Invasive Species-

Information about Eurasian Milfoil, Swimmers Itch and the importance of watching your boat wake.

EURASIAN MILFOIL

Clean Boats = Clean Lakes! EurasianWater Milfoil grows and spreads really fast. So fast, that it can choke out native plants and reduce the amount of light that reaches into the lake. This aggressive growth kills off other native aquatic plants. And when the native plants can't grow, other aquatic species that rely on the native plants for food and shelter have trouble surviving. Eurasian Water Milfoil's dense growth makes it difficult for invertebrates and other organisms that fish eat to survive. So, with less to eat and less open water, fish populations also decrease.

For more information on Milfoil and other invasive plants and the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP), click here.

SWIMMERS ITCH

Don't Feed The Ducks or Geese!! Feeding the ducks and Geese will propagate swimmer's itch in the area where the birds are being fed as well as upset the natural balance and duck population. Swimmer's itch or schistosome cercarial dermatitis is a skin reaction that certain people have to the entry of a larval stage of certain flatworms into the epidermal layer of the skin. After the parasite enters, it dies and may cause dermatitis in individuals who have been previously sensitized. This sensitivity will rarely disappear; it usually get worse to subsequent exposures.

WATCH YOUR WAKE

You are responsible for the damage caused by the wake from your boat, it also causes major shoreline erosion Waves have impact on the environment by: eroding the shoreline, disturbing shoreline plants and wetland habitats, disturbing aquatic ecosystems, and swamping nests of loons and other waterfowl. Waves have impact on people by: damaging docks and boats, interfering with safe navigation, upsetting canoes and small boats, and causing danger to swimmers.