By CRAIG FREILICH

NORWOOD – The Norwood Lake Association has mostly good news from a preliminary report by the consultants looking into the growth in the lake of the potentially destructive invasive species Eurasian watermilfoil.

That good news, after Aquatic Invasive Management’s work in the lake Monday, is that there was relatively little of the plant established in the lake.

“They found it in small amounts, as opposed to dense growth, and were able to hand pull what they found,” said Norwood Lake Association President Jim McFaddin.

McFaddin said AIM President Andrew Lewis told him that “if it had been left unchecked for two years, we would have a real problem” in the lake, part of the Raquette River system.

He also said the work crew had found some watermilfoil floating from upstream, which would indicate that it is moving down from places south of Norwood.

“I think we’ll be able to control it in Norwood Lake, but upstream communities will have to control it there,” said McFaddin.

He said he hopes the Raquette River Corridor Blueway Corridor group will be addressing this.

He said three of the plants were brought to the municipal building so people could take a look at it.

Eurasian watermilfoil is destructive to native plants by taking up space and blocking sunlight from native species. It can also disrupt the behavior of native aquatic animal species with its density. Its density can also cause problems for boats and things such as municipal water intakes.

It can be spread by boats that pick up some in one water body and, when taken to another water body, deposit them there.

McFaddin said that the relatively high iron content in Raquette River water is a benefit in this situation because the water is darker than it might otherwise be, making it harder for light to reach the bottom, and harder for the plants to grow and get established.

AIM’s survey of the entire lake bottom by divers also found another milfoil variety on about half an acre of the bottom, which they are sending to a lab for identification. The hope is that it is a slower growing variety.

The association awaits AIM’s final report, which will include a map of just where the plant was found.

McFaddin said AIM would provide association members with a two-hour training session where they would learn how to find and pull up the plant.