Mute Swan Nesting at Stevens Pond

This spring, while we were all looking to the Beaton Farm in the northwest, working to make this conservation dream a reality for Manchaug Pond...  a new lake neighbor flew in to our southeast, making Stevens Pond their home: a pair of Mute Swans.

In the cattails on the end of Stevens Pond by the shoreline bordering Parker Road, Sutton, they built their nest some time ago. Would anyone from Stevens Pond give us a report as to the status of the nest with the rise in waterlevel?

You should know that mute swans are not native to North America and considered an invasive species.   MassWildlife reports they were: "Originally brought in from Europe and Asia as ornamental waterfowl to grace the ponds of Long Island estates, some escaped to the wild where they became established, spread up and down the coast and are found in many inland waters. Highly aggressive and territorial, there is evidence that they are displacing native waterfowl and can be destructive to some aquatic habitats, destroying more vegetation than they actually eat."

"Mute swans are protected under state regulations and may not be hunted. They are not protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty as they were placed on a long list of exotic bird species that removed protection under this treaty.  MassWildlife can issue permits in certain situations to addle eggs and destroy mute swans."

White Water at the Dam!

Thank you! 

This morning the town opened the low level gate even further to bring the water level down at a faster rate.

With rain in December we saw the water level continuing to come up even with the gate kept open.  Today's measures should get us back down to a level that gets docks out of the ice and gives a deeper level of control of invasive aquatic species - namely fanwort and asian clam.

Did you hear the fishing augers on the lake yesterday!

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.

Last week a busy week! Thanks for the ideas...

It has been a few days since we've had a post on the blog - pictures were taken last week but our work for Manchaug Pond and life on the lake has kept us busy.

So let's just recap a bit of last week's happenings:

First, let's thanks those readers who submitted suggestions to our FUNdrai$ing Committee.  All your ideas were brought to last week's meeting and let me tell you new events and activities are in the works!  Three are being planned for later this year... a followup meeting is scheduled for next week and then a Board meeting the week after for final approval. The goal is to have registration forms available for members at the MPA's 43rd Annual Meeting later next month. Also in 2011, you'll see once again the great RAFFLE event, Spring Social, and the Boat Decorating Contest.  So stay tuned!

Tuesday we found the Town of Sutton doing some maintenance on the drainage sites on Manchaug Road and having a telephone pole moved out of a drainage pipe/ditch.  Important work necessary to improving our water quality - minimizing run off of sediments and nutrients into the lake.





Also on Tuesday,  our invasive aquatic weed survey was being conducted by Lycott Environmental.

I didn't get a photo of the boat, but I can tell you the weather was perfect - blue skies and not much wind.  Hired by the MPA,  Lycott's boat was seen methodically working not too far off shore, raking up plants growing under water, identifying them,  and mapping by GPS the location.  You may have heard a shout out or two of "MILFOIL!" or "FANWORT!"  We look forward to the results of that survey so that we can compare it with past surveys/reports.

Last year's milfoil

And speaking of weeds... we are seeing PURPLE along the roadsides of the watershed once again!  ugh! PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE.  If you see it, pull it, bag it and take it out of the area.  Do not compost!  Put it in a plastic bag, and send with the trash or incinerate.  We do not want this highly invasive weed on the shore of Manchaug Pond!





How did your week go?

Smooth sailing?













See you on Manchaug Pond tomorrow!

This Saturday - MACOLAP Lake & Pond Management Workshop

Join us! At least 4 representatives from Manchaug Pond will be at the Mass Congress of Lake and Pond Association Conference this Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm at Worcester State College.

10 different workshops to choose from ranging in topics from Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting to Lake Law to Community Preservation Act Funds to Eurasian Watermilfoil... not to mention some old favorites - 319 grants, rain gardens, lake-level drawdown and tree removal on dams.

$25 pre-registration with lunch included. Check the website to do so. http://www.macolap.org/

Temps in the Single Digits This Morning

The skim of ice that was forming on the lake was broken up by the three days of wind we have had. The following photos taken yesterday at the north end show the lake is clear.

