WELLS, Vt. (WCAX) – Eurasian Milfoil, an invasive plant familiar to many Vermont ponds and lakes, has taken over Lake St. Catharine in Rutland County. But how to remove the fast-growing noxious weed is causing a stir.
“Spent a lot of time in the 1960s fishing with my father, ‘70s as well, and the lake was pristine, crystal clear. There were plenty of native aquatic plants which you want to support, fishing, and wildlife,” recalled Jeffrey Crandall with the Lake St. Catherine Association.
But those conditions are a thing of the past. Crandall now oversees the Association’s Milfoil Control Committee. Locals have been battling the wee for decades and are still searching for the best technique. They’ve used the only state-permitted herbicide treatment and even tried diver-assisted suction harvesting, but it hasn’t worked.
“Let’s say you’ve got a half-acre of milfoil — if you don’t do something about it, before you know it you have 10, and then the 10 goes to 100, and so on,” Crandall said. He says the association hopes to continue to use the herbicide, but not everyone is on board. “It just isn’t possible for suction harvesting to be the sole control method.”
“Chemicals going into a water body should be a last resort,” said David Emmons, a former association president who lives in the town of Wells. He would rather see a long-term study on what’s best for the health of the lake. “There’s a better way to do it and you don’t have to rely on chemicals. And just because a chemical kills a plant, you have to understand what are the unintended consequences.”
Similar battles have unfolded on other Vermont lakes, including Lake Bomoseen, where state officials denied a permit to use the herbicide last summer. However, the state has issued numerous permits.
State officials are still taking public feedback before either confirming or denying the permit. Either way, the dive teams will be back next summer.