DES milfoil vacuum boat(s)

[fatlazyless]

Yesterday's LaDaSun had an interesting and informative article about the NH DES' five year plan for removing the nasty & invasive milfoil weed from growing and spreading.

Purchasing one or more small pontoon boats, known as "diver assisted suction harvester" or D*A*S*H* units, equipped with an underwater vacuum is part of the plan and they are accepting contributions to pay for the boat(s), equipment and divers.

Exotic Aquatic Weeds & Species Fund, Meredith Village Savings Bank, P O Bx 177, Meredith, NH 03253.


The article reports that using an underwater vacuum with a diver trained in removing milfoil is less expensive, more effective, and speedier than a chemical herbicide treatment.

The recently proposed increase in boater registation fees, which may or may not get passed by the legislature, includes a small portion for milfoil eradication. Having every boat reg kick in just a dollar or two for milfoil clean-up seems like money well spent. Maybe you want to email your local state rep and express your support for the milfoil eradication funding that is part of the boat registration increase.

The overall increase was initiated by the Marine Patrol director and is currently navigating its way down the flow through the course of legislative process.

If you have ever visited Pickerel Cove on Paugus Bay, then you have seen how much negative local impact, milfoil can cause......it's very yucky green stuff........eyuuuuchh........gross!:eek:

[upthesaukee]

You can read the article by clicking this link:

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/

and go to past issues, 2009, April 3rd (there are two april 3's in the left column, and I think it is the top one, and once you have the page, go to page 6, with the article also continued to page 7.

Now, if we can only get a fund started to fix the potholes and frost heaves...:laugh:

Oh yeah, that's a different thread.:rolleye2:

[loneskier]

My family has a house on Pickerel Cove. They did a treatment with the chemicals that destroy Milfoil last year but they never came back to manually pick the Milfoil that came back. It is now a wait and see what comes back this year. It is impossible to swim in Pickerel cove and the boating even with a paddle boat can be very interesting.

[fatlazyless]

I'd never heard of a DASH boat before readig this LaDaSun article and doing a google search shows that the States of Maine and Michigan and others have DASH boats.

Was not able to find a picture of a DASH boat. www.aquacleaner.com

Seems like an effective tool for controlling milfoil. Boats in use by the NH MP get excellent-plus maintenance and can have a lifespan of 25 years, so a DASH aluminum pontoon-outboard boat would be in use till 2035. The MP has its' own full-time boat mechanic who maintains all the different engines and hulls.

I threw the asterisks in an attempt to resemble the M*A*S*H tv show from the 1970's......what-the-heck :D!

D*A*S*H = diver assisted suction h.........(?)

[upthesaukee]

Your Letter H stands for Harvester.

[HUH]

I would like to thank the divers and crew for doing a fantastic job in smith cove.. Hooray.. we hate the foil :D

[Heading4thelake]

At Lake Wentworth our milfoil team works very hard at taking care of milfoil. Our divers at all LWA members and includes our president. We all take pride in our lake and Crescent Lake. But out of over 1000 members the same 10 people show up to help. The lake research is done by it's members as they look for trouble spots all week long and then we attack those spots on the weekend. These are great people to work with... (all 10 of them )

[newbie]

I too have a home on Pickeral Cove and let me tell you, Milfoil treatment is not a one year activity. Once you have the infestation, you will fight it every year. We treated with chemicals and it did a good job, but now the hard work starts. Time, money and patience are this years plan. Without folks volunteering their time and ever shrinking $$, I am afraid that Pickeral Cove will just go back to the way it was.

This DASH operation has begun to bring the price of milfoil maintenance down, but it is still consideable, but what would you pay to not have the milfoil so thick that you can walk across it?