INVASIVE PLANTS BIG ISSUE

Maine has taken action to help keep its waters free of invasive plants. We’re speaking of the milfoils in particular…Variable and Eurasian… but it’s illegal to transport any aquatic plant on a boat, trailer or other equipment into our lakes and streams.

New legislation requires the purchase of a "Lake and River Protection" sticker in addition to regular boat registration. The stickers will cost $10 for residents and $20 for nonresidents. All motorized watercraft on inland waters must display one of the stickers.

Sixty percent of the funds will go to DEP’s Invasive Aquatic Plant and Nuisance Species fund: the remainder will go to IF&W for the Lake and River Protection fund. In addition, anyone who puts a craft holding invasive weeds in Maine waters will be charged with a civil violation, with fines ranging from $500 to $5000.

Last summer, IF&W personnel checked boats at ramps in many areas, at over fifty boat launches in central and southern Maine, concentrating on weekends. They have also included information about the plants in boating safety courses. Representatives from DEP and game wardens conducted roadside boat and trailer inspections along Interstate 95 (such as the York rest area) and other entry roads, such as Rt. 302 in Fryeburg. This program was conducted as part of the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program, whose coordinator is Scott Williams. Scott also hosts seminars on aquatic plant identification.(Four members of our organization attended last year and brought samples of Variable Milfoil from Lake Auburn to our Annual meeting.)

Turnpike staff are handing out brochures about the weeds and conducting traffic counts of boat trailers.

There is also a large sign on the Turnpike warning all of the dangers of invasive plants.

Volunteers are being widely used at boat ramps in Lovell (Kezar Lake) and in Belgrade (Messalonskee) to inspect boats and to educate boat owners. In March of this year, Lovell became the first town in Maine to take a bold stand against the spread of Eurasian milfoil when taxpayers agreed to raise $50,000 to combat the spread of this deadly weed.

Maine is the only state in the country where Eurasian milfoil has not yet taken hold. " It’s a big economic problem," according to Ship Bright, founder of the statewide Maine Lake Conservancy Institute and former deputy commissioner for the state’s Dept. of Conservation. Should a lake become infested, lakeside property owners would suffer because of decreased property values. Once in a lake, it is virtually impossible to rid the lake of them. The money raised will be used to hire a full-time director to oversee the milfoil monitoring program begun last year.

Variable mifoil, the less serious of the milfoils, has already invaded Cushman Pond, Lake Auburn, Sebago Lake, Thompson Lake, and the Range Ponds. Last Fall, divers scooped up plants between Upper and Middle Range Ponds. The Town of Poland has recently allotted us money to help prevent the spread of this plant.

We, on Tripp Lake, must be alert to the possibility that we may have it in our lake, but that it has not been detected. We must be vigilant, search it out and report any questionable plant to me or to Scott Williams directly. His number is (207) 225-2070. To find out how you can become involved as a citizen, contact your closest IF&W office.