Well. It's done. After months of hard work, perservance and planning, the Salem Lakes Preservation Association reached that target in its Eurasian Water Milfoil program. ProcellaCOR was administered into portions of the lake where EWM was in abundance.
As announced earlier in July, SOLitude Lake Management - the certified applicator for the herbicide dispatched its crew and airboat to the lake on Aug 17 and got right to it.
The Salem Lakes Preservation Association (SLPA) was awarded more than $24,000 in grant funds from The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation for two of the association's biggest environmental programs. DEC funds are distributed as the lake association achieves required benchmarks set by the state of Vermont. The final award amount is subject to meeting performance benchmarks which SLPA is expected to meet.
The DEC grants support Salem Lake’s Public Boat Access Greeter Program and Aquatic Invasive Species Management Programs. In 2022 the Greeter program inspected 808 boats, a 24% increase over 2021 totals. Inspectors employed by SLPA recorded 32 boats with invasive milfoil leaving Salem Lake. Just two contaminated boats preparing to launch at Salem’s Dave Woods State Boat Access had milfoil plant fragments. Boat owners are being applauded for their efforts in keeping boats free of plant fragments and animals while transporting them from lake to lake. As a reminder, state fines now apply to boats carrying weeds during transport.
SLPA’s milfoil management program contracted with a lake management company to remove almost 23,000 gallons (approximately 32 tons) of invasive Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM) between June and October. Grant funds were also used to purchase a utility trailer to assist removing these large quantities of EWM to the Derby town stump dump and a local transfer station. The total actual cost of the Greeter program, not including volunteer contributions, was about $25,000. The total actual cost of milfoil removal efforts was greater than $30,000. Costs for both programs were offset by a $15,000 donation from the town of Derby as well as many individual donations.
Grant funds were also used to print an info card about EWM locations and how to avoid spreading plant fragments. These cards were handed to boaters as they entered the lake following boat inspection. Grant funds were used to hire a consultant to assist in creating a five-year lake management plan.
Salem Lake is wonderful place to slow down for a bit and enjoy everything it offers, but dang, these summers go by awfully quick.
Return with us to the fall of 2022 as Tim Votapka and Roger Cartee take a few minutes to reflect on what happened around Salem Lake during the summer and what will likely continue to happen as the weeks and months move along through the winter on into spring and beyond.
With that done, we can now view the results of post-treatment sampling and surveys that provide sufficient testimony to the efficacy of the treatment.
Two reports are available:
Are you interested in volunteering some time as a boat inspector this summer at Salem Lake’s boat access? Training is required and dates are available in May and June - see notice. Volunteer schedules are very flexible; take on an entire five to six-hour shift or just assist one of our paid Greeters from time-to-time. Possibly even act as their substitute when needed. If you want to just volunteer by assisting a Greeter without taking the training that is fine too. Contact Ed Wells with questions. 802-578-3037.
Please join Vermont Lakes Program staff at free workshops offered to train Public Access Greeters in educating lake visitors about invasive species, providing
watercraft inspections and stopping invasive species introductions. All training sessions satisfy the requirements necessary for operation as an approved aquatic nuisance inspection station as defined in Vermont statute 10 V.S.A. §1454 (c).
Register for one training; either online or in-person. All online trainings will be through Microsoft Teams. Registration is required for all trainings, please register here or download a PDF flyer with all the upcoming workshop dates through May 27, 2023.
Contact Olin Reed at olin.reed@vermont.gov or call (802) 490-6121 with questions.