At the dam, the men from R. H. White continued the annual maintenance work - in the cold and wind.

Today the wind has died down but morning temperatures have dropped from yesterday's teens to the single digits. Was that 9 degrees F this morning? The ice is back today!








This cove will benefit from the drawdown as it fills with an invasive weed called fanwort. http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/fanwort.htm

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/lakepond/publications.htm#factsheets

This Morning's Heavy Rains Filtered by 319 Grant Work

Heavy rains hit the area this morning bringing rivers of water down the roads and from the watershed hillsides into Manchaug Pond. Let's take a look at the completed site work made possible by the s.319 NonPoint Pollution Grant to filter all this stormwater:

On Manchaug Road in Sutton, the first site - a GABION WEIR.


Site 2 - LEACHING CATCH BASIN- complete with small boulders to keep people from parking in the area.


Site 3 built in the existing ditch - CHECK DAM WITH FILTRATION POOL.


Site 4 - CHECK DAM - breaking the flow in that same roadside ditch.


State Public Access Ramp: Site 5-1 - Grass Paver Infiltration System


Site 5-2 - Nutrient Filtration System


5-3 - Rain Garden Area before planting


5-4 - Catch Basin Upgrade


In Douglas on Oak Street, Site 6 & 7 - Gabion Dam with Filtration Purge Pool





This site work has been done to filter the stormwater of nutrients to improve your Manchaug Pond resource!

The project is funded by the EPA and MassDEP, spearheaded and administered by the Manchaug Pond Association, written with the help of engineers and environmental scientist at CEI, Inc, and matched with work performed cooperatively by MPA, and the Towns of Sutton and Douglas Highway Departments and Conservation Commissions.

Data was based on a watershed survey and water quality testing paid for by the Manchaug Pond Association and performed by CEI, Inc and Lycott Environmental Inc. for the MPA.

One more task to complete! We remain On Target, Below Budget and On Schedule!

Saturday's Cleanup Event a Success!

While Weed Cleanup volunteers shed a bit of mud, sweat, and laughter on the shoreline of Manchaug Pond Saturday, the day provided beautiful weather for those enjoying the water!



Our first WEED Cleanup Event brought together 18 MPA volunteers from 9 households (waterfront/waterrights property owners) to "hand harvest" emergent invasive weed species from the north and east shorelines of the lake. With pitch forks and shovels in hand, the group worked from before 9 to 1:30 removing two dump trucks loads of harmful weeds.



Right off, the MPA extends a huge thanks to the Town of Sutton Highway Department and Transfer Station staff and Conservation Commission for their unending support and work on our 319 Non-Point Pollution Grant Project and another huge thank you to Tom Berkowitz for the use of his dump truck during this event.



Our coordinator educated participants in identifying problem plants to be removed from the native sedges and rushes which were to remain. He explained how in his home town in upstate NY, the invasives took over acres and acres of his 5 mile long pond. The weeds crowded out the native plants which are more desirable as a food source for wildlife, and replaced the water with huge bog-like areas thick with vegetation.









We thank all those who worked the event. We were able to clear 3 long stretches of shoreline. We'll save the smaller areas for another day.... Job WELL DONE!



A pleasure to work with all of you!

Weed Cleanup Today! 9 to 11

Blue skies, golden sunrise, no wind, low 40's = great day for this first WEED Cleanup!

So get your MPA hooded sweatshirt or MPA fleece vest, a pair of work gloves and boots and a sharp shovel or pitch fork and meet Jim, Ted, Ray, Linda, David and the rest of the crew down at the boat ramp! Come by boat or vehicle. If you don't know what to do, don't worry - come anyway. If you don't think we need you, you're wrong we want YOU there!

Target: new infestations of common reeds, cattails, canary reed grass, and purple loosestrife growing along the shoreline... and if we think the floating waterlillies and watershield are getting to thick we can do some thinning there too! Jim has a truck lined up to haul it all away.

