Eradicating the invasive weed isn’t cheap, and everyone has a stake in it, say local lake associations.
By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling
Morning Sentinel
Cough up the dough, or the lake dies.
A diver works to remove invasive milfoil from Long Pond in Belgrade. Divers using vacuum devices are most effective in combating the weed, but the work is costly.
That’s not quite how local lakes associations are putting it, but as they ask area towns to help fund a fierce war against an invasive plant, the connection between the money and lake health is clear.
The enemy is milfoil, a quick-growing, quick-spreading weed that runs rampant over native plants and has no natural predators. Left unchecked, it fills shorelines with mats of thick, green fronds that render a lake unsuitable for swimming or boating.
Lakes groups like the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance and the Belgrade Lakes Association are leading the charge against milfoil in the Belgrade-area lake system.