Milfoil not seen in Great Meadow Stream

7 Lakes Invasive Aquatic Plants dive crew has devoted much of its time this summer to containing the spread of curly-leaf pondweed in the Serpentine stream that connects East and North ponds.

The dive crew for 7 Lakes Alliance’s Invasive Aquatic Plants program reported finding no visual evidence of invasive milfoil in Great Meadow Stream on Saturday when it surveyed the waterbody connecting North Pond to Great Pond. In June, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection applied a low-risk herbicide to the stream to shrink the footprint of invasive milfoil in Great Meadow Stream. 7 Lakes Alliance Invasive Aquatics Program Director Sharon Mann has cautioned that invasive milfoil has not been eradicated from the stream.

7 Lakes’ dive team also reported seeing only native milfoils in Robbins Mill Stream, and scattered invasive milfoil plants in Rome Trout Brook, though the plants there were not pervasive. The divers have found no curly-leaf pondweed in North Pond’s Old Mill Stream during their recent dives. Scattered curly-leaf pondweed plants continue to regrow in the Serpentine stream connecting East and North ponds. The regrowth comes from turions – small shoots dropped by prior growths from which new plants can develop.

Over the next several weeks, divers will continue to survey for invasive growth and remove the plants they encounter.