INVASIVE AQUATIC PLANT SPECIES IN YORK COUNTY

2013 Grant

YCSWCD has received funding from the John Sage Foundation for the 2013 season

with a special survey focus on section of the Salmon Falls River. We will also be checking sections of the Saco, Little Ossipee & Ossipee this summer.

Join us on July15th for a paddle with the folks at Acton Wakefield Watershed Alliance

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 and rapid response efforts in York County.

These three elements are important & effective strategies to minimize the monetary & ecological impacts of an invasive aquatic species introduction or infestation.

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 Maine has 23 water courses* infested with 6 invasive aquatic plant species.

(* 2011 these were described as 33 waterbodies that are now defined as water courses)

Of those 23 water courses 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 2012:

(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 2013 YCIASP:

Melissa Brandt, YCSWCD District 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