
The boat launch at Lakeville Lake is closed indefinitely due to the hydrilla threat.
Debra A. Aleksinas
The boat launch at Lakeville Lake is closed indefinitely due to the hydrilla threat.
The Hydrilla Menace
This is the first of a series on invasive aquatic hydrilla and its growing threat to waterbodies and communities in Northwest Connecticut.
SALISBURY — It was only a matter of time.
Since 2016, an aggressive non-native aquatic plant, Hydrilla verticillata, also known as water thyme, has fouled coves and tributaries along the Connecticut River from Essex to the Massachusetts border, leaving unprecedented ecological, recreational and economic damage in its wake.
Now it has hitched a ride via unsuspecting boat owners to inland freshwater lakes and ponds around the state, causing concern among lake associations, town and state officials.
To date, the submerged perennial plant, fittingly named after Hydra, the nine-headed serpent from Greek mythology known for its regenerative powers, has been identified in at least 10 known lakes and ponds in the state.
That number is expected to rise as scientists from the Connecticut Aquatic Experiment Station’s Office of Aquatic Species (CAES/OAIS) scour 94 state-owed marinas in search of the worrisome weed, which they fear is spreading undetected.
Time is of the essence to locate, control and eradicate an aggressive subspecies of Hydrilla verticillata, which is unique to the Connecticut River and grows at an astonishing rate of up to a foot a day with long, slender stems that can grow underwater to lengths of up to 30 feet and spread horizontally into thick mats.
Fragments that contain as little as a single whorl of leaves are capable of drifting to other parts of a waterbody and forming new colonies. Left unchecked, perennial hydrilla, which has earned the title of “the world’s worst invasive aquatic plant” and is listed as a federal noxious weed, can completely displace native submerged plant communities, altering fish populations and water chemistry, and threatening bald eagles.
Last summer, East Twin Lake in Salisbury raised alarm when it became the first documented lake outside of the Connecticut River to become infested with a Connecticut River variant of hydrilla. Lake officials suspect it had been thriving undetected beneath the lake’s surface around the marina for several years before being noticed during a routine lake survey. [See timeline here].
Ripples of invasion
Hydrilla, native to Africa and Southeast Asia, has had a rich introduction history into the United States, with multiple subspecies being introduced since the 1960’s. It was first introduced to this country in the early 1950s near Tampa, Fla., when an aquarium plant dealer dumped bundles of the lush, green plant into a canal near his business, and by the early 1990s hydrilla occupied more than 140,000 acres of public lakes and rivers.
In 2016 a new variant of Hydrilla verticillata, subspecies lithuanica, also known as Northern hydrilla, was identified in the Connecticut River, and three years later the CAES surveyed the river from Agawam, Mass., to the Long Island Sound, reporting at least 774 acres of hydrilla.
“The particular strain that is unique to the Connecticut River appears to be much more aggressive and robust than anything we have seen before,” said Gregory Bugbee, who runs the Invasive Plant Program at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES)
And it is difficult and expensive to manage and eradicate.
“Significant costs are already associated with the impact and maintenance of the prior two subspecies established in the United States since the 1960s and 1980’s,” according to Jeremiah Foley, assistant scientist with CAES.
Why hydrilla management is important
The alarming explosion of Connecticut River hydrilla outside of the Connecticut River has raised significant concerns about its spread inland, threatening the beauty and pristine nature of many of its waterbodies.
The worrisome weed can outcompete native species, replacing habitat for sensitive species including migratory fish. Thick, horizontally-growing mats of hydrilla have crowded out boaters, anglers and those who recreate on the Connecticut River.
Marinas and municipalities have reported that they can no longer access boat slips and docks due to hydrilla infestations, limiting business opportunities. Extensive stands of hydrilla can obstruct swimmers and other water-related activities. The plant can also hurt tourism and impact the value of real estate that depends upon attractive waterways.
“The threat of hydrilla gaining a foothold in our lakes here in the Northwest Corner is an increasing concern of the highest levels.”— John Harney, Salisbury real estate agent
"The threat of hydrilla gaining a foothold in our lakes here in the Northwest Corner is an increasing concern of the highest levels,” said John Harney, a real estate broker with Willaim Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Salisbury.
