in a water of the state.
• NR 109 covers manual and mechanical removal, meaning hand-pulling, raking, cutting, harvesting, and bottom barriers. Permits here depend on how much you remove and where.

If you plan to do both chemical and mechanical work, you need a permit for each. Chemical permits under NR 107 are issued for the season and expire, so they're not a one-time thing.

Do I Need a Permit? A Quick Decision Tree

This is a simplified guide based on the rules above. Every waterbody has edge cases, so when in doubt, call your regional APM coordinator or use ePermitting's pre-application check before you start pulling weeds.

1. Are you using an herbicide or algaecide, any chemical product, to control the plants?
   • Yes: you need a permit under NR 107 (chemical control), no matter how small the area.
   • No, this is hand-pulling, raking, cutting, or mechanical removal: go to question 2.
2. Is the entire waterbody 10 acres or smaller, entirely on your own property, with no connection to another lake or stream?
   • Yes: you likely qualify for the confined-waterbody exemption (NR 109.06(1)). No permit needed for manual or mechanical removal.
   • No, or not sure: go to question 3.
3. Will you remove vegetation only by hand or hand tools, within a single 30-foot-wide path centered on your pier, lift, or swim area?
   • Yes: this falls under the 30-foot manual-removal exemption (NR 109.06(2)(a)1.). No permit needed for that path.
   • No, you want a wider area or motorized equipment: go to question 4.
4. Are you removing only invasive species by hand, like Eurasian watermilfoil or curly-leaf pondweed, not native plants?
   • Yes: hand removal of invasives has its own exemption, so you likely don't need a permit, but confirm the ID before you pull it.
   • No, or native plants are involved, or you're not sure what you're looking at: you need a permit under NR 109 before removing native vegetation beyond the exemptions above.

If any part of your project involves chemicals, question 1 controls regardless of how you answer the rest.

When do you NOT need a permit?

Wisconsin gives shoreline owners a few clear exemptions under NR 109.06.

The 30-foot manual removal corridor. Under Wis. Admin. Code NR 109.06(2)(a)1., you can manually remove native aquatic plants in a single area no wider than 30 feet measured along your shoreline, with no permit, as long as your pier, boatlift, swim raft, and other water-use devices sit inside that same 30-foot zone. Allowed methods are hand-pulling, a string trimmer (weed whacker), or a push mower on exposed lakebed. You have to remove the cut plants and dispose of them up on land. This is the same corridor rule that covers a lily pad bed at your dock; see are lily pads protected in Wisconsin and the full step-by-step version on manual removal without a permit.

Removing invasive plants. You can hand-remove the invasives Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and purple loosestrife along your shoreline without a permit. Because the state wants these gone, you're not held to the 30-foot cap the way you are with native plants.

Small private waterbodies. Under NR 109.06(1), manual or mechanical removal is exempt on a waterbody 10 acres or smaller that's entirely confined on one person's property, with that owner's permission. Note that chemical rules can still apply to a private pond.

When DO you need a permit?

You need DNR approval before you:

• Remove native plants manually from an area wider than 30 feet along your shore.
• Use any mechanical harvester or cutter beyond the small-waterbody exemption; see mechanical harvesting and the cutter guide.
• Apply any herbicide or algaecide in a water of the state (NR 107); see aquatic herbicide permit rules.
• Install a bottom barrier or benthic mat (this is regulated, often under ch. 30 as well); see the benthic barrier permit guide.
• Do any removal in a designated sensitive area, or where wild rice or a state or federally listed species is present. In those spots even the 30-foot exemption doesn't apply.

When in doubt, call your regional APM coordinator before you touch anything. A five-minute call is cheaper than an enforcement action.

How do you apply for a permit?

Applications go through the DNR's online ePermitting system, which needs a MyWisconsin ID login. You describe the area, the plants, and the method. The DNR reviews it, and for many projects the plants have to be surveyed and mapped first, which is why lake-wide chemical projects usually run through a lake district or a hired applicator.

Per the DNR's published guidance, decisions are typically issued within 10 to 15 business days of a complete and acceptable application, and applications show up in the public search a few business days after they're submitted. That public-notice step is normal and lets neighbors weigh in.

Permit Application Timeline

DNR processes APM permits through its online ePermitting system. This is what DNR's own guidance publishes; we haven't invented steps beyond it.

Heads up: DNR notes that a spring rush of statewide submissions, common before boating season, can push actual turnaround toward the longer end of that window.

What does a permit cost, and how long does it last?

Fee amounts change, so check the current DNR fee schedule rather than trusting a number you read online. Two things worth knowing: NR 109 (manual and mechanical) permit fees are non-refundable, and NR 107 chemical permits are seasonal, so a whole-lake herbicide program is an annual expense, not a one-and-done.

Who do you contact?

Start with the DNR Aquatic Plant Management program by email at DNRAPMProgram@wisconsin.gov, and find your county's regional APM coordinator through the DNR forms page. They handle the sensitive-area question and can tell you what your specific lake allows. For a lake-wide project, most owners end up working with a licensed contractor or applicator under an aquatic plant management plan rather than applying alone.

Frequently asked questions

Related: what removal costs by method and how the methods compare.