Have you seen this plant?
Curly-leaf pondweed (Potomogeton crispus), a highly aggressive invasive plant native to parts of Europe and Asia, was found in the Belgrade Lakes watershed by a volunteer in 2021. Since the plants were found, 7 Lakes has worked diligently to keep the infestation in an isolated branch of the East Pond Serpentine.
Water from East Pond flows through the Serpentine into North Pond. With the cooperation of East Pond and North Pond Associations, we have managed to minimize the spread of curly-leaf pondweed by keeping the East Pond dam closed during invasive plant removal and by installing two “fragment nets” at the dam and another downstream in Sunset Camps. Unfortunately, due to the irregular and persistent flooding events this spring and summer, the nets had to be temporarily removed.
During a routine plant paddle survey, the 7 Lakes Invasive Aquatics leadership team found several floating fragments of curly-leaf pondweed in the Northeast corner of North Pond. While no rooted curly-leaf plants were found in North Pond, it is highly likely that there will be rooted patches next spring given the amount of floating material recovered.
If you are interested in helping survey and retrieve plant fragments in North Pond, reach out to our invasive aquatics team at sharon.mann@7lakesaliance.org
Are there any handy engineers reading this? East Pond Association is looking for someone to design and build a more permanent fragment screen at the East Pond dam that can withstand extreme force when the dam is opened. Please contact the president of East Pond Association, Edie Cornwall at ediened@roadrunner.com for more information.
Sharon Mann,
Invasive Aquatics Director