Monday, September 28, 2009

Aggressive Invasive Aquatic Plant Found in Local Lake



Would anyone in Bremen be able to identify this invasive plant species if it were in McCurdy, Webber or Pemaquid Pond??

Bookmark and Share Dick Butterfield, a Jefferson volunteer for the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association (DLWA) took a workshop to identify invasive aquatic plants.

This week that course and Butterfield's keen eyes may save Damariscotta Lake from the most aggressive invasive aquatic plant in North America - hydrilla (hydrilla verticillata).

Maine Dept. Environmental Protection biologists and the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program confirmed Butterfield's Sept. 21 discovery in the lake's west 0.3-acre cove.

Able to grow an inch a day and without predators, hydrilla overtakes native lake habitats, shading and out competing ecologically valuable plants. Dense infestations can alter water chemistry and oxygen levels.

A preliminary survey on Sept. 23 suggests the infestation is limited to within and just outside the mouth of the small cove.

Biologists from the DEP are screening off the cove's mouth to prevent hydrilla fragments and thereby potential new infestations, from migrating into greater Damariscotta Lake. Butterfield and other DLWA volunteers, 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 Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program'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 5700 ponds and lakes contain an invasive aquatic plant species.

Article from the Lincoln County News

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Artwork Raffle Success


Congratulations to Bob Wheeler who won the artwork raffle from the Muscongus Bay Atlas Exhibit held in Bremen on August 18th. Dennis Prior and 717 Studio donated a photographic canvas art piece to raise funds to benefit the Town of Bremen's Land Conservation Reserve Fund.

Anyone interested in taking part in future art exhibits sponsored by the Bremen Conservation Commission to benefit this account is encouraged to contact Dennis Prior. Look for more information in the coming months here and in the Lincoln County News.