Lake groups launch unified front against hydrilla

“In three years, we will have spent over a million dollars to manage this, but if we don’t, we lose this lake.”
—Grant Bogle, Twin Lakes Association president

SALISBURY — As if on cue, the setting sun at Lake Wononscopomuc signaled the end of the day and hope for a new tomorrow, a fitting backdrop to the group of lake representatives that had gathered on Oct. 10 at the Town Grove to pool resources, share information and discuss management plans in the ongoing threat from invasive hydrilla.

During the nearly two-hour forum, Bill Littauer, president of the Lake Wononscopomuc Association, and Grant Bogle, president of the Twin Lakes Association (TLA), addressed an audience of about 50 stakeholders, including property owners, representatives of nearby Mt. Riga, Inc., and town officials.

“Hydrilla, I’m told, was named after Hydra, the nine-headed monster of Greek mythology,” known to regenerate two heads for every one that was cut off, said Littauer. “So that is very germane to this discussion.”

Littauer explained that the hydrilla verticillata which found its way into Florida through the aquarium industry in the 1950’s is not the same strain that has devastated coves and tributaries throughout the Connecticut River since 2016.

“It has morphed and created a much more virulent strain known as the Connecticut River variant, because that’s where all of the problems stem from. You just can’t kill the stuff,” noted Littauer. He said sea planes and fishing boats likely contributed to its inland spread.

A more aggressive approach in 2025

In June of 2023, East Twin Lake became the first lake outside of the Connecticut River to identify the presence of hydrilla, and the TLA immediately assembled a coalition of scientific and environmental advisers to address the threat.

As a precaution, Lake Wononscopomuc, also known as Lakeville Lake, immediately closed its launch to outside boaters, and Mt. Riga, Inc. also played it safe by closing its Ostrander beach and campsites this past season until preventative measures were in place.

Despite two summers of herbicide spot treatment mainly around the marina at East Twin, hydrilla has migrated to deeper waters, prompting the TLA to take a more aggressive approach in the spring of 2025 by treating the lake’s entire littoral zone with multiple doses of the herbicide SonarOne.

So far, Littauer said, hydrilla has not been found in Lakeville Lake, and keeping it out is the primary goal, which is why its boat launch will remain closed indefinitely.

“Unfortunately for us on Wononscopomuc, the only alternative should hydrilla find its way into the lake, is herbicides, and we have had such opposition on this lake” to chemical treatment, even for milfoil, he explained. “I shudder to think that is the only solution.”

Bogle explained that at Twin Lakes, in addition to a more aggressive approach to controlling the invasive weed on East Twin, “our goal is to stop hydrilla from getting into West Twin. We’re chasing the plant at this point in time, but we’re not down and out by a long shot. We’ve made real progress this year.”

But the chase comes at a cost. In 2021, lake management costs were about $50,000 for the Twin Lakes. “We are spending roughly $300,000 this year and project spending $350,000 next year,” the TLA president told those assembled.

“In three years, we will have spent over a million dollars to manage this, but if we don’t we lose this lake.”

The TLA has launched a year-end appeal to raise $250,000 for hydrilla control next year and to eventually eliminate the noxious weed.

Chemical treatment carries hefty price tag

According to the TLA, projected lake management costs next year will exceed $350,000, a seven-fold increase from just four years ago and a figure that will remain elevated for years. More than nine in every 10 dollars raised gets spent directly on lake management.

The town of Salisbury has traditionally picked up two-thirds of the lake management costs but lacks the resources to sustain that share at current spending levels, according to TLA officials.

In response to an audience question about why management of hydrilla is so expensive, Bogle noted that while herbicides are relatively low-cost, it takes a crew of trained and licensed professionals to apply the treatments to the tune of about $2,500 per application.

Discussion also centered around the need for all lakes to have an emergency plan should hydrilla take root, since approvals for treatment from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEEP) could take several months and hydrilla can double in biomass every day during the height of the summer growing season and can quickly outcompete native plant species.

“In the event it was found, we’d go very forcefully to DEEP to ask their permission to use the herbicides,” Rand explained.

Bogle credited DEEP for becoming “a partner with us, and that was not true two years ago. What happened to Twin Lakes is unfortunately going to happen elsewhere and they’re trying to learn, too.”

Preparing for worst-case scenario

Discussion centered around the importance of lake groups creating a management plan in preparation for a worst-case scenario.

“There are things that can be done to get ready. Active monitoring and having a plan I think will be helpful,” Bogle noted.

Other strategies Twin Lakes will be putting into place next season is to increase hours for the boat monitors at the marina, and possibly adding a boat-washing station.

In closing the meeting, Bogle praised the camaraderie among the lakes’ stakeholders, all of which face unique challenges.

“I think it’s been a positive benefit. We are all in our own little bubbles and I think it has been helpful to have this type of discussion. Each lake is different, and each lake community is different.”