Invasive aquatic plant found before boat launch in Mooselookmeguntic Lake

OQUOSSOC – Last Saturday Mooselookmeguntic Lake was spared the destructive force of invasive plants by a pair of courtesy boat inspectors working their first shift ever.

Don and Pam Mantovani, who were trained just the week before through Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust’s Headwaters Lake Protection and Education Program, intercepted an invasive plant while inspecting a boat from Massachusetts. After carefully examining the hull, the prop, and the trailer, they noticed a tangle of brown and green leaves wound around the anchor line. Having been trained to collect all plants, regardless of what they look like, the Mantovanis scooped up the fragments.

With the help of fellow boat inspectors Ellie and Willis White, they had the plants delivered to RLHT. Several days later, the Montavanis and the Whites got the news they had been dreading: the plant they intercepted was invasive Curly Leaf Pondweed.

The plant came from Lake Cochituate, a small (614 acres) Massachusetts lake that is heavily infested with four species of invasive plants. Once prized for its scenic and recreational values, the lake has been the focus of a costly (nearly $100,000 in the past two years), highly toxic, and largely ineffective removal effort.

Local residents quarantined parts of the lake and installed barriers to reduce the growth of the plants, but the number of infested acres doubled in just one year. And through the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, they applied controversial herbicides that reduced, but did not eliminate, the plants. So, despite local efforts, Cochituate’s aggressive and tenacious plants continue to grow and hitchhike their way to Maine and the Rangeley region.

As the newest addition to RLHT’s critically important team of volunteer boat inspectors, the Mantovanis are passionate about the health of the lakes.

“We became CBIs because we recognized the threat that invasive aquatic plants inflict is irreversible,” Don Mantovani said following his first day at the launch. “For that reason, we encourage others who care about protecting the waterways in the Rangeley Lakes Region to contact RLHT and become a CBI.”

RLHT has been coordinating the award-winning CBI and shoreline survey program for 9 years. It trains all of the CBIs and combines education and public outreach with boat inspections and shoreline patrols. Serving as friendly ambassadors and advocates for the lakes, RLHT volunteers and staff have inspected over 10,000 boats, educated an estimated 40,000 people, and surveyed more than 100 miles of shoreline.

“Boat owners are very receptive and grateful of our efforts with inspecting their boats, trailers, and equipment,” Don Mantovani said. And both boaters and CBIs have learned that conducting a top to bottom, inside and out inspection before the boat leaves the launch area is critical. Describing the recent interception Pam Mantovani said, “

the plant matter was found inside the boat and wrapped around the anchor rope; this reinforces the threat these plants possess with spreading easily and underscores the reason protective measures are important.”

Becoming a CBI is as easy as contacting Rebecca Kurtz at RLHT (864-7311 x 5 or rkurtz@rlht.org). As volunteers, CBIs work as many or as few hours per week as they want, whatever days they want. The training is free, the lakeside “working conditions” are spectacular, and the benefits to the lakes and local community are priceless, Kurtz said.