See you there!

In the news: Invasives a Problem for Lakes and Users

Invasive aquatic species have been the big topic this week, in news papers, mailings and MPAction!

~ The Central Mass chapter of the Congress of Lake and Pond Association (MaCOLAP), in this week's mailing for membership renewal gave a News Alert!! of the Laurel Lake zebra mussel discovery and noted the MaCOLAP directors are supporting the proposed Senate Bill 2113.

Bill 2113 looks to protect our lakes and ponds but realistically I question whether it could ever be successful. In essence, the bill makes it a criminal offense to put a contaminated boat in a lake or river in the Commonweath. That means if your boat or trailer has any weeds -invasive species -not only zebra mussels but a piece of milfoil or fanwort or Asian Clam, you could be fined or imprisoned.



Take a look at the bill for yourself:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02/st02113.htm

An Act protecting lakes and ponds.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 90B of the 2008 official edition of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following section:-

Section 5D. No one shall place a vessel that is contaminated with an invasive species or that has been exposed to contaminated waters in the last thirty days and has not been properly decontaminated upon the inland waters of the commonwealth. For the purposes of this section, invasive species is defined as an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

Section 2. Notwithstanding section 14 of chapter 90B of the Massachusetts General Laws, whoever violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than three hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than sixty days or both.


How would this be monitored and enforced. Most of the time our public access ramps are open and unattended. Environmental police, desperately needed for boating safety, are already in short supply. A criminal offense... imprisonment for 60 days!

I would rather see the bill focus on expanding the current DCR Lakes and Ponds Program Boat Ramp Monitoring Program - train boat ramp monitors and gatekeepers, work with towns and lake associations to expand current outreach and successes to educate boaters. Set up boat wash stations making it easy and obvious what boaters need to do to prevent the spread. Educate!

~ This week's Telegram article talks about the burden of lake associations and lakeshore property owners who bear the brunt of taking care of our lakes and ponds: monitor weeds and funding studies, spending man-hours mapping and harvesting, paying and raising the funds to keep invasives at a minimuim.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20090923/NEWS/909230394/1003/SUBURBS

Thankfully, for years the MPA had the dam caretaker's cooperation in addressing our weed issue with a successful lake level drawdown program. With that being lost the past few years we are seeing a huge surge in weeds on Manchaug.

This summer the MPA hired professionals to do another weed study of Manchaug Pond ($800 I believe was the price tag.) Conservation Commission had asked for updated information last fall when the waterlevel and drawdown was an issue. MPA had to present documentation from a previous study that fanwort is present as it is an invasive successfully controlled by lakelevel drawdown. In our study this summer, the "subsequent vegetation management options" calls for yearly monitoring, hand harvesting of some and if drawdown isn't an option recommends chemical management at a price tag of $95,000 every other year for the fanwort and $10,000 to $15,000 every year for the Variable Milfoil. Manchaug has never been chemically treated, and MPA continues to work to minimize the causes and promote other effective tools such as hand harvesting of new infestations and proper lake-level drawdown.



~ Further, the study states "due to the apparent favorable conditions for invasive species, and traffic from non-resident boaters, the lake has the potential to contract other even more aggressive species." Hydrilla to be specific. Swell! Asian Clam was brought in last fall at the boat ramp.

Try this article in section B, page 5 of today's Blackstone Valley News Tribune.
http://www.blackstonevalleytribune.com/118975.113119body.lasso?publication=BLA
Section B, Page 5

~And THEN, with all that... I'll see you all at the Boat Ramp as we hand pull those emergent aquatic invasives - common reed, loosestrife, canary reed grass, etc.

See you there!

MPA Annual Meeting 2009: You! Volunteer Opportunities.

One of our readers wrote:

Anonymous said...

Well said!!!

I would like to hear about upcoming opportunities to volunteer, opportunities where people can join in and help make a difference!
September 02, 2009 6:29 AM

All right Manchaug Pond fans! The lake needs YOU! Here are two opportunities where you can join with other lake lovers to make a difference, a big difference!

