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Saving Sebago Cove from Milfoil

October 12, 2007 - A good Maine solution: if something needs to be done, don't wait for govemment to get around to it. In Sebago Cove in Naples, variable-leaf milfoil has been growing for decades. It's threatened to take over the place. A group of citizens so new there's not an official name for it yet, nor official non-profit status, has burgeoned just this month.

When Ed Lapham saw the problem growing right outside his front door, so to speak, he called a meeting. Nearly 200 people showed up. And they have pitched in. Other groups have helped, from Portland Water District, to the milfoil fighters of Little Sebago, to the Lakes Environmental Association. Point Sebago donated a pontoon boat; the group found a matting material that may or may not revolutionize the process of milfoilfighting. Every time there's something to do, at least two dozen people show up.

The reason why a critical mass of concem has been sparked can probably be attributed to the critical mass of milfoil out on the 200-acre cove. There is a lot of milfoil, in big patches and small, organizers report. The cove is shallow and a good breeding ground for the weed, which can choke out aquatic life and ruin fisheries and swimming areas. The Save Sebago Cove group hopes to get mats down this fall, and follow-up next summer, with suction harvesting, more mat programs, probably even some hand-pulling of milfoil.

We wish them luck and congratulate them. We hope they serve as inspiration for other micro-local groups to take matters into their own hands, get organized and get busy fighting invasive plants. The plants threaten quality of life and property value. Other states face bigger problems, and Maine has been actively fighting invasive plants for several years now. In this region, it's a task bigger than the LEA or the PWD can handle on their own, though they're giving it their best. If we want the milfoil gone, we're going to have to take action - right down to individual lots and acres of our lakefront.

SOURCE: BRIDGTON NEWS

DATE: 10-04-2007


Lakes: Sebago Lake
Regions: Sebago


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