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INVASIVE AQUATIC PLANT SPECIES IN
YORK COUNTY
Over the past few years it has been discovered that
York County has 8 water bodies
where
invasive
aquatic plant populations have been
detected. Those 8
infestations include 4 different species of invasive aquatic plants. Variable
Milfoil occurs in 5 of the 8 infested waterbodies, Hydrilla occurs in 1, Curly-Leaf Pondweed occurs in another
and European naiad (or European water nymph), the latest addition to the York
County invasive aquatic plant menagerie, was found in Legion Pond in Kittery in
2009.
In 2006
one plant of variable leaf water-milfoil was found in Great East Lake, it
was removed and no other variable leaf water-milfoil plants have been
found there since & has been taken off Maine's list of infested waterbodies.
Here is a current list of
known infestations in York County, as of spring 2010:
Curly-leaf pondweed
West Pond in Parsonsfield,
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.
For
information about the small amount of variable leaf water-milfoil found
and removed from
Great East Lake:
Great East Lake
/ G.E.L.I.A.
Association
members with Laurie Callahan on Bauneg Beg Pond, summer 2006. Photo by Mike
Cannon
Laurie
Callahan (aquatic biologist) and the York County Soil & Water Conservation
District hope to offer Invasive Aquatic Species Project activities again during
the summer of 2010.
Check
back here for updates or contact us for more information.
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
2009
Invasive Plant Patrol workshops
schedule.
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York County
Soil & Water Conservation District
