LAKE HOSTS Make A Difference!
Every year we have "SAVES" where invasive plants such as milfoil have been prevented from entering the lake on a boat or a jet ski. Be sure to inspect your boats before entering or leaving a water body, and remove all plant material (away from the lake!). Our paid and volunteer Lake Hosts staff the Wellington State Park and NH Fish and Game boat launch to educate boaters about this serious threat. Thus far, we believe Newfound Lake has no invasive aquatic species, except for wetland based Purple Loosetrife. We have noted an increase in other land-based invasives such as Japanese knotweed and bittersweet.
|
 Click for full size image
|
Our Lake Hosts provide courtesy boat inspections to prevent invasive species from entering Newfound Lake. They also show owners how to do their own inspections as they move their boats from one water body to another. We hire student Lake Hosts during the summer, and also have shifts for Volunteers - contact us if you'd like to learn more!
Many boaters ask if power washing is sufficient to prevent the spread of milfoil. Amy Smagula, the DES Clean Lakes and Exotic Species Program Coordinator, is one of many experts who maintain that “good, old-fashioned visual inspection and hand removal of plant fragments is the best way to stop the spread of exotic plants.” Boats and trailers should be inspected both prior to launching and after coming out of a lake—even a seemingly “uninfested” lake. According to Amy, low pressure, cold water boat washing stations do NOT provide any additional benefit of milfoil or other plant removal from boats, trailers, or other recreational gear.
New Hampshire law expressly prohibits the transportation of invasive species. Please do your part to prevent the spread of these dangerous and harmful plants!
|
Boat washing stations originated in the states bordering the Great Lakes to stop the spread of zebra mussels. High temperature (140 degrees Farenheit or hotter) and high-pressure water is needed to remove zebra mussels and their veligers from boat hulls. For exotic plants, high or low pressure spraying will certainly wash plant fragments off most boat surfaces, but will do nothing for those pieces wrapped around propellers, trapped between boat and trailer, or tucked into other places.
|
Lake Host 2011 Results
Typically, our Lake Hosting season begins on Memorial Day weekend and concludes on Labor Day. This year, thanks to our amazing staff and volunteers, we were able to cover the Wellington State Park boat ramp for a total of 792.5 hours. We inspected 3,281 boats and six weed samples were shipped to the DES for identification. One of those samples proved to be exotic milfoil and it was extracted from a boat trailer during the month of June. We monitored ten sanctioned fishing tournaments and we were so pleased to welcome seven new members to our staff and volunteer list! Thanks to all of you for a super season and thank you to the boaters of Newfound who treat us with courtesy and respect. As a team, we can keep Newfound Lake free of exotic species!
|
 |
| Click to view/download PDF |
|
|
Does washing the boat remove all traces of plant material (potentially invasive species)?
After considerable consultation with other lake associations and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES), we concluded that little if any benefit would come from a washing station and that a station may even have deleterious effects on our Newfound Lake environment.
Amy Smagula, the DES Clean Lakes and Exotic Species Program Coordinator, is one of many experts who maintain that “good, old-fashioned visual inspection and hand removal of plant fragments is the best way to stop the spread of exotic plants.” Boats and trailers should be inspected both prior to launching and after coming out of a lake—even a seemingly uninfested lake. According to Amy, low pressure, cold water boat washing stations do not provide any additional benefit of milfoil or other plant removal from boats, trailers, or other recreational gear.
Boat washing stations originated in the states bordering the Great Lakes to stop the spread of zebra mussels. High temperature (140 degrees Farenheit or hotter) and high-pressure water is needed to remove zebra mussels and their veligers from boat hulls. For exotic plants, high or low pressure spraying will certainly wash plant fragments off most boat surfaces, but will do nothing for those pieces wrapped around propellers, trapped between boat and trailer, or tucked into other places.
|
|
