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Driver-Assisted Suction Harvester to Help in Fight Against Milfoil in Richmond

August 05, 2010 - RICHMOND -- A pontoon boat with a serious plant-sucker on board will be a featured attraction Friday at the annual meeting and cookout of the Four Towns Watershed Association.

The DASH boat -- for Driver-Assisted Suction Harvester -- is being built to suck up variable-leaf milfoil from Pleasant Pond, Horseshoe Pond and Cobbossee Stream. The pontoon boat has a pump to suck up the milfoil and provide an air supply for divers.

Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed was awarded $33,000 from the federally funded Maine Milfoil Initiative to build the boat. The group must match the grant with $33,000 in cash and $33,000 in in-kind services, according to Elaine Stinson, vice president of the association, which includes members from Gardiner, West Gardiner, Richmond and Litchfield.

The new device is expected to be on display at the group's annual meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at Peacock Beach on Pleasant Pond in Richmond.

The event is open to members and anyone interested in becoming a member, Stinson said. Membership costs $20 per family per year.

Speakers Friday are scheduled to include Robert Moore, executive director of Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed; Wendy Dennis of Cobbossee Watershed District; and Josh Platt from the Kennebec County Soil and Water Conservation District.

"For someone new around the lake, this is a wonderful way to meet people and get a lot of information about what's going on," Stinson said.

There is no charge to attend the meeting and cookout, though participants are asked to bring a salad or dessert to share, and, if they wish to sit, bring chairs.

by staff writer, Kennebec Journal, August 5, 2010

Lakes: Horseshoe Pond
Regions: Belgrade


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