Lake Fairlee Association
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      • Lay Monitoring Program
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      • Facts About Milfoil >
        • Milfoil Treatment
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      • Greeter Program
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      • Sidenote: Lake Fairlee phosphate - too much of a good thing
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      • Lisa Niccolai Interview
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Facts about Milfoil

PicturePhoto Credit: Maine DEP. Drawing: University of Florida/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.
Eurasian Milfoil is the common name for myriophyllum spicatum, a floating aquatic plant native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. It was imported and sold in the United States as a decorative aquarium plant. It is a problem in many northern lakes, and has been in our lake for about two decades. It grows faster than many native lake plants, and now dominates the native flora in many parts of Lake Fairlee.
Because it roots in the lake bottom and reaches for the sunlight at the surface, it grows primarily in water less than 15 feet deep. Even a small fragment can take root, so it spreads easily within a waterbody and from lake to lake, traveling on boat bottoms and trailers. In the spring it is frail and brittle, and easily fragmented. In the summer it grows strong and thick.
If allowed to spread unchecked it threatens to clog the lake with dense mats of plant material. Parts of the lake will become inhospitable to boaters and swimmers, and ultimately property values and tax revenues could suffer. This has happened to other lakes. We are working to prevent this.
At this time there is no known way of completely eliminating milfoil from out lakes. Chemical methods have been tried, as well as biological agents. However successfully they attack milfoil (and other species) milfoil will sooner or later return, as long as boaters (and maybe ducks) travel from lake to lake without a quarantine (e.g. a stringent boat washing regimen).


Useful Links
There are many sources of information on the web. Here is a representative sample. Many of them have good drawings and photographs.

  • Wikipedia
  • State of Washington Department of Ecology site
  • The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources site
  • Aquatic Plant Management Society site
  • Maine Department of Conservation site
  • Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources - AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRAM
  • USDA (links to other sites)
The Lake Fairlee Association, Inc.
PO Box 102
Fairlee, VT 05045
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  • Home
  • Membership
    • Become a Member Donate
    • Endowment & Reserve Funds
    • Board Members >
      • Treasurer Position Summary
    • Finances
    • Being a Good Lake Neighbor
    • LFA Bylaws
    • LFA Archives 2007-17
  • LAKE HEALTH
    • Water Quality Action Committee
    • Active Lake Monitoring >
      • Lay Monitoring Program
      • LaRosa Partnership Program
      • Facts About Milfoil >
        • Milfoil Treatment
      • Cyanobacteria Monitoring
      • Greeter Program
      • Spring Phosphorus
      • Sidenote: Lake Fairlee phosphate - too much of a good thing
    • At Home by the Water - Caring for Lake Fairlee and Its Watershed >
      • Renter Guidelines
      • Contractor Tips
      • Permits
      • Additional Resources
    • Report Environmental Concerns
    • Lake Wise Program >
      • Lisa Niccolai Interview
    • Lake & Watershed Action Plan
  • NATURE & HISTORY
    • Nature of Lake Fairlee
    • Nature Associates
    • Community History
    • Camps & Camp History
  • Local Activities
  • TOWNS
    • Thetford, Fairlee, West Fairelee
    • Treasure Island Advisory Committee
    • Tri-town Commission
  • Photo Gallery