Six different lakes in Southern Aroostook County recently had a visit from a large group of aquatic plant experts. The team of approximately 25 mostly included volunteers.
Lake Stewards of Maine is a non-profit organization committed to the collection of information pertaining to lake water quality and has been training volunteers for more than 50 years. These volunteers monitor a wide range of indicators for water quality, watershed health and invasive plants and animals.
The LSM Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) completed surveys of Nickerson Lake, Pleasant Lake, Upper Mattawamkeag Lake, a portion of Lower Mattawamkeag Lake, Timony Lake, Spaulding Lake, and the boat launch area of Drews Lake from Aug. 18 to Aug. 24. Volunteers spent six hours a day in kayaks and canoes surveying these lakes sector by sector.
They traveled to Aroostook from all over Maine. Local support was provided in the form of refining logistics, pontoon boat support and knowledge of area lakes.
(Courtesy of Suzanne Burgos)
The Island Fall Lakes Association, which includes both Pleasant and Mattawamkeag lakes, hosted the team, arranged for lodging, and organized a barbecue that was free and open to the public.
Following the dinner, the Lake Stewards’ Aquatic Invasive Species Program Director Brett Willard did a presentation with a slide show. There was also a plant paddle on Pleasant Lake that was open to the public. During the plant paddle, which was preceded by a brief introduction, local residents paddled together with expert volunteers and collected plants for identification.
Volunteers play a critical role in this effort. The goal of the staff and volunteers was to train local residents in plant identification and to spark their interest in starting routine plant patrols in their own lakes. Each day the team went out and surveyed, there were several interested lake residents accompanying them and learning the basics of plant identification.
Fortunately there were no aquatic invasives found in the weeklong survey; however, once an invader is well established eradication is extremely difficult, costly, if not impossible. Prevention is the first step.
To help, people should obey state laws and clean, drain and dry: clean plant debris, mud and algae from boat and fishing gear; drain livewell, bilge water and engine water away from the water body; and dry any gear that comes in contact with water. Never dump water, plants or fish from a hobby aquarium into a body of water. Clean and dry decoys when moving them from one body of water to another.Anyone interested in more information or volunteering with Lake Stewards of Maine can find more information at stewards@lakestewardsme.org.
