Alton Attacks Milfoil?

[mcdude]

From the Baysider 12/10/09

Board offers
milfoil support

BY BRENDAN BERUBE

Staff Writer

ALTON

— Selectmen joined local business owners and residents of the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center Monday night in pledging financial support for the milfoil committee’s efforts to rid Alton of the invasive
aquatic plant. Presenting the committee’s findings and treatment proposal to the selectmen, committee Chairman Jonathan Downing recalled seeing milfoil make its first appearance in Alton’s waterways in the 1960s, and
said he had seen the town try every method of control imaginable over the years, from pulling plants by hand to cutting them at the root. The town’s milfoil committee, he said, was created in May of 2008 with a three-part mission: Identify the problem; formulate a plan and budget to provide long-term control for the problem; and make recommendations to
the selectmen for the purpose of carrying out the plan. After surveying Alton’s 19.3 miles of inland waterways (which constitute roughly 22
percent of the town), Downing explained, the committee identified a total of 33 acres of variable milfoil. With the aid of a PowerPoint slideshow depicting maps of the affected areas, Downing explained that the committee found 4.5 acres of milfoil in and around the southern tip of
the bay, between the Alton Bay bandstand and the Route 11 bridge.
Another 16.5 acres was discovered along the Merrymeeting River, from the Route 11 bridge to the dam; an additional 3.7 acres in the back bay area, near Rand Cove; 12.5 acres in Minge Cove (which was treated with private funds earlier this year); and 8.3 acres near Smalls Cove and the West Alton Marina. The infestation,Downing said, affects a total of 106 waterfront property owners (including condominiums, restaurants, and their businesses); five marinas and public boat launches; 171 back lot owners who have access to the lake; and 733 boat slips. Milfoil, he said, is a problem that “does not go away,” and requires constant monitoring and treatment. “I can’t over-emphasize the emergency,” he added, noting that committee members hauled milfoil out of the Downings Landing
area this past summer by the 55-gallon bucketful. If left untreated, he explained, the infestation will continue to grow, discouraging tourism by making local waterways unattractive to boaters, canoeists, and kayakers
and de-valuing shorefront properties, resulting in a shifting of the tax burden onto the shoulders of inland property owners. Unchecked milfoil growth near the town beach, he said,would also increase the risk of
drownings in that area. Explaining that the committee had adopted the stance that “if we’re going to do [a treatment], we’re going to do it right,”Downing presented the selectmen with a proposal to hit all 33 acres of milfoil with a single dose of herbicide next year, and follow the initial treatment up with a re-treatment a few weeks later. Breaking down the cost of a herbicide treatment, Downing explained that the town would need to raise $1,887.90 to treat the southern tip of the bay; $5,009.90 to treat the Merrymeeting River; $1,693.30 to treat the Rand Cove area; and
$2,863.70 to treat the Small’s Cove area — a grand total of $16,363, 30 percent (or $4,909) of which the state Department of Environmental Services has promised to match with a grant. In view of the fact that
town officials will have to sign an agreement with the DES no later than Dec. 23 in order to receive the matching funds, Downing said he and his wife, Nancy (also a member of the committee), had pledged $1,000 toward the cost of treating the southern part of the bay, where the infestation is threatening their business, Downing’s Landing. The committee, he added, also asked the owners of marinas affected by the milfoil infestation whether they would be willing to donate. Brian Fortier, owner of the West Alton Marina, said from the audience that he would
absorb the $2,863.70 cost of treating the Small’s Cove area. A representative from the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center said the organization would be willing to cover the $1,693 cost of treating
the Rand Cove area. Pointing out that the portion of the treatment left unfunded was the Merrymeeting River, Downing asked whether any audience members would be willing to donate toward the remaining
$5,009.90, but received no response. Asked what the impact of not treating the river would be, Downing replied that ignoring the river would essentially make the remaining treatments a waste of money. “The river’s the source,”he said, explaining that its contents feed into the lake. If push came to shove, he added, the selectmen should be able to dip into the town’s undesignated fund balance for the $5,009.90 needed to
treat the river. Confirming with Downing that the money the committee
was requesting was for next year’s treatment only, Selectman Loring Carr asked whether the board should consider placing an article on the 2010 town Warrant seeking funds for treatment in 2011. Downing felt that a Warrant article would be prudent. Explaining that the DES had lowered its matching grants from 50 percent to 30 percent this year in order to
make funding available to more communities, Selectman Peter Bolster (who also serves as a state representative) said there should be more money available next year due to an increase in the milfoil surcharge on boat registrations. Fortier suggested that the selectmen look into the possibility
of funneling boat registration revenue from the town’s general fund into milfoil treatment. Bolster agreed, urging local boat owners to register directly with the town, and not with the state, thereby ensuring
that the revenue stays in Alton. Downing noted that a coalition of milfoil committees throughout the state, including Alton’s, recently pledged
its support for a proposed bill that would add a fee of $10 per propeller to boat registrations in support of milfoil treatment programs. On a motion from Carr, the board voted unanimously to find some way to raise the
$5,009.90 needed to treat the river next year.

