Lebanon Conservation Commission Plans Meeting to Answer Questions and Discuss European Naiad.

The Lebanon Conservation Commission is planning an informational meeting on

Thursday, November 19, 2015 beginning at 6:30 pm

in the Martha Sawyer Community Library

(located on the soccer field side of the Hanson School on Upper Guinea Road, Lebanon)

 

The topic of discussion will be

the invasive aquatic species, European Naiad.

 

This species has been identified in Northeast Pond and on October 6, 2015, State of New Hampshire biologists have also confirmed the species has taken root in the Salmon Falls River, with shorelines in Lebanon and Acton, Maine and Milton, New Hampshire.

 

Laurie Callahan

of the

York County Invasive Aquatic Species Project

will lead the discussion, detailing the issues surrounding this plant species

and what can be done to stop its spread.

 

All residents are welcome to participate in this conversation, however

people with waterfront property on Lebanon's ponds, or along the Salmon Falls River are urged to attend.

 

No prior registration is needed to attend, but if you have any questions, please feel free to e mail or telephone the Lebanon Conservation Commission at the e mail or phone number shown below.

Thank You!!

 

Lebanon Conservation Commission Hosts Informational Session on York County Invasive Aquatic Species, European Niad

 

 

 

On Thursday, November 19 at 6:30 PM at the Martha Sawyer Community Library, the Lebanon Conservation Commission will host an informational session on the European Naiad plant recently discovered in Northeast Pond. Laurie Callahan of the York County Invasive Aquatic Species Project and Melissa Brandt of York County Soil and Water will be there to answer questions about what the arrival of this plant means for our town, and how ordinary citizens can help prevent invasive aquatic species. All are welcome.

Please contact Ruth Gutman at (207) 370-4191 for more information, or lebanonconservationcommission@gmail.com

 

 

Maine, New Hampshire Officials Confirm European Naiad Infestation in Salmon Falls River

Naiad, or Bushy Pond Weed, an invasive species has been found

in the Salmon Falls River on the Lebanon Maine, New Hampshire border.

 

(AUGUSTA) — Biologists from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), together with their New Hampshire counterparts, have confirmed a late September discovery of the invasive  species European naiad (scientific name: Najas minor) in a 1040-acre impoundment within Salmon Falls River, a border water body with shorelines in Lebanon and Acton, Maine and Milton, New Hampshire. The impoundment includes Northeast, Milton and Town House Ponds.
Able to overtake native lake habitats by shading and outcompeting ecologically valuable aquatic plants, European naiad grows from an annual seed into 7-foot long plants. A productive, one-acre infestation can generate tens of millions of seeds per season. Dense infestations can alter water chemistry and oxygen levels.
 “We’re finding well-established populations in Northeast Pond and in the narrow thoroughfare leading to Milton Pond with the thickest growth in northern portions of Northeast Pond,” says biologist John McPhedran of the Maine DEP. “It is our immediate objective to monitor the extent of this infestation throughout the entire impoundment so that we can consider response options with New Hampshire for 2016.”
The infestation was first documented in early September by an area volunteer citizen scientist. Subsequent monitoring has been provided by trained volunteers coordinated by the York County Soil and Water Conservation District, the local interstate Three Ponds Protective Association, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NH DES) and Maine DEP.
European naiad has been confirmed in one small Maine Pond in Kittery and in a handful of New Hampshire water bodies this growing season.
The invasive plant had been documented previously in two New Hampshire water bodies, but populations declined on their own without management, according to Amy Smagula of the New Hampshire DES. “European naiad has not been a common problem species in this area, though with several new infestations documented in New Hampshire in 2015, that may be about to change. It warrants further investigation.”
Maine DEP and NH DES have distributed invasive species warning signs to be posted at boat ramps urging boaters to inspect for and remove plant debris before and after accessing the impoundment. Also notified were boat ramp and other land owners, fishing tournament organizers, and fisheries and warden services from both states.  
Maine has been fortunate in recent years to remove water bodies from the statewide list of infestations. To date, of Maine’s 5,700 named water bodies, only 46 are now documented as infested.

 

 

***Extra note of interest from Lebanon Maine Truth Seekers***

Naiad, of the Naja or Najadaceae genus of water plant,

is named after a female spirit from ancient Greek mythology.

Naiad was a spirit known to preside over fountains, wells, springs, streams and small lakes.