Invasive aquatic plants can grow densely, crowd out native plants, reduce fish movement and stunt growth. In dense beds, invasive aquatic plants can shade out the bottom, reduce the number of snails and other useful animals, and change water chemistry.
A tiny plant fragment, or a single seed carried on a boat or trailer can begin the infestation of an entire lake. Invasive species, unlike other forms of pollution, are self-sustaining.
Under Maine law, it is now illegal to transport ANY aquatic plant on the outside of a vehicle. It is also illegal to sell, propagate, or introduce to Maine waters these eleven invasive aquatic plants.
- Brazilian Elodea (Egeria densa)
- Curly-Leaf Pondweed (Potamogeton crispus)
- Eurasian Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum)
- European Naiad (Najas minor)
- Fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana)
- European Fogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae)
- Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)
- Variable-Leaf Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum)
- Yellow Floating Heart (Nymphoides peltata)
- Water Chestnut (Trapa natans)
Invasive Plant Patroller Handbook
The Invasive Plant Patroller’s Handbook Online is an downloadable copy of the handbook that participants receive at the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program’s Introductory Invasive Plant Patrol training workshops. The Invasive Plant Patroller’s Handbook Online is filled with useful resources for Plant Patrollers interested in keeping their notebooks up-to-date and accurate. It has all the latest information, new resources, and the year’s updated forms for submitting plant or organism specimens, conducting a survey, or becoming a certified monitor.