A dive team in New York state is doing the hard work on the front lines of protecting a treasured regional lake from dangerous invasive species.
According to the Sun Community News, a professional dive team removed 1,300 pounds of Eurasian and variable-leaf watermilfoil from the Fish Creek Campground near Saranac Lake, New York, in an effort to combat the spread of these invasive species.
According to the National Invasive Species Information Center, Eurasian watermilfoil came to the United States somewhere between the 1880s and 1940s, and it’s not entirely clear how it arrived. It spread incredibly quickly, outcompeting the native aquatic flora that fish and other wildlife rely on for food and shelter. When that happens, the fragile aquatic ecosystems in that area are at serious risk of becoming unbalanced, which can have negative impacts on recreation in the area, including swimming, boating, and fishing.
Variable leaf watermilfoil is native to North America, but has become invasive in many parts of the continent because of how quickly it spreads and takes over waterways, according to Texas A&M University.
This particular dive was made possible by a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program and was the first time Fish Creek received grants for this effort. It was performed by the Upper Saranac Foundation’s dive team, who specialize in removing invasive species from local waterways.
“This grant expands our AIS management to a critical headwater of the Upper Saranac watershed,” said USF executive director Guy Middleton, per the Sun Community News. “The additional resources enable more rigorous efforts to address the spread of invasive plants from upstream sources — a key strategy in safeguarding Upper Saranac Lake.”
“This is a high-risk area for AIS spread,” Middleton added. “With thousands of visitors and nearly all campsites offering direct water access, proactive management is essential here to prevent the infestation of uninvaded waterbodies.”
If you want to help combat invasive species, planting a natural lawn is a great way to do it. It reduces maintenance and the amount of water needed to keep your yard healthy and trimming water bills.
It can also be a massive benefit to local pollinators, which help humans by protecting our food supply. Planting a native plant garden or replacing even part of a traditional lawn with options like buffalo grass or clover can offer all of these benefits.
Work like this is essential in the fight against invasive species. Aquatic ecosystems tend to be incredibly delicate, so the use of herbicides or other chemical means of killing invasive plants would likely do significant damage to other species in the ecosystem. Identification and removal are crucial to keeping these species contained.
The dive team’s work isn’t done yet; they’ll be back in September for another round of removal, once use of the campground is past its peak.
“Thanks to the support of this grant, USF can continue protecting the watershed’s long-term health, safeguarding biodiversity, property values, and recreation-based economies,” Middleton added.
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