By Dana Little, July 6, 2010

What worries me the most when I think about water quality on Taylor Pond?  Invasive plants have the ability to irreversibly change the nature of our pond.  I grew up in Massachusetts where many of the lakes are now infested with invasive plants.  I made summertime trips to cousins who lived on a lake in Wisconsin that now is congested with invasives.  All of the “lower 48 states” except Maine have major problems and spend large sums on this problem.  These plants can clog up the water making swimming unpleasant, tangle in boat motors, and die off, at times in large numbers, using up all the oxygen needed by fish.

How easily can they enter the lake?  Less than ½ an inch of a plant is all it takes to become established in a lake.  People who move their boats from lake to lake are the most common source of transfer.  Most invasives first appear near public boat ramps.

How likely are we to suffer an invasion?  Consider the facts that invasives currently live in Lake Auburn, the Basin, the Little Androscoggin River, Range Pond, Sebago and Thompson Lake.  The invasive plants have gradually progressed from southwestern Maine to the north and they ultimately threaten all lakes in Maine.   We are in the direct path of this onslaught.

What can you do to prevent invasion of Taylor Pond?   Never dump aquarium plants or bait fish into our pond.  Inspect any boat placed in the water for attached plants especially small pieces that remain attached to the motor or trailer parts.  Even small dried fragments have been known to come to life and spread an infestation.