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WHEELERVILLE — Invasive species such as Eurasian milfoil, pondweed and spiny water fleas have long threatened Fulton County waters.
And it’s something children in Caroga are slated to learn about later this week.
“It’s just the type of thing that makes plants seem to be with us forever so we just have to build that into our thinking, not just going to the lakes and removing it after the fact,” said Canada Lakes Conservation Association President Marcus Harazin.
Caroga on Friday will be the first southern Adirondack locale to host a youth-level training session developed by the Adirondack Watershed Institute to help halt the spread of invasive species. It’s offered for elementary age enrollees in the town’s summer program.
Here’s the plan: volunteers, including state boat inspection stewards, will familiarize kids with the local watershed and show samples of invasive plants. Weather permitting, they’ll then tour a boat decontamination station near Town Hall.
Afterwards, kids will fill out thematic workbooks containing crossword puzzles, word searches, maps and pictures aplenty. Each packet should take between 15 to 30 minutes to complete.
“It’s about taking that information and sharing that in a really informal way,” said Tom Collins, an education and outreach specialist with AWI.
As part of a deal with AWI, Canada Lakes Conservation Association is picking up the cost of printing out about 50 workbooks and certificates.
Harazin learned about the youth program while attending the Adirondacks Lakes Association conference this past August. He quickly touched base with AWI, which at that time had spent two years offering the stewardship initiative to families and camping groups and young students.
Every program is tailored to specific regional issues, Collins noted.
“That’s really exciting for them,” Collins said. “They can both learn about it from an invasive species perspective, protect their lakes and ponds, but also learn a bit about the watershed as a whole.”
250-plus non-native aquatic species have appeared in the U.S. from around the globe, according to the National Park Service. In New York, the most common foreign predators include water chestnuts, hydrilla, pondweeds, fanworts, elodea, starry stoneworts and milfoil.
Caroga Lake, in particular, has struggled with controlling Eurasian milfoil. The perennial plant can destroy native species, make lakes near unswimmable and hurt property values. It’s become present in 48 states since entering North America in the 1940s.
The town has considered potentially piloting in local waters a ProcellaCOR herbicide to help clear the species from local waters.
Caroga was one of the first towns in the Adirondacks to send out a team for hand-harvesting milfoil some 40 years ago. There are three decontamination stations in town, according to Harazin.
Caroga is home to a bevy of lakes, including East Canada Lake, Green Lake and Pine Lake. The county, overall, is home to 44 lakes.
Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or [email protected]. Follow him on Facebook at Tyler A. McNeil, Daily Gazette or Twitter @TylerAMcNeil.