The first is new to the MPA but recommended this year by environmental scientist at Lycott Environmental in their 2009 survey of Manchaug Pond. So here we go!

Sept. 26th ~ INVASIVE WEED CLEANUP! 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meet at the State Boat Ramp and spread out from there! This time we are after a new villian in our cleanup- not trash but INVASIVE PLANTS!



A weed, by definition, is a plant out-of-place, unwanted! Invasive tells us it will take over - pushing out the native plants and with our shallow lake, replace acres of water with thick and high reeds, cattails and loosestrife. These plants came in this spring - "hand harvesting... is best used for pioneer infestations. Pulling and cutting is labor intensive and must be done at a time when plants are not producing seeds," the report states. So we will hit the shoreline and start digging and pulling!



Bring your gloves, boots, pitch forks, ice picks and shovels or whatever you like. Jim, our event Coordinator knows first hand what these plants can do to a lake! He is calling for your help..."We need as many able bodied men and women as we can get!" Don't disappoint! See you there!

Second opportunity is our Annual Fall Cleanup scheduled for Saturday morning, October 17th. The MPA organizes this effort, hitting the roadside and shoreline in and around Manchaug Pond to remove trash and debris left from the summer season. Meet at the State Boat Ramp with your gloves. MPA provides the trash bags. See you again!

Purple Loosestrife In Manchaug Pond Watershed and Shoreline

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE (Lythrum salicaria)
For two years now I have pulled a single plant from the Manchaug Road roadside only to find this year loosestrife is scattered throughout the watershed!

This month 2 plants have been spotted in bloom on the Manchaug Pond shoreline in Area 2 - one by the big rock on Manchaug Road and the other at the Camp Blanchard shore.



It is also growing along roadsides of the watershed: Lackey Road, Douglas Road, Central Turnpike.



Purple Loosestrife, is one of the state's "MOST UN-WANTED AQUATIC EXOTIC SPECIES" as it can totally take over a lake - going from a sea of blue water to a field of purple and green plants. Ugh!

Up close it is an attractive, purple, herbaceous perennial introduced from Asia and Europe. In the US, it is aggressive and fast growing with no native "predator" species to control it. If left alone, it will spread rapidly filling our coves, wetlands and moist roadside areas taking over habitat and out competing native plants - "causing significant impairments, including reduced native plant coverage, lower plant diversity, and degraded wildlife habitat."



CONTROL: for the MPA of this new infestation - HAND HARVEST. This recommendation comes as part of our 2009 Aquatic Vegetation & Management Survey performed July 15th by Lycott Environmental, Inc.

Here's the plan:

See purple?

1. Stop the car, boat or feet.
2. Pull the plant out of the ground.
3. Burn it in the campfire - if no campfire, put it in a black trash bag, place in the sun until you can send it to the transfer station for incineration.
4. Do NOT compost.

I personally ask each of you, every property owner, to remove this plant from your property and help the MPA eradicate it from the watershed roadsides.

To read more about the Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project try this link:
http://www.mass.gov/czm/wrp/projects_pages/loosestrife.htm


A date is being scheduled and a group organizing to target another set of invasives. We will be sure to invite you! Stay tuned...

Seeing Purple!

Sorry I've missed a couple days of posting... busy caring for little ones as a new life entered our world... another child who will learn to swim and sail and ski on Manchaug Pond!



And with a visit to the hospital .... what should we find adorning the hospital room wall? Blown up, framed, and put in the center for all to enjoy as a thing of beauty!?! A photo of one of Massachusetts Most Un-Wanted Aquatic Exotic Species as named in the Massachusetts Lake and Pond Guide put out by the Mass Dept. of Conservation and Recreation Lakes and Ponds Program... Purple Loosestrife!




Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, will be the topic of tomorrow's blog entry as it relates to Manchaug Pond and our recent weed survey.

Stay tuned! The MPA has a new task force that needs you!