“Twin Lakes commands the highest values for real estate, but this all changes if the lake becomes clogged with hydrilla. I would hope that this is a clarion call to bring all of our resources and attention to solving not only the hydrilla issue, but also to address the effects of overdevelopment.”
Since hydrilla’s discovery last summer in East Twin, the nearby boat launch at Lake Wononscopomuc, has been off-limits to outside boaters to keep the lake from becoming infested, and lake officials there intend to keep it closed indefinitely.
“If you lose this wonderful body of water the town would take such a hit. Property values around the lake will drop if you have a lake you can’t boat or swim in, and it’s not just popular for fishing. This is a very recreational lake for the children,” said Stacey Dodge, Town Grove Manager.
Management and control
The best way to manage hydrilla is to prevent its spread in the first place. Boaters are advised to clean, drain and dry their boats, trailers and equipment after leaving a body to keep hydrilla fragments from entering other lakes or rivers.
Once it becomes established, it is a nightmare to control and can cost as much as $1,000 per acre to manage. Many states are spending millions of dollars annually to control it. Lake Associations and towns can face a staggering rise in management costs, even with state and federal assistance.
Research on this very invasive plant is ongoing, as many biological attributes of this subspecies remain unknown, and it has no natural predators or diseases to limit its population. “Because it’s a new strain, it’s been a slow and frustrating process,” noted the Connecticut River Conservancy’s Rhea Drozdenko, River Steward for Connecticut.
Eradication by harvester is discouraged because even the smallest of fragments can spread and repopulate, and the introduction of grass carp into lakes is not a viable option, according to Foley, because while the fish will eat hydrilla, they will also devour every other aquatic plant within the lake. Biological control, he recently told members of the Twin Lakes Association during the group’s annual meeting at Camp Isola Bella on East Twin, is still in its infancy.
Aquatic herbicides have shown the most promise.
Coming next: A visit to the Connecticut River, where researchers are testing various aquatic herbicides at five sites.
NORTH CANAAN — The new federally qualified health center in North Canaan has treated more than 1,000 patients since opening its doors last summer to strong demand in the Northwest Corner. However, operators of that facility, and others like it in Connecticut, said they are facing a “serious financial crisis” because Medicaid reimbursements have failed for decades to cover the actual costs of providing essential services.
In response to the longstanding problem, the not-for-profit Community Health Center Association of Connecticut has filed a Declaratory Ruling Request with the state Department of Social Services regarding that agency’s legal obligations for setting and revising Medicaid reimbursement rates for the state’s federally qualified health centers, also referred to as FQHC’s.
The legal action follows more than 18 months of administrative rate requests and unsuccessful negotiations with DSS, according to a statement issued by the association on March 11, which noted:
“After great effort made by the FQHC’s to work with DSS and reach resolution, the offer made by DSS offers inadequate rate adjustments, failing to address the FQHCs’ financial concerns, and requires them to surrender their due process rights under the law.”
Joanne Borduas, who chairs the association’s board of directors, said DSS’s offer was for “less than reasonable costs and came with unacceptable policy stipulations that we would be made to agree to in order to get the grossly inadequate proposed rate rebasing, which would be paid over a four-year schedule.”
“Our request to DSS was clear,” said Borduas, who also serves as CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington which also has centers in North Canaan and Winsted.
“We want DSS to follow the Federal law and compensate us accordingly so we can continue to care for our most vulnerable populations, and we need that to happen now because our 440,000 patients, 264,000 of whom are enrolled in Medicaid across our FQHC network, need us.”
Borduas noted that the decision to move forward comes after years of CHC/ACT and health centers making “good faith efforts” to get this important process changed to comply with federal law.
She said the financial strain on the state’s health centers has reached a point where vital services are at severe risk, including those under the umbrella of Community Health and Wellness Center.
“As of now we continue to operate without additional cuts or layoffs, however, it is difficult to fill vacant positions. It is difficult to recruit in this environment. We need to stay competitive with workforce wages in order to recruit providers, and that is difficult to do.”
She added that “We cannot provide raises for our staff who are extremely valuable, care about our mission and the people we serve and who work hard every day, and we cannot think of expanding services to meet community needs because there is an associated cost.”
