The state Office of Recreation, Parks and Historic Preservation will use an herbicide to eradicate an invasive weed from the shoreline of Moreau Lake.
The target plant is phragmites, a non-native plant that has spread rapidly across the northeast and shores of Moreau Lake for several years. It now covers more than 3.5 acres around the lake, which has obliterated lake views and diminished habitats for beaver, muskrat and wading birds, the state says.
Phragmites typically grow ten feet high or more. Without treatment, they will continue to spread, the state says.
The state hired Davey Tree Service to apply the herbicide. Three patches will be treated in the coming weeks: the southernmost bay near the beach road as you enter the park and first see the lake, the shallow bay just south of the boat docks and beach and the northernmost bay past the bridge. The public will not be able to access the sites during treatments.
State officials chose the method of removal using protocols established by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Smaller patches are being treated with non-chemical means. Once the phragmites are under control, native plants will be brought in along the shoreline to restore the native ecology.
Casey Holzworth, natural resource steward for state Parks, said, “Phragmites has a longer growing season than our native plants. Applying herbicide at this time of year will make it maximally effective for treatment of phragmites, while reducing the risk to native plants which are now dormant.”