On September 7th, a team of 12 of us, including two of our staff, three DEP staff, and seven volunteers, conducted a second survey of Tilton Pond in Fayette to determine the scope of the invasive swollen bladderwort infestation. (Please see our post from 8/22 for more about this recent find).
Unfortunately, we discovered that the infestation is much worse than we initially thought. Although we observed very few plants flowering this time, we found dense underwater growth throughout the entire pond. With relatively few populations of swollen bladderwort in the state, we do not yet know what its ultimate impacts will be, or how best to manage it. Because Tilton Pond flows to David Pond, our next step will be to survey the inlet of David Pond to see if the bladderwort is present there.
Toni Pied (ME DEP) collects bladderwort from the bottom of the pond.
This article was included in 30 Mile’s September 2023 newsletter. To view the full newsletter, click here.