-- To Lake Armington Boat Launch Visitors -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE LAUNCHING A BOAT OR
PLACING ANYTHING IN LAKE ARMINGTON
IF YOU ARE LAUNCHING A BOAT OF ANY KIND OR USING ANY
KIND OF EQUIPMENT THAT HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH A LAKE, POND,
RIVER, OR STREAM, YOU ARE POTENTIALLY SPREADING EXOTIC
AQUATIC PLANTS. THE TWO MAPS THAT FOLLOW SHOW THE NEARBY
INFESTED WATER BODIES, AND THE INFESTED WATER BODIES IN NEW
HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT AND MAINE. THERE ARE MANY OF THEM, AND
THE NUMBER INCREASES YEARLY.
WE ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY THROUGH OUR LAKE HOST AND
WEED WATCHERS PROGRAMS TO PROTECT THIS LAKE FOR YOU AND
THE MANY OTHERS WHO ENJOY IT.
WILL YOU LEND A HAND AND HELP US? THIS DOCUMENT WILL
HELP YOU HELP US ALL.
The most common exotic aquatic plant in this region is MILFOIL. Variableleaf milfoil has been in New Hampshire since the late 1960s. It likely hitchhiked its
way to the state on a boat or trailer from an infested lake in another state. Some
boater unknowingly did this. Today this exotic plant infects 78 water bodies in New
Hampshire and 33 in Maine. In Vermont, 97 water bodies are infected with Eurasian
milfoil and 3 with variable-leaf milfoil.
Milfoil can live out of the water for up to a week if it remains moist, such as
when it’s stuck to a wet carpeted support on a boat trailer or roof carrier. Once the
scrap of plant hits the water, it can start growing again. Botanists are sure that boaters
who visit many lakes during a boating season help milfoil hitchhike its way from one
water body to another because new infestations of milfoil (and other exotic plants)
are usually found first in shallow waters near public boat launches.
Spreading of milfoil is rapid because boat propellers chop its leaves and stems
into small fragments that then float on the water surface. In a short time, roots form
on these plant fragments that will grow and create a new milfoil colony wherever
wind and wave carries them. Within a very few years, every suitable habitat in that
water body will be clogged with these weeds.
Lake Armington is shallow and unusually clear. Sunlight reaches much of its
bottom, making it a perfect home for milfoil and other exotic aquatic plants. So far,
the efforts of many people including visiting boaters have kept this lake free of exotic
plants and animals.
If your boat or any of your equipment has been in one of the infested lakes,
ponds, and rivers shown on a map or listed in this document, please be especially
careful to look for and remove all, even tiny, bits of vegetation or other material stuck
to your trailer, boat, motor and equipment, including your shoes, boots, skis, tow
ropes, and fishing gear. You need to inspect the underside of your boat(s) and the
various parts of your trailer or car carrier thoroughly. One of our Lake Hosts will
assist you with these tasks if present. Otherwise it is up to you.
Have a safe and pleasurable time while here, and thank
you.
LAKE ARMINGTON ASSOCIATION, INC.
PO Box 143, Piermont, NH, 03779
2013 Season
Want to know more about Lake Armington or the Lake Armington Association? Perhaps you
would like to become a member, or perhaps make a donation to help our work. Please see our
web site at:
www.lakearmington.org