September 24, 2009
Environmental Protection
Paul Gregory 287-6961
(AUGUSTA) State biologists with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection confirmed Wednesday that Hydrilla is present in Damariscotta Lake. Hydrilla (hydrilla verticilatta) is considered the most aggressive invasive aquatic plant in North America. The plant was first spotted in a 0.3-acre cove on the lake’s west shore by Dick Butterfield of Jefferson on September 21st. Butterfield is a volunteer for the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association (DLWA), who participated in a day-long workshop last spring on how to identify invasive aquatic plants. This week that course and Butterfield’s keen eyes may have given the DEP a head start on stopping the plants spread in Damariscotta Lake. Able to grow an inch a day and without predators, hydrilla overtakes native lake habitats, shading and outcompeting ecologically valuable plants. Dense infestations can alter water chemistry and oxygen levels.
A preliminary survey on September 23rd suggests the infestation is limited to within and just outside the mouth of the small cove. “Every invasive species infestation, no matter how aggressive, starts small,” says Paul Gregory, an environmental Specialist for the DEP. “Early detection by Mr. Butterfield gives us the upper hand, enabling rapid deployment of trained personnel, equipment and other resources to contain this hydrilla population. That’s our immediate objective.”
DEP biologists are screening off the cove’s mouth to prevent hydrilla fragments from migrating into greater Damariscotta Lake. DLWA volunteers like Butterfield who are trained in plant identification and lake survey methods will begin monitoring nearby coves to determine the scope of Hydrilla in the Lake.
Plant identifications training is provided by VLMP’s Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants under contract with the DEP.
Only one other water body in the state, Pickerel Pond in Limerick, is infested with hydrilla. In total, 31 out of Maine’s 5,700 ponds and lakes contain an invasive aquatic plant species.
Efforts to prevent, detect and manage aquatic invasive plants are made possible by boater participation in the Maine Lake and River Protection Sticker program.
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