8615-R4_ML&P_LSLA_2024_SummerNewsletter_Web

2024 Milfoil Milita Updates Coordinators: Pam Wilkinson & Tim Greer Looking back, Looking Forward - Other Threats on The Horizon

It didn’t really matter that it was a horrible rainy summer in 2023, our milfoil team was ready to work regardless of the conditions. Dressed in warm clothes and raincoats, they are troopers for sure. It is not known when milfoil really began in Little Sebago, but it was first spotted in 1999. After a couple of years, the fragments were gathered Lake Watershed Resource Management (LWRMA), now Lake Stewards of Maine (LSM) submitted for DNA testing at UCONN and was identified as hybrid variable milfoil invasive plant. Over the past 20 years we have gradually decreased the amount of invasive milfoil in the lake and preserved the ecosystem and maintained the usage of the water for humans. In 2023 our program removed 237 40-pound size onion bags of invasive milfoil. The bag count was up a bit due to a couple of reasons. I am pretty

sure it was by divine guidance that we found one bed of milfoil by Bean Island. Late August someone lost a fishing pole and when diver Peter Dollard went to find it, he found a massive bed of invasive milfoil. Along with another diver Jim MacNaught, they removed 35 bags in one day. This used to be standard. Peter finally got to see what others had seen years ago. In the latter part of September, in Sheldrake Cove, due to increased sunlight, lower water levels and warmer waters another 44 bags of milfoil were retrieved, one third of the total count for 2023. Since we cannot be in all places at all times, a plant survey by Lake and Watershed Associates will take place in July to identify what we have accomplished so far and provide a comparison analysis of the survey report that was done in 2003 by LWMRA. They will also let us know if we have any other types of invasive plant that have been found in other lakes surrounding us.

Year

Upper Lake/Narrows

Beaver Cove

Mumford Cove

Middle Lake Coves/Islands

Gray Totals

Windham Totals

Combined Totals

Cash Amt Spent

In-Kind Donated Time

Total Project Cost

2004 2005** 2006*** 100

150

350 133

600 550 437 753 290 218 173 423 278 225 110

600 710

1200 1260 1769 1720 1781 1127 1184 718

62,517 67,296 55,652 51,580 67,266 48,350 46,254 51,508 43,926 32,233 28,144 28,814 36,186 44,183 48,674 46,298 58,186 47,514 864,581

9,650 9,255 9,260

72,167 76,551 64,912 65,366 84,312 60,816 59,555 65,418 56,926 41,479 37,469 37,125 44,386 52,321 64,410 60,928 73,584 61,798

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Totals

326 277 448 241 195 136 341 235 104

91 63

97

1332

9 2 7

296

967

13,786 17,046 12,466 13,301 13,910 13,000 9,246 9,325 8,311 8,200 8,138 15,736 14,630 15,398 14,284 214,942

47 16 21 33 28 71 34

1491

500 954 761 353 165 126 130 109 116 93

16 49 15 50 24 10 16

631 389 237 182 161 163 182 219 185 237

52 40 50 41 59 73 71 37

1 2 4 2 2 2 2

51 69 54 66 96 86

1 6 2

3 3 4 2 2

49 21 45

128

91 89

151

2826

516

1141

124

4607

8738

13,345

1,079,523

Numbers have been rounded Each bag weighs approx. 20 lbs. dry weight. Approx. 133 tons have been removed 2004-2005** Milfoil removed by hand, actual count was not recorded 2006*** 1200 bags removed. Lost information found in 2016. Information was provided by DEP with no breakdowns Invasive Milfoil Removed

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