Tag Archives: stop aquatic hitchhikers

Park Projects, Stewardship

Protecting Our Waterways

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You may have seen them in a park near you, these super heroes and heroines in disguise. Since 2008, New York State Parks have deployed Invasive Species Strike Teams. These Strike Teams conduct invasive species surveys and manually remove non-native invasive plants in areas of significance. The goal is to protect native plant and animal species and the natural areas in our parks. State Parks are also an important resource for tourism and recreation.  Maintaining the integrity of the natural areas and features in parks helps to support these public interests, including camping, picnicking, fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, wildlife viewing, and other recreational activities.

For the past 10 years, Strike Teams have primarily been involved with removing invasive species on land, but in 2018 State Parks was able to establish an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Strike Team thanks to grant funding received from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The AIS Strike Team isn’t afraid to get a little dirty or wet, as their main charge is to suppress, contain, and work towards the reduction of invasive species found in aquatic habitats within the Great Lakes watershed. The team’s home base is at De Veaux Woods State Park in Niagara Falls, but you’ll be able to find them working in the streams, lakes, and wetlands throughout Western NY and into the Thousand Islands.

Logan West (left) is the AIS Field Lead and oversees Billy Capton (back middle), Patrick Mang (front middle) and Adam Lamancuso. Together they make the 2018 AIS Strike Team.

The AIS Strike Team is made up of seasonal employees who travel through New York State from roughly May to November. A list of priority projects and a schedule is developed by State Park biologists. The AIS team then goes to the sites and camps near the project area for up to a week at a time. This is not luxury living! They use their hands and an assortment of manual hand tools, such as pick mattocks, shovels, machetes, saws, loppers, and sometimes power equipment, to accomplish the goals of the invasive species removal projects they work on. Sometimes the work requires a boat ride or lugging heavy backpacks into a work site. Some of the plants the team has tackled in and near the water include phragmites (common reed), oriental bittersweet, water chestnut, Japanese knotweed, flowering rush, European frogbit, purple loosestrife, and many more.

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Patrick Mang (left) and Adam Lamancuso (right) prepare to cut down phragmites or common reed– an invasive species that has been encroaching in wetlands and shorelines.

Another component of the AIS Strike Team is to provide experiential learning to K-12 students. In July, the AIS Strike Team partnered with State Parks’ FORCES program and Syracuse University to host a service day for high school students participating in Syracuse University’s Team and Leadership Academy. Students learned about aquatic invasive species and helped remove water chestnut from Sterling Pond at Fair Haven Beach State Park. For some of these students this was their first time learning about invasive species, let alone being on a boat, so the experience and learning opportunity was well received.

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AIS Strike Team and Syracuse University’s Team and Leadership Academy students take a break during a water chestnut pull at Fair Haven Beach State Park.

More recently the AIS Strike Team participated at the Great New York State Fair. For three days, the crew worked educational tables focused on invasive species. Families got to learn about invasive species by participating in crafts and games and examining live aquatic invasive species specimens the crew brought with them.

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Patrick Mang and Adam Lamancuso talk with fair visitors about invasive species

The AIS Strike Team was asked to reflect on their experience during the first year of operation. Here are some words from our hard-working weed warriors:

Working with the NYS OPRHP has been an exciting and worthwhile experience. Our ability to explore and improve our State Parks with the Aquatic Invasive Species Strike Team makes me appreciate what is accomplished through the hard work and constant communication that goes into making our parks so enjoyable. I now realize the impact and extent of invasive species across the state, as well as the importance of our commitment to protect the native species throughout the Great Lakes Watershed.

— Adam Lamancuso, Strike Team Member

This opportunity allowed my understanding of native plant life to flourish and opened up an entirely new perspective towards environmental stewardship through invasive species management. The places I’ve been, species I’ve seen, people met, and progress made to mitigate and apprehend the spread of invasive plants was an opportunity like no other. I wish to see the AIS program continue for years to come and inspire more along the way.

— Billy Capton, Strike Team Member

I love that I get to work outdoors every day and get to travel to new Parks in New York State that I’ve never been to. Not only is it work but also an adventure every day. It’s very rewarding to come to work knowing that the work we do is making a positive difference for the ecosystem and the parks themselves.

— Patrick Mang, Strike Team Member

It is clearly a great privilege to be able to work outside nearly every day, striving to protect NYS’s most treasured natural areas.  What must not be overlooked, however, is the progression and determination of our seasonal Strike Team crew members.  They continue to work hard each day, learn from and teach one another while continually finding ways to inspire each other along the way, even when faced with challenges.  As a Crew Lead, this is the most fulfilling part of the position

— Logan West, AIS Field Lead

The crew asks that, in order to make their life a bit easier, please play your part to prevent the spread of invasive species. If you are a boater remember to Clean-Drain-Dry! Inspect your watercraft and trailer for plant and/or animal matter, and remove and dispose of any material that is found. Drain your bilge, ballast tanks, live wells, and any water-holding compartments. Clean your watercraft between uses or allow it to dry before visiting a new water body.

