Memphremagog Watershed Association Wraps Up Another Successful Year of Funding Aquatic Nuisance Control Projects

For the past five years, the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) has been the regional administrator for the Aquatic Nuisance Control Grant-in-Aid program from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Through this program, MWA distributes state grant monies directly to municipalities and their lake associations to control and manage aquatic invasive species.

In 2024, MWA worked with nine different Lake Associations and municipalities on eleven different projects, distributing just over $175,000 in grant monies. These dollars go directly to support greeter programs on lakes, manage aquatic invasives species through removal and detection, as well as supporting public education. Programs in the area can be found on Great and Little Averill Lakes, Salem Lake, Seymour Lake, Shadow Lake, Lake Memphremagog, Willoughby, Maidstone, Island Pond, as well as Echo and Crystal Lakes.

Greeter programs supported by these grant monies are vital to the protection of our lakes and ponds. Humans are the primary vector of transport of non-native species of aquatic life from one water body to another. Plants and animals attach onto boats, fishing gear, and trailers, and hitch a ride from one water body to another. Non-native aquatic plants and other lifeforms-like Zebra Mussels- disrupt native ecosystems, choking out native plants and can cause massive growth in non-native species- near underwater forests of vegetation that hurt native ecosystems and impeded human recreation.

The easiest and most effective means to ensure that you are not moving aquatic invasives is to make sure that your vessel, as well as all your gear, is clean, drained, and dry. The staff at greeter stations are available during the recreational season to help with this work; they provide inspection of equipment, education, and wash stations to protect our lakes to prevent the spread!

Additionally, aquatic invasive species management projects underway at Salem, Willoughby, and Lake Memphremagog are working to harvest and remove aquatic invasive species in order to improve recreation, clear pathways for boating, and protect native ecosystems.

If you are looking for more information on aquatic invasive species or what you can do to help prevent the spread, please visit the Invasive Species Pages on this website.