Twin Lakes group continues battle against invasive hydrilla despite delay in federal funding

SALISBURY — A lack of federal funding has caused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to scale back efforts to combat a highly invasive strain of hydrilla in the Connecticut River this summer, prompting Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) to request $5.5 million from Congress so that a field eradication and management project started last year can continue.

The budget standstill aside, in Salisbury the Twin Lakes Association (TLA) is proceeding full speed ahead in its battle against hydrilla. Two years ago, East Twin became the first lake outside of the Connecticut River to identify the virulent strain in its waters. Since then, 10 additional waterbodies have been found to harbor the worrisome weed.

Armed with a $500,000 lake management budget for 2025 and a permit for herbicide treatment from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEEP), the lake association is launching a sustained attack on hydrilla throughout summer into early fall.

Lake management costs have risen exponentially since hydrilla’s arrival. In 2022, the TLA budgeted about $60,000 to manage the Twin Lakes, of which the town of Salisbury contributed roughly $40,000.

Referring to this year’s estimated $500,000 in expenses for herbicide applications and aquatic plant monitoring, “We don’t see this going down,” said TLA President Grant Bogle of costly battle.

Fundraising efforts have proven fruitful, with association members responding generously. Eight large donors have given $10,000 or more. In all, 82 members donated at least $1,000 each, totaling $350,000 since last August.

Filling the budget gaps were contributions from the state and town, each contributing $75,000, and a $25,000 grant was received from the Bates Foundation.

And while the state has been generous with grants, that source cannot be guaranteed and, therefore, fundraising is crucial, Bogle noted. “We have to take control here. If it happens great, but we’re not planning on it.”

Plant surveys, herbicide treatments underway

The lake association sprang into action once the Connecticut River variant of hydrilla was identified the waters around O’Hara’s Landing Marina by forming a coalition of local, state and federal scientific and environmental advisors.

TLA board member Russ Conklin, who has since been appointed vice president of lake management, recently gave an update to the association’s annual membership meeting on June 14 at Isola Bella, which drew 62 attendees.

He explained that George Knoecklein of Northeast Aquatic Research, the TLA’s limnologist, will be conducting four major plant surveys this year. They started in June and will continue throughout the summer.

“The first three are to determine where the various species are and to confirm that we’ve gotten all the hydrilla locations that we think are contained to the East Bay,” said Conklin, who noted that the whole-lake surveys typically take place over five to six days.

“George goes out and meanders around all of the shallow places of all the lakes,” said Conklin. In early fall, divers will explore deeper depths, as was done last year resulting in new hydrilla beds discovered farther into the lake in a path leading from the marina.

The TLA has hired Shrewsbury, Massachusetts-based lake management company SOLitude to apply multiple, low doses of the herbicide Sonar, in keeping with DEEP’s permit.

Results from this year’s treatment will be reported back to the state and will be shared with the association’s scientific partners, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), state and local officials and other lake groups.

Research scaled back

Last year, USACE and the CAES tested five locations around the Connecticut River with various herbicides. However, the current federal budget standstill means that research has been scaled back, which concerns environmentalists and lake groups both within and outside of the Connecticut River Valley.

Keith Hannon of USACE’s New England Division, who is among the TLA’s coalition of advisors, confirmed last week that due to the fiscal year 2025 federal budget continuing resolution, his agency’s aquatic plant control research program has not received a budget appropriation for the current fiscal year.

“USACE does have money available to use from previous appropriations for the CT River hydrilla project that doesn’t expire but this money provides a significantly limited budget for the project in fiscal year 2025.”

That said, his agency will continue to execute the program with whatever funding becomes available, noted Hannon.

“In general, if continued no action or limited response to hydrilla persists, it is reasonable to expect the plant will continue to spread at the current rate.”

A busy day of inspections, launches

On a recent Sunday afternoon, David Mathus of Salisbury was among the steady flow of boaters looking to launch into East Twin. He guided his 21-foot SunDeck motorboat into the water, with assistance from Colin Brooks, service manager at O’Hara’s Landing, as the line to launch grew.

Nearby, Keenan Wysocki, one of several boat monitors assigned to check boats coming in and leaving the lake, kept a watchful eye out for hydrilla fragments that might be hitching rides on boats either entering or exiting the lake.

According to Conklin, the TLA is exploring the possibility of adding boat washers at the marina, at a cost of between $50,000 and $60,000.

Mathus, who sits on the boards of both the TLA and nearby Salisbury School, said he is concerned about the federal budget standstill and its potential impact on hydrilla research.

He credited the TLA for its aggressive action to halt the spread locally, and said he hopes federal funding to fight the scourge continues. “I also have a place near the Connecticut River, so I know how badly it’s been affected there.”