If you are recreating anywhere, not just State Parks, remember to Play-Clean-Go! Remove plants, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicle, including mountain bikes, ATV, etc. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site and stay on designated roads and trails.

If you are a gardener one of the best ways of reducing the spread of invasive species is avoid introducing them in the first place! Plant only NY native flowers, shrubs, and trees. Check the NY Flora Atlas to see if a plant is native to NY or not and learn more about New York’s invasive species on the NYS DECs Prohibited and Regulated Invasive Species List.

Post by Matt Brincka, State Parks

Flora & Fauna, Stewardship

Invasive Species Spotlight – Hydrilla

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Hydrilla is one of the highest priority invasive plants in New York State.  It outcompetes native plants and causes destruction in our aquatic habitats. It can invade the deeper waters where many of our natives cannot and can aggressively grow up to an inch per day. This allows hydrilla to form thick mats at the top of the surface blocking sunlight for the native plants below.  Oxygen is then depleted leading to a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the water and potential fish kills. Sportfish weight and size can decrease due to the loss of open water and natural vegetation and their spawning habitats can be eliminated by hydrilla. The species also causes obstructions for boating, swimming, and fishing. The large dense mats of vegetation can cause property value to decrease, creating problems for homeowners and communities. Hydrilla not only affects our native habitat but also our local communities and businesses.

Sprouting hydrilla seeds, photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org
Hydrilla plant, photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

Hydrilla is a perennial plant. It grows in springs, marshes, lakes, canals, and rivers. This plant can tolerate low and high nutrient conditions and up to 7% salinity. There are two kinds of hydrilla; a southern population which is comprised of mostly dioecious females (meaning the plants only have female flowers), and northern populations which are monoecious (meaning the plants have both male and female flowers).  The dioecious females overwinter as perennials. The monoecious plants set fertile seed and depend on their tubers for overwintering. Hydrilla can reproduce four different ways, including fragmentation, tubers, turions, and seeds. Fragmented pieces with one node are able to sprout into a whole new plant. Tubers are formed on the rhizome of the plant and each one can produce up to 6,000 new tubers! These tubers can lay dormant for over four years before sprouting into a new plant. Turions, or dormant buds, form in the leaf axil of the plant and then break off and settle into the sediment to produce a new plant. Seed dispersal is the least important reproductive method for the species and is often facilitated by ingestion and subsequent dropping of migratory birds. These plants can grow in low light conditions, deep depths and can photosynthesize earlier in the morning than their native competitors. At its beginning stages it can grow up to an inch a day until it reaches the surface of the water.

Leaves_Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org
Note how small the hydrilla leaves are, photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

Identifying hydrilla can be very tricky at times because it looks similar to a native plant, American elodea, and another invasive plant, Brazilian elodea. There are a few distinguishing characteristics that set hydrilla apart from the other two aforementioned species. The leaves are 5/8 inches long and they grow in whorls of 3-10, 5 leaves per whorl being most common. The leaves have distinct serrated edges. A key feature is the dull-white to yellowish, potato like tuber that grow 2-12 inches below the sediment.

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org
A dense mat of hydrilla, photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

Hydrilla is thought to have originated from the island of Sri Lanka and possibly the southern mainland of India, but it arrived in the United States from Korea as a popular aquarium plant. Colonies were first identified in canals in Miami and Tampa, Florida. Hydrilla fragments made their way up to New York by attaching to boats, their trailers, and live wells. Boat motors, oars, and other equipment break the plant into fragments, facilitating its spread throughout the affected water body and into nearby water bodies that are hydrologically connected. Hydrilla can spread between water bodies that are separated by geographic distance by “hitching a ride” on watercraft trailers and other recreational equipment. The first time hydrilla was discovered in New York was in August 2011, when Jordan Stark found the species in Cayuga Inlet in the Finger Lakes In September of 2012, the species was found in the Erie Canal in North Tonawanda by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist. It has also since been found in Long Island, including Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Phillips Mill Pond. Since the introduction of hydrilla in New York, a coalition of partners, which includes many state agencies, non-profit organizations, and businesses have taken quick action to help prevent its further spread. After a population of hydrilla is found, partners mobilize resources to conduct a focused education and outreach campaign and survey the area where hydrilla was found to understand the full extent of the population. Once surveying is completed a management plan is implemented, which includes aquatic herbicide application. To learn more about best management practices, please go to http://hydrillacollaborative.com.

Want to help manage this unruly aquatic plant? Learn how to properly identify hydrilla. If you think you found hydrilla take pictures, mark your location, and contact your regional DEC office or submit your observation with pictures on the iMapInvasives mobile app or website. Also, it is important to clean, drain, and dry your boats and any fishing or recreational equipment!

Hydrilla treatment Erie Canal
Treating hydrilla on the Erie Canal.

