Tad Nunez, director of Hartford, Vt. Parks and Recreation, and a volunteer, left, remove milfoil in 2016 from Dewey's Mill Pond in Quechee, Vt. (Gary Pelton photograph)
Tad Nunez, director of Hartford, Vt. Parks and Recreation, and a volunteer, left, remove milfoil in 2016 from Dewey's Mill Pond in Quechee, Vt. (Gary Pelton photograph) Credit: Gary Pelton photograph

Hartland — A wildlife biologist struggling to control an invasive plant in North Hartland Lake reservoir and Dewey’s Mill Pond in Quechee could use some help.

Gary Pelton, a Hartland resident who’s been chipping away at Eurasian watermilfoil for more than a decade, says it spread even faster after Tropical Storm Irene. “It will take a lot more than what I’m doing now to get it under control because it’s really taken off.”

Pelton will offer training for prospective volunteers between June 29 and July 2 at Dewey’s Mill Pond. Those interested in volunteering can email him in advance at garpelt@gmail.com, or simply show up onsite.

“I might be in the pond, so they can holler to me from the shore,” said Pelton, who plans to work in the water from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

It takes about an hour to teach people strategies for removing the plant. After they’re trained, volunteers can work in the pond or reservoir at their convenience. “It’s the type of thing you could do throughout the summer,” he said. “A couple days a month would be helpful.”

Last summer, volunteers pulled 970 gallons of the invasive plant from the pond. But not all of the work is done by hand. As funding allows, divers use a machine called a suction harvester to remove milfoil from water depths of 3 feet or more.

A veteran in the battle against the plant’s spread, Pelton stresses the importance of staying positive in the face of what appears to be an impossible task.

“It’s important not to get discouraged,” he said. “We’ll never get that last piece of milfoil. It’s a matter of managing it and getting it under control.”