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Lake Salem working hard to keep Eurasian milfoil out |
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Monday, 10 September 2007 |
by ANNE L. SQUIRE
Managing Editor
DERBY - Lake Salem doesn't have Eurasian milfoil, and if the Lake Salem Association has anything to say about it, it will stay that way.
The statistics are not in their favor. On a map that shows the extent of milfoil invasion, three lakes stand out as milfoil free: Salem, Fern Lake in Leicester, and Loves Marsh in the south central part of the state. As of 2006, 62 lakes and ponds and 25 rivers in Vermont had Eurasian milfoil.
As its name states, it is native to Europe/Asia, where it is not the problem it is in North America. Here, the plant has no natural enemies, and it grows faster and more aggressively than native Northern milfoil, and eventually pushes out, not only the native milfoil, but many other native water plants as well. If left unchecked, milfoil forms dense mats that affect water quality and fish distribution.
There are a variety of methods used to combat this invasive water plant, including mechanical, chemical, biological, and physical. Some aquatic herbicides are effective. Biological methods include introducing grass carp into some of the nation's waterways, but they are illegal in Vermont because they also consume many other plants. The other biological method is using a milfoil eating weevil, which has been somewhat successful in some lakes and ponds.
Other methods are lowering the water level in winter to freeze the plants, and hand pulling.
There is one thing that, so far, has kept some Vermont waterways free of this weed -- a campaign of milfoil prevention, namely, being aggressive about making sure no boat (or angler) brings milfoil into the lake.
At Lake Seymour, this job falls to several people, including Jane Bingham. On Friday, she was at her station, at the boat launch on Hayward Road. Bingham said she checks the boats and trailers before they go into the water. Although there was one exposure several years ago, so far, Salem is one of the few lakes in the state without infestation.
But it's a constant struggle, she said. With the water level low in many waterways, milfoil is exposed to the warmth of the sun, and it grows aggressively. Milfoil is a tough plant, and it only requires an inch piece of milfoil to infest a lake.
The inspection station opens in May and runs to October. Bingham said she found Eurasian milfoil on the first boat she saw on the first day of the prevention program. The boat and trailer were literally "draped in milfoil," she said. There was milfoil on the nets, the anchor, and wrapped around the propeller. Lake Salem doesn't have a boat wash, so she sent them to one of the other area lakes that do.
She asks people who are going out in canoes and kayaks to keep an eye out for the plant.
"Don't pick it or pull it up," Bingham said. "Tell us where is it, and we'll go out and check it."
Money is always an issue. Last year, the Salem Lake Association was able to have people at the boat launch all summer. This year it's covered only on the weekends, Thursday-Sunday, from 6 a.m. - 8 p.m., Bingham said. Little Salem isn't covered this year at all, she added.
Towns on Lake Salem do support the Association, and there are some government grants to help milfoil prevention.
"But every year, the grants get smaller and smaller," she said.
Bingham said she can't even guarantee all the boaters on the lake come through the access. There are other places people can put in a canoe or small boat, including the access at Little Salem, where there isn't anyone checking them.
One of the struggles at Lake Salem is the number of summer renters who may just put their boat in from their property, and not come to the boat launch, Bingham said. Most of the property owners are good about telling their renters about milfoil, but occasionally Bingham said she has to run over and tell the people launching their boat about milfoil.
Sadly, there are tourists who just don't seem to care.
"It's not their lake," she said, "and they don't understand the consequences of launching a boat with milfoil on it."
For Bingham, and the many others who diligently check boats and trailers, the struggle to keep this one small lake free of milfoil may very well be a battle they can't win ultimately. But for now, Lake Salem remains free of Eurasian milfoil.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 September 2007 )
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