On July 9, 2017, PLIA volunteer Neil Santos and his team of Weed Watcher snorkelers and divers traveled up to the boat launch in Fundy to search for milfoil. They started at the launch and snorkeled their way down the stream about 2/3 of the way to the black marker where the stream opens up. The visibility was extremely poor. Close to the launch there was considerable sediment in the water due to the boat traffic/ launches but even downstream the amount of tannin in the water made it difficult for sunlight to penetrate and kept the visibility to 2-3 feet at best. Fortunately, Fundy is quite shallow and, even though they could not see very well, they had good confidence that they would have spotted any significant patches of milfoil. They saw a good deal of bladderwort, native milfoil, and grasses but were happy to report that they did not see any invasive milfoil. Thanks to diligent boaters and especially to the Lake Hosts!
On the following weekend, July 15, 2017, the team convened in the South Channel and searched Area 3, where they discovered a number of patches of milfoil in the mid-channel area. Each patch contained a handful of plants. They were all in the area where milfoil was discovered last year so it is undoubtedly regrowth. The “relatively” good news was that the plants were all comparatively small,–about 6 inches to 2 feet tall–and therefore well out of harm’s way of prop contact and prop wash. They also surveyed the area to the southwest of the mid-channel where they had found a couple of plants last year but that area appeared to be clear. 
They left a few markers in the channel but there are more patches than are indicated by the floats. They plan to put out additional markers to guide the divers closer to the time when they will be here to pull what was found. The DES divers will be here during the week of July 24-28.
Let’s hear it for the Weed Watcher snorkeler team!
Every year, to celebrate our nation’s birthday, the PLIA organizes a boat parade around Pawtuckaway Lake on July 4th. People decorate all kinds of boats – from pontoons to kayaks to power boats to jet skis – with patriotic or fanciful themes, and congregate at the north end of the lake for our annual parade.
The morning mist glides just above the water’s surface
So far PLIA volunteers John Hudson, Jim Kelly, and Neil Santos have conducted three snorkeling sessions in the area near the State Park Horse Island boat launch in the South Channel. They have found several small milfoil plants that were marked for removal by NH DES divers on June 9. A larger milfoil plant in the area of the red and white buoy was found by the certified scuba-diving relative of a lake resident, but subsequent attempts to locate it again have not been successful. This effort, and underwater searching in general, has been hampered by the murky conditions due to the amount of pollen suspended in the water. Underwater visibility has been less than 4 feet, but should improve in the next few weeks as the pollen settles to the bottom. The Search Team should then be able to get a better assessment of the overall milfoil situation in the South Channel. Their activities in the South Channel will continue throughout the summer and NH DES divers will return periodically to remove any milfoil plants that are found. Several additional snorkelers and scuba divers have expressed an interest in helping with these efforts and more assistance is always welcome.
We ask all boaters to please stay well clear of any orange milfoil markers in the South Channel and, for the safety of our Milfoil Search Team, stay at least 100 feet away from any “Diver Down” flags that you see anywhere in the lake.
In a new location and on an earlier date, the Annual Meeting of the Pawtuckaway Lake Improvement Association was well attended this year, with about 70 participants.
has not determined that the infestation is severe or widespread enough for such a measure.
On Saturday, April 22—Earth Day—volunteers from the Pawtuckaway Lake Improvement Association gathered along a stretch of Route 156 to pick up trash along the highway. What better timing for this project?
Twice a year, PLIA members gather on Route 156 to spend an hour or so fanning out along both sides of the highway between the signs bearing the organization’s name. It is a program of which the PLIA is proud, and is one way to give back to the community.
he PLIA’s annual newsletter, Pawrints, has just been issued, and you can read it here: