State eyes ways to halt spread of milfoil
Focus is on Messalonskee Lake
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
BELGRADE — Mounting fears that an exotic species of plant in Messalonskee Lake will spread have prompted the state to consider restricting use of the south boat launch on the lake.
The Route 27 public boat ramp is the epicenter of the largest variable water milfoil infestation in central Maine, and acres of shallow water around it are blanketed with the ropy plants each summer.
Many consider the situation dangerous, since a single fragment of milfoil that gets stuck on a boat can start a new infestation if it falls off when the boat is launched in another lake. 
Staff photo by JIM EVANS The Route 27 public boat ramp on the south end of Messalonskee Lake is the epicenter of the largest variable water milfoil infestation in central Maine. click to enlarge
"As far as other lakes go, that is probably the most likely place that an infestation would be transferred from," said Michael Little, watershed coordinator for the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance.
Representatives of Maine's departments of Environmental Protection, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Conservation met recently to discuss a request from lake groups to close the ramp or limit access there.
Maine has been cranking up efforts to halt the spread of invasive plant and animal species for the past few years, and state officials consider stopping the milfoil a high priority.
Roy Bouchard, a biologist with the DEP, said the agencies must weigh the concerns of all lake users as well as the milfoil danger before deciding how to proceed.
"We're going to try to figure out what our recommendations are pretty soon, but we don't have an absolute date for that," Bouchard said. "Obviously, no one wants to close the ramp, but we also have to look at our alternatives."
Closing the ramp would be a last resort, and might prove legally difficult if not impossible, Bouchard said.
Restricting access or installing barriers to keep boats away from the milfoil are among the lesser measures being eyed, Bouchard said.
The steps being considered at the Belgrade launch are unprecedented in Maine, and so the process of deciding what to do there will be slow and very complicated, Bouchard said.
"This is all very new," Bouchard said. "But if there's anything like boat ramp restrictions proposed, there will be a public meeting to discuss it. We owe that to the public."
Jim Stahlnecker, a regional fisheries biologist for the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said there are many factors to consider in resolving the issue.
Messalonskee Lake is in the heart of the busy Belgrade Lakes region, and a popular destination for in-state and out-of-state anglers, recreational boaters, and hunters.
The deep and vast lake is home to a diverse fishery, and also hosts a colony of endangered black terns at its south end that could be threatened by any measures taken to control milfoil.
Lakefront property owners are among those most threatened by the milfoil's spread, since the plant could adversely affect the value of their homes and cottages, as well as their recreational opportunities if beaches become clogged with it.
Stahlnecker said his department wants to take a scientific and measured approach in deciding how to deal with the milfoil in Messalonskee Lake.
"We certainly don't want to see it spread and we want to minimize its spread around the lake, but at the same time we're advocates for public access," Stahlnecker said.
The state already has "anti-invasives" laws on the books that slap fines on anyone caught with plant fragments hanging off their boat, trailer, equipment or vehicle.
A push is also under way to recruit and train a small army of volunteer "courtesy boat inspectors" to man boat launches to watch for milfoil fragments and educate the public.
Those inspectors will also be gathering information from boaters that will give the state its first hard data on who uses Maine's public boat launches, and how often, Little at the BRCA said.
Exotic plant species have devastated lakes and streams in states across the nation, choking out native vegetation and aquatic animals and ruining millions of acres of once-pristine waters.
Maine is relatively fortunate in that it has avoided this steady creeping tide except for a handful of variable water milfoil infestations. Yet most consider the state ripe for trouble unless prevention efforts pay off.
Stahlnecker said the current debate over how to deal with milfoil at the Messalonskee boat launch will help the state figure out the best lines of defense in the battle.
"I see an opportunity here for some learning," Stahlnecker said.
Jonathan Humphrey — 861-9252 jhumphrey@centralmaine.com