Patches of invasive hydrilla in the vicinity of the marina on East Twin Lake were treated on Monday with an herbicide known as Sonar One. The state-approved application is the first of several doses to be administered at intervals of about three weeks for the remainder of summer into fall.
SALISBURY — Targeted hotspots of the invasive aquatic plant hydrilla around the marina and in the northeast cove of East Twin Lake were treated on Monday with a controlled release herbicide known as Sonar One.
Subsequent dosing with the herbicide, used for the first time at Twin Lakes, will be repeated at intervals of about three weeks for the remainder of the summer and into the fall, according to Twin Lakes Association (TLA) officials.
“Sonar is the preferred herbicide for hydrilla,” Russ Conklin, Vice President of Lake Management for the TLA, had reported during the lake association’s recent membership meeting in June.
The TLA worked with scientific advisors from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), as well as the TLA’s limnologist, George Knoecklein, founder and principal of Northeast Aquatic Research (NEAR), regarding which herbicides have proven most effective in the management of hydrilla.
The group recommended Sonar One, a slow-release version of Sonar, which contains fluoridone as its active ingredient. Fluoridone is absorbed by hydrilla’s roots and shoots and is then transported throughout the plant, disrupting photosynthesis and preventing the plant from producing pigments that protect it from sunlight, causing the plant to bleach and die over time.
The TLA, through its contracted herbicide applicator, The Pond and Lake Connection, has received a permit for treatment specifically with Sonar from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
The first dosing of slow-release Sonar by The Pond and Lakes Connection took place Monday. Signs of plant damage may appear within seven to 10 days of application, but it may take 30 to 90 days of continuous application to kill hydrilla.
Sonar has no labeled restrictions on swimming, watering or fishing when used as directed, according to TLA officials. The herbicide was approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1986 and has been widely used since then.
“From the literature we have reviewed including product label, and based upon the recommendation by our scientific experts, and given the decades of wide use in the United States including on lakes that are battling hydrilla, we believe this is the appropriate choice for our lakes at this time,” said TLA president Grant Bogle.
NEAR, the firm hired by the TLA to conduct water quality testing and aquatic plant surveys, recently conducted an aquatic plant survey of the entire Twin Lakes system and, as expected, found numerous beds of hydrilla around O’Hara’s Landing Marina.
Last fall a four-acre area was spot-treated with a different herbicide, ProcellaCOR, just before the hydrilla started to naturally die back and overwinter, but the noxious weed resprouted this summer.
“Last fall’s treatment did not occur until mid-September and, as such, was late,” Bogle explained. “You want to catch hydrilla as it is emerging and in the growth phase. That said, ProcellaCOR did have an impact on the standing crop but did not appear to kill the plant to the roots. We fully expected it to come up again this spring.”
One stray patch of hydrilla, identified north of the marina, was not targeted for treatment last year, or this year, because a state-listed protected native species, water marigold, grows in the area. The patch is currently blocked off with barriers to keep unsuspecting boaters from chopping off hydrilla fragments, which can then contaminate other areas of the lake.
East Twin was identified late last June as the first lake in Connecticut infected with the non-native plant, even though TLA’s Conkln said he believes it may have gone unnoticed in East Twin for several years. Since then, the strain has also been discovered in six additional lakes in the state.
“We know it’s on the move, so it’s very concerning,” said Gregory Bugbee, associate scientist with CAES and scientific advisor to the TLA in its battle against hydrilla. Bugbee and other environmentalists said there are still a lot of “unknowns” surrounding the non-native weed and the effectiveness of treatment efforts to date.
On a cloudy Wednesday at the start of October, my girlfriend, Taylor, and I decided to enjoy the autumn afternoon by getting off our laptops and into the woods for some much needed movement. Having just moved to Norfolk as a new reporter for the Lakeville Journal, I was on the hunt for panoramic views of the landscape I now call home, accessible with the hour and a half of daylight left to us. Haystack Tower it was.
I’m not entirely unfamiliar with the landscapes of the Northwest Corner: I visited family and friends in the region as a child and would drive up on high school joyrides from my home in Westchester County. But calling somewhere home brings new meaning to a place, and I was eager to see a familiar view with a new sense of belonging.
To extend the walk a bit, we chose the yellow trail loop, starting from the bottom of the road leading up the hill off North Street. Our journey began on a neatly mowed path through a gently sloping meadow, with stands of purple-white New England asters poking out from a mosaic of green and red leaves and grasses on either side of the trail.
Our trail took us into a forest sporting half-autumn colors: some maple stands blazed gold and orange while others remained dark green. The occasional fiery swamp maple glowed bright red below the overstory, catching the glints of sunlight that managed to penetrate the cloud layer and canopy.
As we trudged up the forested hillside, my field of vision was so washed in texture — a chaos of rocks, roots, bark, and leaves of every shade — that my eyes almost started to ache.
The trail plateaued after a short climb into a new type of forest: three-story oaks underscored with hickory saplings. With a new composition, the forest assumed a browner and yellower hue than that of the maple-dominated lower hillside.
We eventually reached the imposing stone tower at Haystack Mountain’s summit, and we quickly climbed the winding stairs to find what we came for: 360-degree views of forested hills folding over one another as they spread into the distance, interspersed by patches of valley farmland. A copse of orange maples framed Route 44 as it passed through Norfolk below. This was the beautiful patchwork landscape I am lucky to now call home.
A relaxed jaunt down a wide carriage road took us around the mountain’s northeastern flank as eastern hemlocks leaned overhead and clung to the steep slope below. Reaching the car with daylight to spare, we decided to prolong the outing with an evening pint.
At Norbrook Farm Brewery, we were asked if we wanted to join a game of jukebox bingo. It looked like fun, but we couldn’t get enough of the October evening air, so we headed outside instead to sit fireside on the patio. Settling into an Adirondack chair, I sipped the brewery’s brown ale (the “Beckley Furnace Ale”). It was malty and crisp, and certainly one of the better in the style I’ve had recently. Taylor is partial to seasonal beers and opted for their pumpkin ale, joyously titled the “Gourdo.” I’m usually not a fan of pumpkin-flavored anything, but I agreed that this was a nicely balanced beer and enjoyed the few sips I took.
As the light faded on the hills, we noted that the foliage across the fields looked to be nearly peaking in the soft glow of the evening. A chill settled in and I huddled closer to the fire, eager to lean into the swiftly changing season in my new home.
Chilly rain sprinkles did not keep area art lovers away from the opening of the Kent Art Association’s Fall Juried Art Show on Sunday, Oct. 13. Judges for the event were association members Liz Maynard and Conrad Levenson. The show will continue until Saturday, Nov. 2, during the association's open hours.
Kent artist and long-term resident Carolyn Millstein (above) paused for a photo next to her piece, “Near Oakdale."
“SHELTER,” an art exhibit supporting The Gathering Place opened on Suday, Oct. 12, at the Royal Arcanum Building in Norfolk, Conn. Featuring works by fourteen area artists, proceeds from sales will benefit The Gathering Place based in Torrington, Conn., which provides essential services to the homeless across 26 towns in Litchfield County. Open weekdays, this vital resource offers everything from hot showers and laundry facilities to housing assistance. The exhibit runs through Nov. 24.