Lake Singletary Gets the Treatment

The August 13th issue of the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and the Lake Singletary Watershed Association website report Lake Singletary was closed yesterday, Tuesday August 18th, in order to receive two chemical treatments. One an algaecide for the control of nuisance algae blooms,



and the other an aquatic herbicide for the control of the invasive aquatic weed - milfoil.

The entire lake was closed after 2 p.m. to all activities from swimming, to waterskiing - anything involving contact with the water.

According to the article, the entire lake was to be treated with the algaecide and small coves and shoreline areas of Singletary treated with an aquatic herbicide.



Water use will be restricted for five days, until August 24th, with no drinking, irrigation and watering of pets and livestock allowed. Lake Singletary will re-open to boating and fishing today, August 19th. Warning posters around the shoreline alert users to the temporary water use restrictions.

Invasive Zebra Mussel Found in Western Massachusetts Lake

Let's look at a definition first...invasive: (esp. plants and disease) tending to spread prolifically and undesirably or harmfully.

Three MPA members have recently been trained on invasive species with more workshops ahead - in their identification, mapping, and management or eradication. The MPA has been on the alert for zebra mussels for many years providing literature at the Annual Meeting to aid members in their identification.



We have invasive species here on Manchaug Pond, BUT NOT ZEBRA MUSSELS! Here's the latest response to the first sighting in Massachusetts the Executive Office of Energy and Environmenal Affairs throught the collaboration of such agencies as DCR Lakes and Ponds Program and Office of Fishing and Boating Access:


Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Ian A. Bowles
SECRETARY
Tel: (617) 626-1000
Fax: (617) 626-1181
http://www.mass.gov/envir

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: July 13, 2009

Department of Fish and Game Takes Action to Prevent Possible Spread of Invasive Zebra Mussels
Responding to local concerns, agency authorizes municipalities to restrict use of public boat ramps on water bodies susceptible to infestation; temporary, emergency measures to remain in place no longer than 45 days

BOSTON – In the wake of last week’s discovery of zebra mussels in Laurel Lake in Lee and Lenox – the first confirmed presence of the invasive species in Massachusetts - and in response to concerns from local officials in nearby communities, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) today authorized municipalities to enforce limited restrictions on the use of boat ramps at other Berkshire County water bodies deemed at-risk to infestation by the highly destructive species.

The purpose of Friday’s action by DFG’s Office of Fishing and Boating Access (OFBA) is to reduce the risk that boats that have recently been on Laurel Lake will transport zebra mussels to other Berkshire County lakes, ponds and rivers. Coming on the heels of OFBA’s emergency closure of the state boat ramp at Laurel Lake on July 8, it authorizes local boat ramp managers to bar the use of boat ramps at susceptible water bodies by vessels ramp managers determine have been on Laurel Lake within the last 30 days unless boats in question have undergone specific cleaning and disinfection. These measures include thoroughly draining, flushing, cleaning and drying the boat – including the engine, bilge, ballast water, recreational equipment and anything else that has come in contact with lake water; using a bleach solution and high pressure hot water; and allowing the boat to dry for at least one week in dry weather and up to 30 days in cool, wet weather.

Under Massachusetts regulations, both today’s OFBA action and the July 8 Laurel Lake boat ramp closure cannot remain in effect longer than 45 days without public notice and opportunity for public comment.

The OFBA has authority to close state boat ramps, or authorize municipal officials to restrict access, for not more than 45 days if it finds that the immediate establishment of management measures is necessary for the public health, safety or general welfare. Zebra mussels, which significantly alter lake ecology and can harm native animals, humans, and boats, can be unknowingly transported from one lake to another by boaters.

In addition today’s emergency action, DFG and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) announced that they will host a public meeting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 15, at Pittsfield City Hall to present information on the status of zebra mussel infestation at Laurel Lake and boat ramp issues, provide background on zebra mussels and DCR’s ongoing public awareness program in western Massachusetts, and discuss future actions such as what citizens can do to prevent the species from spreading.

