Great Boating Weekend? Check for Weeds Washed up on the Beach!

On Monday morning around the lake one just needs to take a look at their beach to know whether or not it was a big boating weekend on Manchaug Pond!

With the weeds growing up and the waterlevel going down - the plants are easily severed by motor boats.  The plant fragments wash in and pile up on the shore with waves bringing in more and more.  As the waterlevel inches down, ribbons of dried plants form on the sand. 



Two invasive aquatic weed species are dominant:  variable milfoil and tape-grass.

Variable milfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum)

Tape-grass or wild celery (Vallisneria americana)

 Variable milfoil grows in dense beds reaching up to the water's surface. Milfoil spreads rapidly, crowding out our native species, and blocking sunlight and oxygen.












Tape-grass is now flowering, sending up long spiraling stems we see at the surface.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/Bay/sav/key/wild_celery.asp







What do you do with the wheelbarrows full of weeds that wash ashore?  Options include composting, bagging and bringing to a composting area at the town transfer station, or drying for incineration.

CONTROL: Since weeds have seeds and the plant fragments of some species can grow roots starting new plants, it is best to remove from the lake and dispose of.  A rocky beach and shore is best - it is also illegal to bring sand into the lake - need permission from Conservation Commission and DEP.

Lake-level drawdown  has been employed since 1991 to control the weeds around the shoreline.

Clean boat motors of any plant fragments when coming from a different lake or going to a new lake to prevent introducing a new species.