7830-R2_LSLA_2021_WinetrNewsletter_Web

Courtesy Boat Inspection Program 2021 Pam Wilkinson I i il i

Inspection should not be just at the Mt. Hunger Road boat ramp. Mt Hunger ShoreBoat Ramp is abusy place in the summer. Especially the past couple of summers when people were anxious to be outside and escape confinement. Little Sebago has an infestation of hybrid variable milfoil and we hire courtesy boat inspectors to check boats leaving so the invasive plant is not carried to other lakes. The inspectors also check boats, trailers, anchors, fishing gear entering for any other types of invasive, whether it is plants or other species. Jim and Jackie Fitzgerald are our veteran inspectors who greet you with their friendly smiles and ask for a moment of your time to inspect all areas in order to prevent the spread of any invasive plant or species to other areas or into Little Sebago.

recently been in Lake Champlain, in which Eurasian is known to be widespread. This was a “save” for our lake. It is important to identify all plants that are found on your boat and equipment to verify if they are native or not. In another instance, Long Lake inspector found a small piece of plant called Camomba fanwort in the tire well of the trailer entering their lake. After tracing where it had been, it was found to have first come from Little Sebago but previously was in Stump Pond in Rhode Island. This is not a known invasive plant in this area and only leads to keeping a vigilant eye out next year for any other type of new growth. We all know about milfoil, and this only shows that our borders and lakes are very fragile with new threats. The area that the boat was in the lake was checked as well as the boat ramp to see if anything suspicious was floating or growing. This will be revisited next year. This year 2058 boats were inspected going into and out of the lake which is inclusive of the 15 extra days that recorded 318 boats. Without the extra days the CBI program recorded 1740 boats during Friday through Sunday and the busy 4th of July week. This is a drop compared to 2020 which recorded 2385 boats. Weather factor can explain the changes as 2020 was hot all summer and 2021 had a very rainy cold month of July. It is important that all people who put their boats in at other locations on the lake take the time to make their own inspection, especially coming from another lake or taking out from Little Sebago. It is important that you know what is native and invasive. Any plant should be removed and inspected. If you do not know what it is or have questions contact info@littlesebagolake.com for assistance to identify what you may have.

Val Heuhasser CBI

Because of a monetary grant, we were able to add additional days for invasive inspections. LSLA hired two interns, Val Heuhasser and Mason Morin, from St. Joseph College to assist with inspections and the State required electronic submittals of the daily information collected. Mary Jewett, State of Maine CBI coordinator, found a questionable plant on an entering boat trailer during a site visit in July. It was sent to Lake Stewards of Maine for further analysis and was thought to be another invasive plant called Eurasian milfoil which is more of a threat than our own hybrid variable milfoil. The boat had

Hybrid Milfoil

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