The Commonwealth is committed to maintaining public access to these bodies of water as required under existing law, and its long-term zebra mussel management plan is focused on containment through public education and enforcement of rigorous boat cleaning rules. But restricting boat access on a temporary basis provides additional safeguards while state invasive species experts determine the scope and severity of the zebra mussel infestation in Laurel Lake, the possible infestation of neighboring water bodies, the level of risk that exists regarding transport of the mussels by boats from one water body to another, and appropriate management measures going forward. Temporary boat access restrictions will reduce the chance of accidentally spreading the species while state officials make the boating public aware of preventive measures.

As part of this effort, the DCR, which confirmed the presence of zebra mussels in Laurel Lake last week, has provided guidance to officials of the Laurel Lake Association, urging them to contact lakefront property owners and request that they not remove their boats from the lake. The association was also asked to distribute zebra mussel educational materials and post additional signs alerting boaters and others that Laurel Lake contains zebra mussels. Volunteer boat ramp monitors trained by area lake associations in cooperation with the DCR will help to enforce the boat ramp restrictions, along with DCR ramp monitors trained by agency biologists. The DCR plans to hire two additional ramp monitors within the next two weeks to assist with this effort.

In addition, to determine the extent of the infestation, DCR will conduct surveys of Laurel Lake and downstream areas next week. Surrounding lakes in Berkshire County are being surveyed by DCR-trained volunteers and the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The DCR’s survey will target lakes with calcium concentrations and other water quality characteristics necessary to support breeding populations of zebra mussels. In addition, the OFBA’s authorization for municipalities to restrict use of other Berkshire County boat ramps is limited to water bodies determined by DCR to have the water chemistry necessary to support zebra mussel colonies.
Ramps that could have limited restrictions under this emergency measure include:

· Laurel Lake, Lee
· Goose Pond, Tyringham
· Shaw Pond, Otis
· Big Pond, Otis
· Lake Buel, Monterey
· Thousand Acre Pond, New Marlborough
· Windsor Pond, Windsor
· Stockbridge Bowl, Stockbridge
· Richmond Pond, Richmond
· Onota Lake, Pittsfield
· Pontoosuc Lake, Pittsfield

A freshwater bivalve mollusk that looks like a small clam with a yellowish or brownish shell shaped like the letter “D,” zebra mussels have been found in numerous lakes, ponds and rivers in the United States, including the entire Great Lakes region and Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. Nationally, taxpayers spend billions of dollars a year to control zebra mussel infestations, which, once established, are usually impossible to eradicate. Considered among the country’s most significant invasive species, the mussels out-compete juvenile fish for food and cling by the thousands to virtually everything in a water body - including docks, boats, other aquatic organisms, and various water intake pipes and instruments. Microscopic juvenile zebra mussels can get into boat cooling systems and other water intakes and grow, completely clogging these systems. Found in numbers as high as 750,000 individuals per square meter, their razor-sharp shells wash up on shore, creating a safety hazard for beachgoers.

In 2005, DCR developed a Rapid Response Plan for The Zebra Mussel, which focused on public education, and preventing and/or slowing the spread of the mussels from one body of water to another. The plan directs the state to take steps to minimize the transport of the mussels when infestation is extensive. Steps may include “screening of outlets, curtaining of interbasin channels and preventing human use of the body of water.”

To view DCR’s Rapid Response Plan go to http://www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/lakepond/downloads/rrp/zebra%20mussel.pdf.

DCR’s Lakes and Ponds Program conducts ongoing zebra mussel education, outreach and monitoring, and has trained volunteers to collect samples to monitor the species. It was a DCR-trained volunteer who first detected zebra mussels in Laurel Lake. The DCR program includes informative boat ramp signage and an educational brochure on zebra mussels.

DCR and DFG recommend that boaters who have boated in an infested lake thoroughly drain, flush, clean and dry their boat and all recreational equipment before launching it in any other lake. This includes the boat engine, bilge, ballast water, or anything else that has come into contact with the water. Boaters should use a bleach solution along with high-pressure hot water, and dry the boat for at least one week in dry weather and up to 30 days in cool, wet environments.

