Sharon keeps watchful eye on water weeds

SHARON — While Hydrilla has yet to establish itself in Mudge Pond, it remains an imminent threat, Selectwoman Lynn Kearcher reported to the Board of Selectmen at the Sept. 10 meeting. “If it ever made its way to Mudge,” she warned, it would be “deadly.”

Kearcher detailed a recent meeting with the town’s lake scientist, George Knoecklein, who is preparing a report on the lake’s ecological health. The report is expected to be completed in December.

Kearcher related that while Knoecklein had found no traces of hydrilla in the lake, the lake is “deeply impacted” with other invasive species such as fanwort, Eurasian water milfoil, and curly-leaf pondweed. A new stand of water chestnut has also cropped up near the dam.

The presence of these invasives would make the management of a hydrilla infestation even more difficult, Kearcher explained. Before removing hydrilla, the lake’s rampant growth of milfoil and other vegetation would have to be addressed.

Paradoxically, the presence of threatened and endangered species further complicates plans to address any future hydrilla invasion. Knoecklein has identified in Mudge Pond populations of hard-stemmed bulrush, which is threatened in Connecticut, as well as the presence of the tiny turret snail (valvata tricarinata), which is listed as a species of special concern in the state. It’s difficult to employ invasive plant control measures, such as herbicide use, without impacting the protected species who share the lake.

Herbicides have shown the most promise so far in the battle with hydrilla. Kearcher was recently invited by the Twin Lakes Association on an outing on East Twin Lake to demonstrate the progress of test trials with the herbicide Sonar by SePRO, and the results were promising.

Mudge Pond, however, is not East Twin Lake – “they do not have milfoil like we do,” Kearcher said, “because they treated the lake five years ago.” The lake also has the attention of DEEP, which Mudge Pond frustratingly lacks, Kearcher maintained, because DEEP will not assist in prevention, but only in management once hydrilla is established. This is a problem, because “we have to move fast,” Kearcher emphasized. Selectman John Brett put it more bluntly at the Sept. 10 meeting: “DEEP needs to be pressed.”

For now, though, the hydrilla is at bay, and the lake remains unclogged by thick green weeds. Brett was eager point out the positives: “it was a great summer at the beach.”