References

“Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County.” 2011 Hydrilla Eradication Efforts. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2014. http://ccetompkins.org/environment/invasive-species/fighting-hydrilla2011

“Hydrilla (Hydrilla Verticillata (L.f.) Royle).” New York Invasive Species Information. N.p., 3 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2014. http://www.nyis.info/?action=invasive_detail&id=16

“Aquatic Invasive Species.” HYDRILLA (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 11 Sept.2014 www.in.gov/dnr/files/hydrilla.pdf

“Highly Invasive Aquatic Plant Threatens New York’s Waters.” Department of Environmental Concervation. N.p., 21 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/85078.html

“Combating Hydrilla.” US Army Corps of Engineers. N.p., 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2014. http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Media/NewsStories/tabid/6146/Article/494240/combating-hydrilla.aspx

 

Park Personnel, Stewardship

Did Someone Say “Free Boat Wash?”

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Yes its true, boaters can expect to be offered free boat washes from stations at select boat launches throughout the state, especially in places like the Adirondacks. The purpose of these stations are to provide free boat washes while also helping to prevent the spread of certain invasive species.

Everyone takes the time to give their cars a good wash periodically, but have you ever thought about how often you should be cleaning your boat? Boats can be carriers of invasive plants and animals. Most of the time, you can see these plants hanging off your propeller, bunks, and trailer and you can simply pick them off. However, some invasive species, like the young of zebra mussels and Asian Clams (called veligers) are so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye. Yet just adding a few of these into a lake or other waterbody is enough to start an invasion.

When we wash our boats, also known as decontaminating, it reduces the chances of transporting harmful invasive species, such as zebra and quagga mussels, spiny waterfleas, or Asian clams, to additional waterbodies.

How do boat wash stations work?

Boat washing begins with a general boat and trailer inspection.  A trained professional, typically a boat or watercraft steward, first checks over your boat to see if it needs to be cleaned. If a boat is noticeably dirty and has visible plant matter on it, or if the boat was previously in a different waterbody, there is a good chance the boat steward will offer to decontaminate your boat for free. After a visual inspection of the boat and trailer, the boat steward will ask you to lower your propeller, just low enough to check if there is any water in the engine. If water comes out, the engine will need to be flushed of that foreign water with 120o F water from the boat wash station.

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State Parks staff working with Lake George Park Commission stewards to determine if this boat needs to be decontaminated, photo by Matt Brincka, State Parks

At pristine waterbodies like Lake George, boat stewards are more concerned with boats going into the lake that were previously elsewhere. In other lakes where many invasive species are already present, boat stewards may focus their decontamination efforts on boats exiting the water, to prevent furthering the spread of those species.

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Lake George Parks Commission Stewards using specialty “muffs” to run the engine while also flushing it clean of any water that could be carrying invasives, photo by Matt Brincka, State Parks

Afterwards, if the boat steward determines that you also should have a full decontamination, they will begin cleaning your boat.  The water in the boat wash station is heated up to 140oF with pressure as high as 1,400 PSI. This temperature and pressure has been shown to kill most animals and plants trying to hitchhike on your boat. For specific areas where electronics and engine components are exposed, lower pressure is used to prevent damage to the boats. Boat trailers with felt bunks will be soaked in 140 o F using a low pressure attachment to kill any invasive species that may be hitchhiking on this material.

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Jake Barney, a State Parks Boat Steward, demonstrates using a Boat Washing Station.. The handle in the boat steward’s left hand is used to control the amount of pressure coming out of the hose, photo by Matt Brincka, State Parks

During the washing, it is important to wash the outside of the boat and trailer, including the propeller, hull, trailer hitch, and underneath the trailer. It is also important to flush the engine and drain the bilge to ensure the boat is properly decontaminated. Boat wash stations can recycle contaminated water and heat it again, ensuring that its runoff will not contaminate the waterbody.  Boat stewards take special care to be sure that no damage happens to the boats during cleaning.

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What your average portable boat washing station looks like. The yellow tanks on each side hold water used for decontamination. The machine has a gas engine but uses a diesel burner to heat the water to 140o F, photo by Matt Brincka, State Parks

Boat wash stations are an effective way to clean your boat of all invasives, including those that may be too small to see. Using the boat washing station is the most efficient and effective way to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species, while also providing a free cleaning of your boat and trailer!

Thanks for helping keep New York’s pristine lakes and rivers clean, so we can continue to enjoy them for generations to come!

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Kayaking at Fair Haven Beach State Park, photo by Tina Spencer, State Parks

Additional information:

Click here for more information on boat decontamination procedures:

Decontaminating your boat with a boat wash station is always suggested, but be aware that some lakes, such as Lake George, require you to get a decontamination before launching.

Heading to the Adirondacks or Lake George? Find a boat wash station here.

This summer, State Parks will be opening two boat wash stations, one at Allan H. Treman State Marine Park and the other at Saratoga Lake State Boat Ramp.

Post By: Jordan Bodway and Kristin King, Lead Boat Stewards, State Parks