INVASIVE AQUATIC PLANT SPECIES IN YORK COUNTY

York County Soil & Water Conservation District

is pleased to announce that it has received grant funding

from Davis Conservation Foundation for the

2011 York County Invasive Aquatic Species Project

with a special focus on water bodies in the Mousam River watershed

To-date, no invasive aquatic plant populations have been documented in the

Mousam River watershed, but an introduction can happen at any time.

Many infested water bodies exist to the north, south and west - in ME, NH & MA.

One of the main goals of this project is to provide volunteers

with skills & tools to become active in invasive aquatic species spread prevention,

early detection & rapid response efforts  in York County.

These 3 elements are all very important and effective strategies to minimize

the monetary and ecological impacts of an invasive species introduction or infestation.

Association members from Bauneg Beg Pond and Laurie Callahan, summer 2006.

(Photo by Mike Cannon)

Maine has 33 water bodies infested with 6 invasive aquatic plant species.

Of those 33 in Maine, York County has 8 water bodies where 4 different invasive aquatic plant species have been detected.

(See the 4 photos at the top of the page.)

Those 8 York County locations include

Variable milfoil in 5 of the 8 infested water bodies,

Hydrilla occurs in 1, curly-leaf pondweed occurs in 2 others and

European naiad (or European water nymph) has been found in one.  

A pond in Kittery with the European naiad is also one of the sites with curly leaf pondweed. 

Four York County water bodies have very active invasive aquatic plant management projects that have been carried-out each year

for the past several years. Those are

Pickerel Pond in Limerick (hydrilla), West Pond in Parsonsfield (curly leaf pondweed),

Balch Lake in Acton & Newfield, ME and Wakefield, NH (variable milfoil) and

Lake Arrowhead in Waterboro & Limerick (variable milfoil). 

In 2006 one plant of variable milfoil was found in Great East Lake & it was removed.

No other variable milfoil plants have been found there since &

Great East Lake has been taken off Maine's list of infested water bodies.

 Here is a current list of known infestations in York County, as of spring 2011:

(Click on plant names below for links to pictures and information about the plant.)

Curly-leaf pondweed

West Pond in Parsonsfield & Legion Pond in Kittery

European naiad (or European water nymph)

Legion Pond in Kittery

Hydrilla

Pickerel Pond in Limerick,

Variable leaf water-milfoil

Lake Arrowhead, Limerick/Waterboro

 Balch Lake (Pd.), Acton/Newfield

Little Ossipee River, Waterboro/Limerick/Limington

Saco River, Dayton

Spaulding Pond, Lebanon

(Click on links above for pictures and information at Maine Volunteer Lakes Monitoring Program's

 Virtual Herbarium website and for the  Quick Key to Invasive Aquatic Plants

There are other infested water bodies close by in Oxford and Cumberland Counties (ME) and in several NH & MA water bodies. (For the MA link to the MA waterbodies, go to page 34 of the pdf document or page 26 of the hard copy document to see a list of infested waterbodies.). Many of the infestations are Variable leaf water-milfoil, but Eurasian water-milfoil has also been found in a private, un-named gravel pit pond in Scarborough, in a small pond in Brookfield, NH and also in a number of waterbodies in northern MA.  Other invasive aquatic plant species – such as fanwort & water chestnut - also occur in NH & MA within a 1-2 hour car trip from York County.

Some water bodies are more susceptible than others to the introduction of an invasive species. The sooner an infestation is detected the less troublesome and costly the management will be. Great East Lake is an example of an “early detection and rapid response” success story. 

Early detection, education, prevention and rapid response activities are all important strategies to manage the threat that these invasive aquatic species present to our waterbodies.

      Also, please visit the following websites:

                                            Balch Lake / B.L.I.M.P.

                                          Lake Arrowhead / L.A.C.C.

                       Pickerel Pond / ME DEP info on Hydrilla management

                                                West Pond / W.P.A.

Prevention and education, early detection and rapid response are all important elements of an effort to manage the

threat that these invasive aquatic species present to our waterbodies.

For information about the small amount of variable milfoil found

and removed from Great East Lake go to:

 Great East Lake / G.E.L.I.A.

(see page 4, Weed Watchers article)

For more information about the 2011 YCIASP:

Melissa Brandt, YCSWCD District Office Manager, Tel: 207-324-0888 ext. 214

Laurie Callahan, Aquatic Biologist, Tel: 802-258-1877

If you or your group would like info about Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) training or applications for ME DEP Cost Share Grants 

(for CBI efforts and IAP management) please contact:

Lakes Environmental Association (LEA), 207-647-8580,

LEA website, mailing address – 230 Main St., Bridgton, ME 04009

Also, visit the MCIAP pages at the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (MEVLMP) to get more information about native

and invasive aquatic plants and for the 2011 Invasive Plant Patrol workshops schedule.

Additional invasive aquatic species information is available at ME Dept. of Env. Protection’s invasive aquatic plants web pages http://www.state.me.us/dep/blwq/topic/invasives/  and at ME Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife website http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/index.htm