Mascoma Lake’s own S.W.A.T. team has gotten more aggressive to yield better results.
Riding aboard the non-profit Mascoma Lake Association’s SS Milfoil — a 24-foot-long pontoon boat used to gather the invasive Eurasian water milfoil weed from the lake’s shores — the self-described Submerged Weed Attack Team harvested 5,454 plants in 2015 as state-certified weed control divers and other volunteers dedicated more than 160 hours for the cause.
That’s according to David Kelman, who co-chairs the MLA’s Invasive Species Committee with his wife, Martha Rich, and has helped spearhead efforts to incorporate GPS technology into the group’s data-recording and mapping. It’s helped the team identify milfoil hot spots and execute its own version of synchronized swimming, sending divers through targeted areas in parallel lines. They marked each plant before swimming back through to remove them all.
A tedious process, but worthwhile: Last year’s harvest figure was more than twice that of 2014. As of Thursday, the group had also rounded up 2,385 of the plants this summer, about 50 percent fewer than the same date last year. Kelman finds the reverse trend encouraging, hoping the reduced figure is largely thanks the recent innovative efforts.
“Last year, we were very proactive,” said Kelman, who’s lived on Mascoma Lake for eight years. “We identified all of the real weed gardens, where the stuff was growing most intensely, and went to all of those spots to harvest. The fact that we’ve found about half as many this year is encouraging. It’ll be even more encouraging if there is more of a drop next year.”
Water milfoil (myriophyllum spicatum) is native to parts of Europe, Asia and Africa and likely first appeared in the U.S. near the turn of the 20th century, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Left unchecked, the fragile but pervasive weed can quickly spread and form dense stands of vegetation, crowding out native plants and impeding recreational activities.
“We’re talking about the entire shoreline of the lake that’s threatened,” said Kelman, who noted milfoil is most prevalent in shallower waters. “It spreads so quickly, and at some point it becomes impossible for a boat or a swimmer to get through because they get tangled up. Land values can plummet, so it can get to be a huge issue.”
Founded in 1997 by Bill and Nancy Martin, the SS Milfoil relies on citizen weed-watchers to report spottings. The boat has a series of captains insured by the MLA as well as tenders who assist divers with safety measures and data recordings.
While most of the crew’s volunteers own property on the lake, anyone who enjoys recreation there is welcome to help. To do so or learn more, visit http://mascomalakeassociation.mylaketown.com/SSMilfoil or contact Kelman at david.kelman@comcast.net or 802-233-9964.
Grant to Assist Dam Removals: A $199,000 grant from the National Wildlife Foundation to the Connecticut River Watershed Council will help the regional nonprofit remove seven unused and unwanted hydro dams in Vermont and New Hampshire, four of them in the Upper Valley.
Two such dams on Clark Brook in Haverhill and others on the Ompompanoosuc River in West Fairlee and Charles Brown Brook in Norwich will be removed as part of the three-year project, CRWC North Country steward Ron Rhodes said.
“They’re all in different stages, mostly where engineers are planning designs so we can get removal permits from the states,” Rhodes said. “These are all small, privately owned dams that are no longer active… Nine times out of 10, it’s cheaper to remove them than to repair them.”
A CRWC news release noted the projects are focused on restoring river habitats for Eastern brook trout, the state fish in both Vermont and New Hampshire.
It’s also good news for fishermen and paddlers: more fish for the former and fewer portages for the latter.
“Dams are a passage issue for spawning fish. When there’s a hot, dry summer like this, they need to get upstream into colder waters to survive,” Rhodes noted. “When the dams are out, that means more fish. As for paddling, you look at something like (Vermont’s) White River and it’s ideal for paddling, because you’ve got 40 miles with no dam. Hopefully, when people know some of these other areas will be without dams, they might explore them.”
The project’s other three dams to be removed are located in the southern Vermont towns of Wilmington and Dummerston and in East Burke in the Northeast Kingdom.
Kontray Bags a Big One: Corinth resident John Kontray has applied for state-record recognition after landing a 1-pound, 9.8-ounce bluegill last Monday in Strafford.
Kontray was fishing at Miller Pond with friend Frank Rivet, also of Corinth, both primarily angling for trout but inadvertently reeling in plenty of bluegills. A member of the sunfish family, bluegills are nicknamed pumpkin seeds because of their green shade and orange-tinted underbellies.
This one was a lot bigger than a pumpkin seed.
“I’d probably caught about 10 bluegills beforehand, some of them about 8 inches long,” said Kontray, whose big catch came around 6 p.m. “All of a sudden, I got a nice tug and thought it must be a nice, big trout, but it was a bluegill. I said, ‘I’ve never seen one that big. That might be a state record.’ ”
The fish was 12¼ inches long and 2½ inches wide, Kontray said. If confirmed, the catch would surpass the 1-pound, 9.3-ounce bluegill caught by Todd Peacock in 2008.
Kontray submitted a photograph, witness accounts and other information to Vermont Fish & Wildlife for confirmation.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.