How Do Aquatic Invasive Plants Get Introduced and Transported?
Regional movements of aquatic invasive plants can result from the transport of seeds and plant fragments on wildlife, watercraft, and with the mass flow of water in rivers and lakes. New introductions can also result from careless disposal of non-native plants purchased for home aquariums or ponds into area waters. In the case of Eurasian watermilfoil, only a single vegetative fragment is required to propagate a new population. It should be no surprise that the primary cause of inter-lake colonization by this species owes to the transport of plant fragments on boats and trailers. If you are a lake user, take precautions to prevent the transport of invasive plants from one lake or river to another by removing ALL plant material from your watercraft before and after entering new waters and disposing of the material away from the shoreline on dry land or in the trash. Distributions in the Adirondack Park Aquatic invasive plants have reached nuisance levels in a number of Adirondack lakes
