Messalonskee group
plans war on milfoil
By JOEL ELLIOTT
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Staff photo by David Leaming
enlarge Staff photo by David Leaming
UNWELCOME WEED: Mike Willey, a board member with the Messalonskee Lake Association, holds variable leaf milfoil near Willey Point in Oakland on Monday.
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OAKLAND -- Later this summer, divers will begin fighting the spread of milfoil by plucking strands from the lake bed and using submerged tarpaulins to cut the invasive plant species off from sunlight.

This will be the first time that members of the Messalonskee Lake Association have taken such a hands-on role in fighting the plants' spread, according to board member Michael Willey.

"It's not going to be a big expense," he said. "The general process will be pulling it and trying to prevent the fragmentation while they are pulling it."

Willey said the milfoil plants would then be placed into some sort of container and disposed of.

The Messalonskee Lake Association has already decided to go forward with the project, and members of the association and local residents are invited to a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Willey's residence on Willey's Point to discuss particulars of the plan.

Variable leaf milfoil is an invasive plant species that threatens to take over Messalonskee Lake. It would probably do the same to other lakes if it took root elsewhere. A 1-inch piece of milfoil sticking to the bottom of a boat and hitchhiking to another body of water could begin a new infestation.

Until now, lake association members have limited their role to inspecting boat bottoms and monitoring the plants' spread. But now they are taking a more aggressive approach, Willey said.

In this project, three teams of three people will take on the project, which will serve as a small-scale experiment to determine the effectiveness of the measures. The project will focus on a small cove near Willey Point Road, not far from the Oakland boat launch.

Each of the teams will include a diver who will be assisted by someone in a boat and someone wading in the water.

Besides removing the milfoil from the lake bottom, divers will try an alternate method that will consist of spreading and anchoring tarpaulins just above the milfoil. Called a "benthic barrier," this approach should stop the plants' growth, since it will prevent them from receiving sunlight, Willey said.

News of this project comes weeks after the state opened a new boat launch in Sidney to direct water traffic away from the Route 27 launch, the site of a large milfoil infestation, Willey said.

"The goal is not to eradicate it," he said. "The point is to use this pilot project to see if we can reduce infestation levels."

Joel Elliott -- 861-9252

jelliott@centralmaine.com

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kevin58 of winthrop, ME
Jul 24, 2007 12:12 PM
The biggest problem I see with most lake associations are they use milfoil,the clean water act, errosion control,land use regulations,water craft restrictions,launch site access, ect. as a way of cutting off access for the public from our lakes. I believe the move is to make the lakes private property of the lake residents.report abuse
Brian Alves of Washington, ME
Jul 24, 2007 9:00 AM
This will be an interesting project to follow-up on. Three cheers for all your efforts. It brings to light why I was irked some years ago to discover that most of the invasive water plants' sticker price of $10 that every boat owner must purchase every year, that was SUPPOSED to fight the spread of milfoil and was SUPPOSED to be earmarked specifically for the project, has found its way into other pockets. Final result...one lake out of thousands of Maine lakes that could potentially cost many thousands of dollars just to "manage" the spread of Eurasian and or Variable Water Milfoil, not even cure. In the past few years I personally have spent $100 for the stickers. Only I have checked my boat and canoe (motors, trailer, fishing gear, nets) for fragments. My problem is not with you folks for making this extraordinary effort, but with the legislature for being so blind to what the sticker meant to everyone who uses our States' lakes and ponds and/or benefits from them in some way. Question: Will some of that money be utilized for this project? In my opinion, it should be. Shame on the legislature for being so myopic with their foresight. A comment to the newspaper. Please keep us well apprised of the success/failure of the efforts, and please follow-up on the legislature's efforts/non-efforts to support this project. My next letter...to my legislator. Brian Alves, Washington, Maine.report abuse

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