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Two New York communities take very different approaches to tackling invasive milfoil By John Stith / The Post Standard Cazenovia and Skaneateles face the same problem -- an infestation of Eurasian milfoil, an invasive species that roots in shallow water and causes problems for boaters and swimmers. Like many communities across the state, Cazenovia and Skaneateles had to decide how to get rid of the weedy plant. They could pull it out by hand, zap it with chemicals, bring in bugs or fish that eat it or put down mats that keep it from growing. Cazenovia hit it with a herbicide. Skaneateles is pulling it out, one plant at a time. Why the different approaches? Cazenovia Lake is one-eighth the size of Skaneateles Lake, but the extent of its milfoil infestation is eight times larger. Hand-pulling would have cost an estimated $17 million. The herbicide treatment started this summer will cost about $450,000. Skaneateles' effort to yank the weeds by hand is labor-intensive -- six boats and ...

Updated July 17 -------------------------------------------------------- Nassau County teams with environmentalists to thwart invasive species By Phil Spadanuta, Long Island Press Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Nassau County Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) worked with volunteers from the Nature Conservancy to remove the invasive plant species, the water chestnut, from Mill Pond Park in Wantagh on Tuesday. [...] “The best time of the year to remove this harmful plant is in late spring or early summer before it sets seed,” said Kathy Schwager, Invasive Species Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy. “The seeds are viable for up to 10 years so control efforts must be conducted for many years, but luckily this plant has only been found in two locations on Long Island.” The water chestnut is invading Oyster Bay too. But through early detection and rapid response, the water chestnut plants invasion can be curtailed before more damage to the environment occurs. [...] As Suozzi waded ...

Updated July 4 - Happy 4th! -------------------------------------------------------- Accord herbicide approved to control swallow-wort in NY The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has approved the use of Accord (EPA Reg. No. 62719-324) to control the unlabeled pests black swallow-wort and pale swallow-wort in non-crop areas. The FIFRA 2(ee) recommendation labeling must be in posession of the user at the time of application. -------------------------------------------------------- Stewards help stem spread of invasive water fleas By Jason Subik , DailyGazette.com GREAT SACANDAGA LAKE, NY — Many college undergraduates spend their summers working at part-time jobs or internships. Broadalbin native Kleigh Orzolek is spending her summer fighting the spread of the invasive spiny water flea on the Great Sacandaga Lake. For 30 hours a week at $11.50 an hour, Orzolek, an undergraduate at Paul Smith’s College majoring in forestry recreation and management, is informing la...

Council to remove Egeria densa from lake in New York Written by Matt Dalen, LewisboroLegend.com With luck, the Three Lakes Council will soon have eradicated an invader to Lake Waccabuc. With no public comments objecting to the plan, and permission from all of the landowners involved, the town Planning Board on Tuesday, March 24 approved the council’s proposal to suck the invasive plant species Egeria densa out of Waccabuc Cove on Lake Waccabuc once the weather warms. The town Planning Board had closed a scheduled public hearing on the plan earlier this month after a short discussion of what the eradication of the plant will entail. The proposal, which is expected to start in May and last two to three weeks, would involve divers taking suction hoses to the lake bottom over an area of about two acres, trying to remove any and all plant material that could re-start the infestation. Egeria is capable of regrowing from a small fragment of its stem, a feature that makes it desirable in the h...