milfoil

July, 2006

GELIA would like to congratulate expert Weed Watcher Carol Lafond on her discovery of what appears to be variable milfoil. Carol routinely snorkels the cove at the Maine boat launch and spotted the single plant which was then pulled. Amy Smagula, NH DES Exotic Species Program Director, examined the specimen and is fairly certain that it is the dreaded variable milfoil but has sent it out for conclusive DNA testing.

According to Amy, this early detection and routine subsequent inspections can prevent the plant from ever spreading further so we may have dodged a bullet. This is a RED ALERT for all Weed Watchers to be extra vigilant in your inspections and please report any questionable plants directly to Amy Smagula, 271-2248 or GELIA Weed Watcher Coordinator, Bess Smith at 522-0074. We can beat this threat if we all work together.

- Linda Schier

Click here for excellent pictures of variable milfoil on the Maine Volunteer Lakes Monitoring Program website. If you click on the pictures you can see an enlarged version. Note the redish brown color of the stem. This is one of the ways to distinguish this plant from some of the similar looking plants native to our lakes. The plant found in Great East was in about 4 feet of water and had not reached the surface, so there was no flower on the plant.

Variable watermilfoil is a submerged aquatic plant that has densely packed whorled leaves. It is usually found along the shorelines of lakes and ponds. Watermilfoil can grow in depths of up to 10-12 feet, forming dense mats near the surface of the water. The plant produces a spike-like flower that grows above the water's surface from mid to late summer. It reproduces primarily by fragmentation. The plant can break apart very easily, and the fragments float to new locations and take root. When the plant was pulled from Great East a fine net was used to scoop it up to prevent fragment from escaping.

JULY 21, 2006

GELIA Lake Host Tessa Venell found a piece of Eurasion water-milfoil on a jetski and removed it before it could get into the lake. The jetski came from Lake Bomoseen, a lake with an Eurasian water-milfoil infestation in Vermont. Congratulations Tessa and thanks for your watchfulness.
To learn more about Eurasian water-milfoil click here.

September 2006

Amy Smagula, the Exotic Species Program Coordinator at the NH Department of Environmental Services, has confirmed through DNA that the plant removed from Great East Lake this summer was variable-leaf milfoil. She has told us that other lakes that have found only one plant and removed it have remained free of milfoil years later, so we are hopeful that the vigilance of our weed watchers will keep our lake free of invasive species in the future.