Water Scouts:
The Knee Deep Club is undertaking a
lake wide effort to protect
Its
Latin name is Trapa Natans,
and more information can be found on line, but here are some basic facts. It was first imported from Europe in the
1880’s and has wreaked havoc throughout New England and many
It
has a terrible negative impact on any water it has found it’s
way into. It grows and spreads so fast
that it often makes the water body unusable for any recreation by the time the
public becomes aware that it is there.
It is a floating aquatic and as such, creates a heavy canopy that
restricts sunlight from reaching submersed plants choking out all other plant
life. This can result in oxygen
depletion and fish kills, but also the loss of other beneficial plants can
impact the entire food chain. Without
the submersed native plants there is no cover for fry or fingerling species and
heavy predation occurs. Also those
native plant species are part of the ecosystem that supports other life forms
that are integral to the food chain.
Small snails, crustaceans, grass shrimp, larvae & zooplankton are
dependent on that lost habitat.
The
KDC first became aware of this threat in 2009 when a super large colony of this
specie became a major concern just one mile down stream in
With
this large colony just down stream it’s only a matter of time before it finds
its way into
One
seed that takes root will quickly spread at a frightening rate. When it sprouts it reaches the surface
forming a cluster of leaves called a rosette and will eventually grow up to
10-15 rosettes. Each Rosette produces up to 20 seeds.
So that one single seed can quickly grow into acres in just a couple of
years. At that point it is very
difficult and expensive to treat the problem.
In northern
With
the hope of discovering it as early as possible KDC has partnered with several
other lake groups to inspect the entire shore line so that we can find it early
and remove it before it becomes too big of a problem. Some of the other groups that have supported
this effort are the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club, Antique & Classic Boat
Society, Garden State Yacht Club and Homestead Beach Assoc.
The 70 plus paddlers that will be conducting the survey between June 4th—13th will all be wearing bright yellow hats with the logo Lake Hopatcong Water Scouts and will have handouts to give to any lakefront home owners or boaters they encounter. The more educated the public is, the more likely we will be successful with this project. Unfortunately the threat never goes away, so we must all work hard in our outreach so that it becomes part of the culture of the lake community.
The plant is easily identified. It has an arrow shaped leaf about two inches long and wide with both sides of the leaf having a distinctive serrated (saw toothed) edge. If found the Water Scouts will mark the plant with pink tape, mark the location on their maps and take a photo. Then they will report it to the club, which will inspect, verify and put a removal plan together that will be implemented before August when the plant goes to seed.
The
Club hopes to continue with organized surveys in future years but the long term
answer is to educate the public on what to look for and what to do if
found. More information can be found at
kneedeepclub.org