[Argie's Wife]

I was at that meeting and very impressed with the pledges for money made by several local businesses (mostly marinas) to help out with the problem. I am also glad to see the selectmen being so proactive on the issue and appropriating the funds right away to work on this. The report presented by the committee was one of the most thorough and professional reports I've seen by a committee of that type - very well done and informative. I did not appreciate the size of the problem until the presentation - it was mind-boggling! Kudos to the study committee for a job well done!

[SteveA]

LSP has used a combination of chemical and harvesting. They did a very good job this passed summer.

FYI

From the LSP Newsletter June 09

"The marina was treated yesterday for MILFOIL. Hopefully It will begin to die off in the next few weeks. In mid July we will hire a diving firm to start hand pulling the remainder of the weed. We have entered into a 5 year plan with the State and Town of Gilford to eradicate up to 80% of MILFOIL in our Marina. We also obtained a grant from the Gilford Conservation Commission to help us with the cost. Next year we hope to obtain a State grant for additional work."

Sad to say, it needs to be a yearly event. Milfoil is very stubborn.

[mcdude]

I'd like to offer a big round of applause to Jonathon Downing, his wife, and the committee for their efforts. They have also checked other lakes and ponds in Alton. I'm pleased to report that both Sunset lake and Hills Pond have been declared free of Milfoil. Hills Pond has the native non-invasive form of Milfoil. Nothing to worry about. Here are some photos of Jonathan and his wife "patrolling" Hills Pond early one morning back in August.

.

[Lakegeezer]

Milfoil control needs to be a budget item in all lake community budgets, just as is snow removal. There is no easy answer except drastic means now and then followed by constant monitoring. Twenty years ago, it wasn't that much of a problem. Now it is. Next, we'll be looking for ways to fight the blue algae, so tourists won't worry about catching ALS. Its time to clean up the lake!

[bocooee]

I lived on Big Island Pond my whole life and did the testing as well, I saw my beautiful lake turn into a dirty milfoil/zebra mollusk infested, utrophic pool of ignorance. If I had known I would have done much more. I would have no problem checking incoming boats for these pest, It only takes a few of us at certain checkpoint to stop it. It's not the people that are here all year its the ones who come and go often unaware of what is tangled in their props
I have been called a tree hugger yes But I dont want this lake or any other lake to fall like mine did (it dose not take as long as you think) Im willing to sacrifice a few hours a week

[Just Sold]

Originally Posted by bocooee

I lived on Big Island Pond my whole life

Big Island Pond in Derry/Hampstead and Atkinson? I do not live too far from there. It's a very nice pond and the association always does a lot to preserve its water quality. Had the boat in there once.

[Onshore]

Zebra mussells and eutrophic are not words that generally get used together.

[mcdude]

eutrophic - definition

[wifi]

So, if all the lakefront owners put fish tank bubblers in front of their houses, would this help out?

[Merrymeeting]

And you need to worry about the proverbial water upstream...

