For the third consecutive season, plant surveys by 30 Mile, volunteers, and Maine DEP have found no invasive swollen bladderwort in David Pond. Just a few hundred yards downstream of the heavily infested Tilton Pond, David Pond is at significant risk of having the aggressive aquatic invasive plant spread to it.
Our staff completed two pond-wide surveys in 2026, one during early June and the other in mid-August. Basin-David-Tilton Ponds Association volunteers surveyed areas of shoreline over the course of the summer. In September, Maine DEP completed a dive-tow SCUBA survey of deeper areas of the pond that cannot be seen from a kayak, but where plants can still grow.
This article was included in 30 Mile’s September 2026 newsletter. To view the full release, click here.