Throughout June, our staff continued surveying the north end of the Inner Cove, carefully and methodically searching for variable water-milfoil and marking those plants with buoys until they could be removed. They found milfoil scattered throughout an area roughly 200 yards by 50 yards, larger than we had initially thought. On June 29th, DEP staff returned for the second round of plant removal that month. Two weeks later, the milfoil had not yet regrown, which was encouraging.
Meanwhile, the volunteer force on the lake is growing. In late June, 30 Mile staff teamed up with Androscoggin’s lake association (ALIC) to train new invasive plant patrol volunteers.. Added to the previously trained volunteers, this “Eyes on the Water” team is now 40+ strong. These volunteers are assigned separate sectors of the lake to survey. 30 Mile staff and volunteers are also working together to survey several larger areas of the lake not previously surveyed. Our goal is to have most of the lake surveyed by mid-August to verify that the infestation is isolated to the Inner Cove. Photo: Volunteers attending plant patrol training co-hosted by Androscoggin’s lake association (ALIC) and 30 Mile.
What else can you do to help? Stay out of the infested area and tell your friends and neighbors to do the same. We must keep this infestation from spreading to other parts of the lake.
