Invasives dgregg on 30 Oct 2008 12:04 pm
RI Water Chestnut Update Fall 2008
We think we had a successful campaign against water chestnut (Trapa natans) in Belleville Pond, North Kingstown, this summer. Of course we won’t really know until we get out there next June and look around. To coordinate the water chestnut eradication project this summer, RINHS was fortunate enough to get a URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS) Coastal Fellow, Laura D’Acunto. Many Survey friends will have met Laura at a water chestnut event, BioBlitz, or elsewhere this year. Laura’s position was funded with help from URI CELS and a mini-grant from the Rhode Island Foundation. Laura did a fantastic job and it was a pleasure having her working with the rest of the staff. This fall, she is continuing to develop outreach materials about water chestnut as part of a Coastal Fellows seminar. To all those who worked on the water chestnut project or others who are interested in it, you can read Laura’s end-of-season report (PDF: 171K).
RINHS expects to be back out on the water in North Kingstown next June to see how many plants come up: we already know there will be some. Hopefully there will be a dramatic reduction and further efforts next year will continue the population trend downwards. If you are interested in working on water chestnut, please contact RINHS and we will let you know when we begin forming teams for next year.
In other water chestnut news, RINHS and URI Watershed Watch sponsored an aquatic plant ID training class in September, with Survey botanist Hope Leeson at the helm. One attendee approached Hope afterwards concerned that water chestnut may be what’s covering his pond in Foster. Thanks to DEM for following up on this tip and confirming that, yes, indeed, there is a five acre private pond in Foster covered with water chestnut. That’s bad news for Rhode Island but a good demonstration that the loose network of organizations and volunteers that’s been coalescing around the invasives issue, with some trainings and publicity can provide valuable surveillance capability to Rhode Island. DEM will be working with the pond owner over the coming seasons to control this water chestnut outbreak. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled, especially in the northwest corner of the state, for evidence the plants are spreading.