Thankfully, milfoil has not been found in Merrymeeting Lake. But the Merrymeeting River and Marsh are full of it. New Durham is trying to do something about it... http://www.newdurhamnh.us/Pages/NewD..._BComm/aquatic

Why should the Lake Winnipesaukee forum care? Think of where the Merrymeeting River goes...

[ApS]

Originally Posted by wifi

So, if all the lakefront owners put fish tank bubblers in front of their houses, would this help out?

Both exotic milfoil and algae love slow, warm, sunny waters: both problems are more pronounced in Southeastern states, where lakes tend to be shallow and sunlight can reach more of the bottom.

Where Lake Winnipesaukee's lakefronts get strong on-shore winds, neither algae nor milfoil can thrive in any annoying quantity. IMHO, Lake Winnipesaukee is too deep for a total eutrophication in our childrens' lifetimes, or maybe not for centuries.

A lake adjacent to my winter residence lake is surrounded by mostly year-round houses with lawns—a shrinking environment of trees—and no town sewer: in size, it is about twice as big as "The Basin" in Tuftonboro.

When it eventually "eutrophied" to such an extent that breathing the air became a health hazard , the State found the money to install a huge water fountain to aerate (and recirculate) the entire lake!

A "fish tank bubbler" it's not, but the falling water from the fountain provides a nice breeze for sailing when there isn't any wind otherwise!

[Lakegeezer]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

Where Lake Winnipesaukeelace lakefronts get strong on-shore winds, neither algae nor milfoil can thrive in any annoying quantity. IMHO, Lake Winnipesaukeelace is too deep for a total eutrophication in our children’s' lifetimes, or maybe not for centuries.

Have you seen the milfoil along Hesky park in Meredith? That is an annoying quantity. In Moultonborough, mostly around Greens Basin and Lees Mills, there are over 400 acres impacted by milfoil. Check out here the information from the Milfoil committee and the mapped out milfoil areas. According to the state, the phosphorus in parts of the lake is approaching a level where, unchecked, eutrophication will be well underway in 10 years. Those who have been around for 20 or so years know how the lake has changed, and we ain't seen nothing yet. We will not see total eutrophication in our children's lifetimes, but they will know it is well under way.

If milfoil continues to spread, property values in parts of the lake will fall, putting an increased tax burden on others. If Winnipesaukee gets a reputation of having blue-green, ALS causing algae, you can kiss tourism good-by.

The shoreline protection act was one small step towards slowing the acceleration. The next step is to identify and attack the sources. Part of the answer is education. Another part is, unfortunately, more regulation to reduce runoff. The political will ebs and flows – and it is hard to get a read on what people feel about it today. The voters of Moultonborough will get a chance to approve some action this March. That will be an interesting data point.

[bocooee]

Originally Posted by Just Sold

Big Island Pond in Derry/Hampstead and Atkinson? I do not live too far from there. It's a very nice pond and the association always does a lot to preserve its water quality. Had the boat in there once.

Yes, My grandfather had one of the first camps and the first store on the lake and The asc. Has done a fantastic job just not enough eyes and ears I lived on the lake for about 40 years and saw alot of changes and destruction because of my ignorance I didnt realize what was Happening, Conleys grove is my stomping ground Yours?

[bocooee]

Originally Posted by mcdude

eutrophic - definition

Sorry my spelling has never been my strong point but my lake is dying. What I decide to to with the home there is a wonder. When my kids swim there I want to give them a bath after.

[mcdude]

Originally Posted by wifi

So, if all the lakefront owners put fish tank bubblers in front of their houses, would this help out?

Actually you are on the right track. CLICK HERE to read about what they are doing over in Sanbornton.

DARYL CARLSON/CITIZEN PHOTO A half dozen windmills now occupy space on the Swain Dairy Farm off Hunkins Pond Road in Sanbornton. With grant money and help from several agencies the Swains installed the windmills that pump air directly into Hunkins Pond to help reduce high levels of bacteria that occur in the summer months.