In response to Declaratory Ruling Request filed with the state Department of Social services, that agency’s spokesperson, Christine Stuart reported on March 13 that the department acknowledges receipt of the request and “shall be analyzing and responding in due course and in compliance with statutes pertaining to petitions of state agencies for a declaratory ruling.”
In 2024, the Department of Social Services issued a “final report” into the state’s Medicaid program which found the state’s operating methods to be “cost-effective and high-performing, while identifying some areas where further improvements can be made.”
The analysis, which was conducted by Accenture and Manatt at the request of the state, evaluated the current program’s cost efficiency, quality and access, “while also exploring whether other models of operations could be an improvement over the current system, which operates through an administrative services organization model.”
The report found that Connecticut’s program “stands out as a model of cost-efficiency, with per capita spending 14% lower than the average of most northeastern states, and administrative costs significantly lower than managed care states (3.8% vs. 9.4%).”
The DSS “final report” further noted: “It also shows that the state is meeting national benchmarks to provide reliable service delivery while maintaining fiscal responsibility and is performing above the median on approximately 70% of national adult and child quality measures,” and suggests other states “could benefit from reviewing Connecticut’s program as a blueprint to achieve similar results.”
The Community Health Center Association of Connecticut is not convinced.
It maintains that as the state’s health centers begin to “suspend vital services, freeze hiring and deplete their cash reserves,” they have been left with no choice other than to pursue legal remedies. “They are not seeking special treatment, but simply asking DSS to follow the law as written.”
Speaking to her experience as CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington, Borduas explained that adjusted rates for medical and mental health were received by the state Department of Social Services for adding the North Canaan Health Center.
“Medical rates per our 2024 cost per Medicaid patient leaves a $122.48 gap between reimbursement and cost per patient. This difference,” she noted, “is what we lose for every patient enrolled in Medicaid that we care for.”
Behavior health is better compensated, said Borduas, but dental, which was offered at Community Health and Wellness Center’s Torrington and Winsted locations, is compensated $137.15 below 2024 costs and as a result, “CHWC has had to unfortunately suspend our dental services having incurred $350,000 in losses for restorative care in 2024.”
That included services like dentures, bridges, crowns and root canals, and an analysis of full services is in process and will likely yield greater losses, said Borduas. “The low Medicaid reimbursement that applies to 60% of our patients, the large gaps in payments are simply not sustainable.”
Connecticut’s federally qualified health centers provide critical medical, dental and behavioral healthcare to more than 440,000 of the state’s neediest and most marginalized residents.
On average, 60% of patients at the statewide centers have Medicaid coverage, where their care cannot be denied, according to the association.
“The FQHC’s need a rate-setting process that makes sense and follows the law, to ensure that all Connecticut residents, regardless of their income or background, can continue to access the care they need,” added Borduas.
Shawn K. Frick, CEO of the Community Health Care Association of Connecticut, noted that “The Connecticut legislature has been consistently supportive of our work, but our attempts to address this issue through the legislative process have been consistently opposed by the administration.”
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North Canaan Town Hall
NORTH CANAAN — “If you’re not coming to work, why would you get paid?”
Selectman Craig Whiting asked his fellow selectmen this pointed question during a special meeting of the Board on March 12 discussing Town Clerk Jean Jacquier, who has been absent from work for more than a month. She was not present at the meeting.
“There’s been no reasoning, no explanation, no anything as to why you’re not here,” said Whiting.
Jacquier has worked in Town Hall since 1993 and was first elected town clerk in 2017. Conflict arose in 2023 when several complaints of misconduct were lodged against Jacquier.
First Selectman Brian Ohler filed the complaints to the Attorney General’s office, which included, among others, improper security of the vault, posting candidate campaign material in Town Hall and untimely stamping documents. The subsequent investigation found misconduct on the part of Jacquier in each of these three areas but took no punitive action.
Jacquier filed suit against the Town of North Canaan to recoup $15,000 in legal fees accrued during the investigation. The town motioned to strike the case, which was granted by Hon. Walter Menjivar at Torrington Superior Court on Jan. 28, 2025.
Ohler said Jacquier stopped coming to work after that ruling and has not been in contact since Feb. 4. During her absence, she continued to receive pay checks.
