PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Public Announcement
From the Maine Department of Environmental Protection­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
17 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333-0017­
DEP Considers Using Herbicide to Control Eurasian Milfoil
in Salmon Lake
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts:
July 17, 2009 Paul Gregory 287-6961/557-2140
Donna Gormley 592-2032

(AUGUSTA)--The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is looking at administering herbicide in a cove at Salmon Lake in Belgrade to control the spread of Eurasian Milfoil.

The DEP is holding a public meeting on July 22nd at 7pm at the Union Church in Belgrade Lakes to discuss the eradication efforts of the past year and reasons for taking this next step.

“The DEP divers meticulously went about the task of hand weeding the cove, and installed lake bottom barriers in an attempt to stop the spread of the invasive plant,” says Paul Gregory, an Environmental Specialist with the DEP. “The Eurasian milfoil is very aggressive and despite our efforts is rebounding such that the rest of Salmon Lake and downstream waters, namely Great Pond, now face an increased risk of infestation. “

The Eurasian milfoil in Salmon Lake was first reported to DEP last August by a summer visitor. Within a week DEP divers began removing plants and continued dives into late last September.

This year DEP conducted five dives which resulted in the removal of 325 plants – that’s more than twice what was found and removed last year. Other efforts to control the invasive plant include restricting access into the cove by boaters, extending Courtesy Boat Inspection hours at a nearby public boat ramp, and installing nets at the cove’s mouth and outlet to capture plant fragments in an effort to prevent them from spreading and taking root outside the cove.

“If Eurasian Milfoil is left unchecked it is capable of displacing native plants and altering the lake’s habitat,” says Gregory. “Given the situation, we feel appropriate use of herbicide will provide the most effective means available to prevent its spread and allow us better opportunity to control this infestation manually.”

The only other known Eurasian water milfoil infestation in Maine exists in a small private pond in Scarborough.