Milfoil in Lake Fairlee

More news coverage of our July 23rd meeting

by Lillian Gahagan, Journal Opinion

WEST FAIRLEE—A group of about 50 people turned out for an informational meeting at Horizons Day Camp on the evening of July 23 to discuss strategy and options for controlling an invasive weed in the waters of Lake Fairlee. The 457-acre lake is spread out across the towns of Fairlee, West Fairlee and Thetford. Eurasian milfoil, a non-native weed, has reached a “moderate” level of infestation there on a scale used by the state that goes from light to moderate to heavy.

Lakeshore users and homeowners are now contemplating what to do next since the milfoil is growing faster than it can be removed using manual and mechanical means. It is estimated that milfoil affects between 10% and 20% of the lake. Milfoil spreads by seeding itself, through root propagation and by fragmentation such as when boats churn through the weeds. The harvesting operation itself spreads the weeds, but the association has continued to remove as much as possible this way. Ten to 15% of the milfoil is removed each season, according to a fact sheet distributed at the meeting, but lake temperature, sunlight and phosphate levels all contribute to the weed’s growth.

The chair of the Lake Fairlee Association, Skip Brown, moderated the meeting that brought together representatives from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources’ Department of Environmental Conservation, divers who have been pulling the milfoil from the lake, people who have coordinated the treatment of milfoil in neighboring Lake Morey and others from the area who have a connection to Lake Fairlee. Brown assured the group that no decision had been yet been made about what to do and he did not expect the group to arrive at an outcome at that meeting.

“Everyone here has a love for Lake Fairlee,” said Brown in his introduction of the various parties present. He said as chair of the Lake Fairlee Association, he had the “dubious honor” of running the current milfoil program for the lake. The meeting was held to provide an opportunity to hear from everybody concerned about the lake and to try to build a consensus about what to do in the future. To date, there has been a “no chemical” approach to treatment.

Brown described the status of Lake Fairlee as at a “tipping point” with the weed infestation as current efforts to control the milfoil are not enough. The milfoil grows in waters up to about 15 feet in depth, when severe, can form dense mats at the surface that “umbrella” out, making boating and swimming extremely difficult as the tangle of weeds becomes impassable.
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The lead headline in today’s Valley News was, “Is it time to turn to herbicide?” Following was a well written article explaining our situation. It was prompted, we believe, by the buzz about our Informational Meeting.

You can read the whole article HERE.

(Okay, we shared the top billing with the Iraqi Kurd Elections)