Assistant Town Clerk Marilisa Camardi had been filling in part time but was away the first week of March. To keep the office open, Executive Assistant Paul Mattingly was appointed assistant town clerk by the Board of Selectmen at its March 3 meeting. The two will work together until the next election or until Jacquier returns.
“It’s an essential function of the town to have that office open,” said Whiting.
Last week, Jacquier told The Lakeville Journal her recent absence is due to harassment and antagonism in Town Hall, which is taking a toll on her health.
Jacquier’s attorney, Jeffrey Mirman, communicated with the selectmen to request the meeting regarding her salary be open to the public as opposed to executive session. The selectmen complied.
Selectman Jesse Bunce said he has been in contact with Jacquier and he presented a letter from her to his fellow selectmen during the March 12 meeting. Ohler stated he could not verify the source of the letter, but he would forward it to the town attorney. The letter was not read into the record.
Ohler made a motion to suspend Jacquier’s salary until she returns to work. Whiting seconded. The motion passed 2-0 with Bunce abstaining.
“Every picture begins with just a collection of good shapes,” said painter and illustrator Dan Howe, standing amid his paintings and drawings at the Kearcher-Monsell Gallery at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The exhibit, which opened on Friday, March 7, and runs through April 10, spans decades and influences, from magazine illustration to portrait commissions to imagined worlds pulled from childhood nostalgia. The works — some luminous and grand, others intimate and quiet — show an artist whose technique is steeped in history, but whose sensibility is wholly his own.
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, and trained at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Howe’s artistic foundation was built on rigorous, old-school principles. “Back then, art school was like boot camp,” he recalled. “You took figure drawing five days a week, three hours a day. They tried to weed people out, but it was good training.” That discipline led him to study under Tom Lovell, a renowned illustrator from the golden age of magazine art. “Lovell always said, ‘No amount of detail can save a picture that’s commonplace in design.’”
Training led to work. Early on, while still a graduate assistant at Syracuse University, Howe began painting portraits — chancellors, deans, and, later, an endless roster of chairmen and medical executives. It paid well, but Howe found that the job of a portraitist, even a highly skilled one, is ultimately limited. “They’re just the same thing, you know, just a guy in a suit. Later, maybe it was a girl in a suit,” said Howe.
Between commissions, he painted for himself. This show is a gathering of those moments — studies of his wife and daughters, mythic scenes painted for libraries, and Star Wars covers from his time living near Dark Horse Comics in Oregon.A large painting, originally commissioned for a library, shows a girl in an attic opening a trunk, imagination spilling into the room. The library remodeled and sent the painting back. Now it anchors a wall in the show.
Dan Howe’s work reflects the Brandywine School’s devotion to craftsmanship, narrative depth, and a luminous, almost nostalgic realism. Like Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth before him, Howe builds scenes using light and composition to evoke mood and meaning. His meticulous brushwork and layering techniques nod to the tradition of classical illustration, yet his work diverges in its contemporary stillness. Of Norman Rockwell, Howe said, “He’s of my era, and our styles are similar. Of course Rockwell is Rockwell. I’ve got a little more painterly, Sargent-esque stuff running through mine.” The influence is there, not as mimicry, but as a quiet echo, refined through his own aesthetic language. “I’m an anachronism,” he said, without regret. His influences form a lineage of illustrators whose work once filled the pages of The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s. They understood, as Howe does, that a painting must be more than accurate.“Mood is everything,” said Howe, drawing a comparison between two paintings in the show — a couple by a fire — to an old Star Wars concept painting. “Same color scheme. Different world. Mood is everything.”
Teaching remains a passion for Howe. When he and his family moved to the east coast from Chicago, Howe taught a series at the Norman Rockwell Museum called “Painting Like Rockwell,” something he hopes to revive. “I like beginners,” he said. “They don’t have bad habits yet.”
Howe also runs a summer figure drawing workshop at HVRHS with an old-school approach. “You’ve just walked into a time machine — this is art school, 1965. Three hours of drawing in the morning, three in the afternoon. No cell phones.” His methods may be antiquated but the results are living proof that some things are worth preserving. “Maybe this stuff is so old it’s new again,” he mused.
As he hung his pieces for this show, Howe said teachers stopped by, connecting his images to their own memories. “That’s a success,” he said. “If a picture makes someone feel something, then it’s done its job.”