Weed Wars... Roberta Hill on the frontlines

Long Lake on the Songo River is known for a few things.

The Inn at Long Lake. Canoeing and sipping wine. And an occasional celebrity hanging out in a swimsuit-clad that matches the Chris Craft Boat they rented for the week.

And, did we mention, Roberta Hill? No…not Roberta Flack.

Introducing Roberta Hill, an aquatic ecologist and environmental educator on the front lines of protecting your future beach parties, and frankly speaking, your recreational fun.

Roberta Hill author of the
Maine Field Guide to
Invasive Aquatic Plants.

Invasive aquatic plants are choking the native life out of the Maine’s fresh waters and Roberta Hill is training citizen sleuths to identify and deal with most wanted water offenders.

Boston.com – Scot Lehigh, July 8, 2011 - “You see the leaded glass window, the serrated edge, and the lasagna noodle, and you’ve got it,’’ she declares.

Got what, you ask? A curly leaf pondweed; those are looks-like clues for spotting its leaves.

That weed is just one of nearly a dozen invasive aquatic plants that Maine and other Northeastern states are fighting to keep out of their lakes, ponds, and rivers.

“They are such serious invaders that once they become firmly established in a water body, they are almost impossible to eradicate,’’ says Hill, invasive plant coordinator for the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program. Others on the list of vegetative villains are European frog-bit, water chestnut, yellow floating heart, fanwort, Brazilian waterweed, hydrilla, European naiad, and several varieties of milfoil.

As non-native species, the invaders don’t face the parasites and predators that keep native flora in check, and so, when they infect a lake, they usually grow rapidly, crowding out other plant life and destroying fish habitat. Their thick growth can make it difficult to boat and hazardous to swim.  To Read More…