Sue and Tim Baney, our Milfoil Coordinators, have finalized a 50% state grant for 2022. We have been approved for up to five days of diver harvesting this year if we need it. The Selectmen have signed off on the paperwork. The Conservation Commission is once again in full support of the program. As of now no dates have been selected. DES will survey and map the lake in the spring and provide a detailed report to us. The Procellacor treatment in 2018 worked well. Last year we utilized two days of dive services to harvest milfoil found in the DAM pond and South end of the lake. The rest of the lake remained clear. We hope to have another good year in 2022
Milfoil is a submerged aquatic plant with fine, densely packed, feather-like leaves whorled around a main stem. Milfoil is not native to our state and is very difficult to control once it becomes fully established. Milfoil reproduces through fragmentation, when plant fragments break off from the parent plant through wind or boat action, grow roots, and settle in new locations. Milfoil spreads rapidly and displaces beneficial native plant life. It makes swimming difficult and can devalue waterfront property.
Milfoil management on Forest Lake is a task we must all work on together. The plants can grow most anywhere. The campground channel, the dam outlet, areas from the town beach to the campground beach and the entire south end are the most common growth zones in this lake.
Over the past twenty years, the FLIA, Winchester and New Hampshire DES have invested $87,000 in Milfoil management. The FLIA and the Winchester Conservation Commission work continuously with the DES to oversee the conditions and the growth of milfoil in the lake.