Volunteers attend an invasive aquatic plant workshop

    On Thursday, July 31, 20 volunteers gave their time to learn how to identify invasive plants in their lakes. The workshop, organized by Norm Harte, was sponsored by the Island Falls Lakes Association (IFLA) and Birch Point Campgrounds and presented by Jackey Bailey and Roberta Hill of the Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants, part of the Maine Volunteer Lakes Monitoring Program (ME-VLMP). 
Contributed photograph
TAKING A LOOK – Jim Timmins, left, of Pleasant Lake in Island Falls, Rowena Harvey, center, of Upper Shin Pond in Mount Chase and Candy McKellar, right, also of Pleasant Lake, use their hand lenses and identification keys to distinguish between invasive Fanwort and native water marigold.
    The volunteers learned how to distinguish Maine’s 11 most “unwanted” invasive aquatic plants from native plants and how to conduct an invasive plant survey of their lakes.      The afternoon session consisted of a laboratory activity with hand lenses, field guides, identification keys, and about 20 samples of live aquatic plants, some of which were invasives.
    Norm and Sherry Pettyjohn, water quality monitors for IFLA, then accompanied Hill and Bailey on a Level One survey of the public boat landings at both Pleasant and Mattawamkeag Lakes. Although no invasive aquatic plants were found, the shell of an invasive Chinese snail had been found previously.  The large size lakes both have multiple access points and more thorough surveys need to be completed. 
    The workshop participants will return in mid-July of 2009 to recertify, receive advanced training and survey more of both lakes.