For more information on zebra mussels, http://www.mass.gov/dcr/waterSupply/lakepond/factsheet/Zebra%20Mussel.pdf

http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers/mollusks_zebra_mussel.php

Ugh! Did I See PURPLE Near Manchaug Pond?!

Last weekend, driving on Manchaug Road at the edge of Areas 1 and 2, I thought I saw PURPLE on the side of the road farthest from the lake. See it in this photo - look close as it is tiny and almost finished flowering!


My fear was/is Purple loosestrife! A perennial which is flowering now and common along moist roadsides, and small ponds and lake edges. Within a few years an entire pond can become a sea of PURPLE! No exaggeration on my part either! Just think of the fish hatchery ponds on West Sutton Road in Sutton. Clearly smaller than Manchaug, but we don't need our coves loaded with this!

Anyway, I pulled both plants and figured better to be safe and properly identify it later!

Here's the official word on the HIGHLY INVASIVE weed Loosestrife (and there are a number of different species some showy, some not):

"Purple loosestrife is a wetland plant from Europe and Asia. It was introduced into the east coast of North America in the 1880s. First spreading along roads, canals, and drainage ditches, then later distributed as an ornamental, this exotic plant is in 40 states and all Canadian border provinces.

Purple loosestrife invades marshes and lakeshores, replacing cattails and other wetland plants. The plant can form dense, impenetrable stands which are unsuitable as cover, food, or nesting sites for a wide range of native wetland animals including ducks, geese, rails, bitterns, muskrats, frogs, toads, and turtles. Many rare and endangered wetland plants and animals are also at risk.

Adult height: 2 to 7 feet.

Purple loosestrife thrives on disturbed, moist soils, often invading after some type of construction activity. Eradicating an established stand is difficult because of an enormous number of seeds in the soil. One adult plant can disperse 2 million seeds annually. The plant is able to resprout from roots and broken stems that fall to the ground or into the water.

A major reason for purple loosestrife's expansion is a lack of effective predators in North America. Several European insects that only attack purple loosestrife are being tested as a possible long-term biological control of purple loosestrife in North America.

CHECKLIST
Clean boats, clean waters...

If you are a water recreationalist — boater, angler, water-skier, scuba-diver, sailor, or canoeist — there are some important things you can do to prevent the transport of harmful exotic species from one lake or river to another. In some states and provinces it is illegal to transport harmful exotic species.

* Inspect your boat, trailer, and boating equipment (anchors, centerboards, rollers, axles) and remove any plants and animals that are visible before leaving any waterbody.
* Drain water from the motor, livewell, blige, and transom wells while on land before leaving any waterbody.
* Empty your bait bucket on land before leaving the waterbody. Never release live bait into a waterbody, or release aquatic animals from one waterbody into another.
* Wash and dry your boat, tackle, downriggers, trailer, and other boating equipment to kill harmful species that were not visible at the boat launch. This can be done on your way home or once you have returned home. Some aquatic nuisance species can survive more than 2 weeks out of the water, so it is important to:
o rinse your boat and equipment that normally get wet with HOT (at least 40°C or 104°F) tap water; or
o spray your boat and trailer with high-pressure water; or
o dry your boat and equipment for at least 5 days, before transporting to another waterbody.
* Learn what these organisms look like (at least those you can see). If you suspect a new infestation of an exotic plant or animal, report it to your natural resource agency.
* Consult your natural resource agency for recommendations and permits before you try to control or eradicate an exotic "pest." Remember, exotic "pest" species thrive on disturbance. Do-it-yourself control treatments often make matters worse and can harm native species."


SO if you see PURPLE in Manchaug's watershed - STOP the car, PULL the plant and DISPOSE of it. Do not composted it! Let us each be diligent to keep Manchaug Pond loosestrife free!

Click the title/link for more info!