Thank you to everyone in the towns of Plymouth and Mount Holly for supporting another successful year of the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program for both Woodward Reservoir and Lake Ninevah!
Both programs continue to be supported with funding, training, and resources from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Aquatic Nuisance Control (ANC) Grant-in-Aid funds as well as matching funds from Farm & Wilderness Conservation and generous contributions from our supportive community! Thank you to the Town of Plymouth and the Town of Mount Holly for coordination efforts so that we can continue to receive this important grant funding to run the program.
This was the 7th year for this program at Woodward Reservoir and the 25th year for Lake Ninevah. The greeter team worked a combined 1,454 hours and greeted over 1,770 boaters entering and exiting the water. Boat checks are part of the “Clean, Drain, Dry” initiative in preventing hitchhiking non-native invasive plants and animals. A big thank you to our team of greeters this summer: Lacey, Amy, Patrick, Karen, and Lesley. Greeters not only help to remind lake visitors to keep their boats clean, but also provide boat inspections, share information about aquatic invasive species in Vermont, and collect vital data that help us understand and track species movement in the state.
Prevention measures such as greeter programs and surveys help waterbodies keep invasive species like Water Chestnut, Eurasian watermilfoil, and Zebra Mussels from spreading. Over 100 of the Vermont lakes, ponds, rivers, and reservoirs have a known non-native invasive species infestation. It is important that these prevention programs continue in the future. Learn more about invasive species and spread prevention on the VT DEC Lake & Ponds website.
Grant funding through the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation covers a percentage of the costs associated with these programs, while Farm & Wilderness Conservation funds the rest. For us to continue to maintain these valuable programs in the future, we will need financial support from the community.
There are hundreds of aquatic invasive infestations in the waterbodies of Vermont and surrounding states that will continue to pose a risk for spread to other waterbodies. Greeter and survey programs are the key to early detection and awareness to mitigate the spread of invasive plants and animals that can harm the health of our lakes and ponds. These programs helped to eradicate two Eurasian watermilfoil infestations in Lake Ninevah in the last two decades and we are in the process of managing a third infestation first detected in 2025.
Grant funding from the State of Vermont also supports aquatic plant surveys by professional botanists. Arrowwood Environmental conducted their annual survey of Lake Ninevah in September, and thanks to generous support from the Plymouth community we were able to fund an aquatic plant survey for Woodward Reservoir this year, with the last survey taking place in 2023. The survey crew reports that no new infestations were observed during the 2026 surveys, which illustrates the importance and success of the Public Access Greeter Program.
If you are interested in learning more, joining us as a greeter or volunteer, or have questions about how to support this program, please contact conservation@farmandwilderness.org