Milfoil On Salmond Lake

NORTH BELGRADE -- Divers on Friday scoured the bottom of Salmon Lake, yanking a new and aggressive, invasive-plant species from a cove off Route 8.

In just more than two hours Friday morning, they had bagged more than 70 Eurasian milfoil plants and were expecting to spend the day collecting more.

Since the species was discovered in the lake Aug. 1, the state has launched an ambitious program to find and eradicate it.

"It's the pit bull of milfoil," said Paul Gregory, with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which was conducting Friday's eradication.

Gregory was one of four people working in a driving rain and stubborn wind to eradicate the Eurasian milfoil, which has been found only at one other site in Maine -- a Scarborough gravel pit.

Of 5,700 ponds and lakes in Maine, only 29 contain an invasive, aquatic-plant species, but the Eurasian milfoil is of particular concern because it is more aggressive than other species such as the variable-leaf milfoil found in Messalonskee Lake.

Gregory said Eurasian milfoil has been found in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Canadian provinces. It hitchhikes from one place to another on boats, fishing gear and related equipment.

"This is an unfortunate byproduct of globalization," Gregory said. "People move around a lot."

Salmon and Messalonskee lakes are part of the Belgrade Lakes chain, which include Great, North, East, Long and McGrath ponds.

DEP biologist John McPhedran and Denise Blanchette, a diver contracting with DEP, pulled Eurasian milfoil plants and their root balls from Salmon Lake Friday, placed them in netted bags and sent them to the surface. Gregory and DEP biologist Ray Bouchard hauled the bags into boats.

"It sounds primitive, but hand removal is a very effective method," Gregory said. "We're going to give it our best."

The crew had accessed the shallow cove, which is about five feet deep, from the nearby Spaulding Point boat landing. They erected a 40-foot net in the water near the dam connecting the cove with an outlet stream that goes to Great Pond to prevent milfoil fragments from entering the outlet.

But a resident on Friday presented the DEP workers with a jar of milfoil he said he found in that stream.

"The fragments have gotten by us," Gregory said. "We'll survey the stream right away."

As the team worked, landowner Sam Bouchard of Cozy Cove Cottages stopped to talk with officials and helped erect the net in the cove. He said he was glad they moved quickly to eradicate the plant.

"Hopefully, they get it all so it doesn't spread," Bouchard said of the milfoil.

Don Borman, president of the McGrath Pond-Salmon Lake Association, also was on hand, snapping photographs for the association's newsletter. The group has been staying abreast of the milfoil situation and updating members. Borman said the association's goal is to help protect the environment and water quality and maintain it for future generations.

He said about 40 people have volunteered to help survey particular areas of the shoreline of Salmon Lake and McGrath Pond for milfoil, but more volunteers are needed and should call the DEP at 287-3901 and ask for Bouchard.

"Also, anyone who knows of private launch areas should let the DEP know," he said.

Gregory said in about three weeks he will probably be able to release information about other areas of the pond and lake where milfoil may be located.

The spreading of milfoil into Salmon Lake likely occurred from the boat landing, as the plant is carried from one body of water to another by boats, canoes, paddles and fishing tackle, Gregory said.

People are being asked to inspect their boats, particularly propellers, for even small amounts of milfoil.

"That's all it takes to start a new infestation," Gregory said.

Blanchette spent much of the morning collecting milfoil from an area in the cove identified as having a dense accumulation of the plant. McPhedran surfaced frequently near the dam, producing a five-foot-long section of plant at one point.

He also garnered smaller fragments which, if containing leaves and nodes, can reproduce quickly.

"That little root right there is the adventitious root," McPhedran said. "It's the root coming off of the above-ground stem of the plant. I don't know if this root is coming off of Denise's (plants Blanchette was collecting nearby), but it's not very encouraging."

The crew expected to complete milfoil eradication in the cove on Friday but visibility was poor because of a silty lake bottom, Gregory said. The equipment will remain another couple of weeks, he said.

The milfoil collected Friday would likely be composted, he said.

Milfoil, when identified, must be eradicated quickly to prevent infestation, said Gregory.

"Speed is of the essence," he said.

Anyone finding what they believe is Eurasian milfoil is asked to place it in a Ziploc bag and mail it to the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program, 24 Maple Hill Road, Auburn, ME 04210, or call 783-7733.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247