Following last night’s information session with Amy Smagula of NH DES, the CPLA board had several additional questions that we felt needed to be answered regarding management options for spiny (brittle) naiad in Country Pond.
The following email exchange shows our questions and Amy’s responses. Please take time to read these answers as they put into perspective the advantages and disadvantages of the three options we have to consider for this year, as well as the long-term challenges that we face in controlling this invasive, as well as others that may be introduced to Country Pond in the future.
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Hi Greg,
Please see replies below in CAPS following each question:
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Amy P. Smagula
Limnologist/Exotic Species Program Coordinator
Watershed Management Bureau
Water Division, NH Department of Environmental Services
Hi Amy,
Thank you for your time last night and for helping answer questions about how to handle Spiny Naiad in Country Pond. After the meeting the board discussed the options you laid out, and we have a few more questions before we write our survey to obtain community feedback:
Option 1 – Herbicide
• If we request an herbicide treatment permit for this year but do not use it because Spiny Naiad is not detected in the summer survey, would we still be eligible for the state to cover the full treatment cost next year? YOU WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE FULL COST OF MANAGEMENT AS LONG AS STATE DOLLARS ARE NOT USED THIS YEAR FOR CONTROL.
Option 2 – Hand harvesting/DASH
• We had not considered this as an option because the plan did not indicate that it would be eligible for grant funding and was described as challenging to do correctly. Can you clarify if it is now a viable option for Country Pond, if it can be fully funded, and when is it necessary to contract for hand harvesting/DASH in order to have the resources available to perform a thorough job within the required time frame (before seeds are dropped)? IT IS NOT AN IDEAL CONTROL OPTION, BUT IT IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. SO, IF HERBICIDE TREATMENT IS NOT DESIRED LOCALLY, THE FUNDS THAT ARE EARMARKED FOR TREATMENT COULD BE USED TO PAY FOR WEED CONTROL DIVERS TO COME IN AND TRY TO HARVEST THE GROWTH BEFORE IT GOES TO SEED THIS YEAR. IF GRANT FUNDS ARE USED, IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE FIRST TIME MANAGEMENT ACTION, AND FUTURE MANAGEMENT ACTIONS, WHATEVER THEY ARE, WOULD FALL INTO THE COST SHARE CATEGORY.
Option 3 – No action – “wait and see”
• The plan states “The spiny naiad infestation has been spreading quickly in this waterbody, and a no-control option would only lead to widespread growth around the pond, in the entire photic zone of the pond.” Can you clarify whether postponing action is advisable? We realize that Spiny Naiad growth cannot be predicted year to year but we need to understand, using the information on hand now, if waiting another season is “advisable”. WE GENERALLY DO NOT LIKE TO LET INVASIVE SPECIES SIT AND SPREAD, BUT CONSIDERING YOU HAVE GROWTH AROUND SEVERAL AREAS OF THE POND, THAT WILL LIKELY BE EXPANDED THIS YEAR DUE TO SEED DROP AND SPREAD FROM LAST YEAR, WAITING LONGER TO MANAGE WILL ONLY RESULT IN POSSIBILITY OF FURTHER EXPANSION TO NEW AREAS, OR TO WIDER AREAS OF GROWTH IN EXISTING AREAS. WAITING IS NOT OFF THE TABLE, BUT WAITING ALSO MEANS ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THERE MAY BE MORE PLANT NEXT SEASON.
• If we choose to not commit to treatment this year and see how conditions develop, would you come back to survey/map Country Pond this season to re-assess spiny naiad growth? Is NHDES going to be monitoring this invasive on an annual basis? OF COURSE, YES, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SURVEY.
CPLA is very concerned about how to best make use of the single opportunity for fully funded treatment. As a young organization with other programs to fund, it may be challenging to come up with matching funds for treatment in future years. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT IT WON’T BE A ONE AND DONE, IT NEVER IS. SO FUTURE MANAGEMENT WILL BE NEEDED. I DO ENCOURAGE YOU TO WORK WITH BOTH TOWNS TO TRY TO SECURE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL, AS A LINE ITEM IN THE BUDGET, A WARRANT ARTICLE, OR OTHER MEANS. ALSO, CONSIDER LAKE ASSOCIATION DUES A SOURCE FOR SOME FUNDING. DONATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY ARE ANOTHER OPTION. I SEE TOWNS AROUND THE STATE TRYING ALL OF THOSE FUNDING OPTIONS FOR MATCH DOLLARS.
Best regards,
Greg Senko
President – Country Pond Lake Association
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