The invasive aquatic plant known as hydrilla has been an ongoing issue along the Connecticut River for years.
“When hydrilla moves in and covers a cove it can make it difficult for someone to boat around, it can get wound up in props,” Department of Energy and Environmental Protection fisheries biologist Matt Goclowski said.
This week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a meeting to further address the best method of handling the invasive species.
“It’s pretty much spread to all of the available habitats that it can spread to within the river,” Goclowski said.
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They’re known as aquatic hitchhikers, and since roughly 2016, hydrilla has been causing a ripple effect along the Connecticut River.
“We have a lot of different plant species that are native to Connecticut and when hydrilla moves in, it’s really aggressive, it grows really quickly and it can push some of those species out and that can have other impacts on other animal species as well,” Goclowski said.
This week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments and the CT Agricultural Experiment Station, met to determine the best way to address the growing hydrilla issue.
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“Last year they did a bunch of trials in tanks to look at hydrilla and different concentrations of different chemicals to see if those herbicides can be effective in treating hydrilla,” Goclowski said.
Out of the various options discussed, Keith Hannon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers named aquatic herbicides as the best selective control option going forward.
“Really want to just make it clear though that the registered aquatic herbicides that are being considered can be used to selectively control basically plants like hydrilla and they don’t pose significant safety risks,” Hannon said during the meeting.
Hannon said no final decisions have been made on how soon those herbicides may be used. In the meantime, DEEP says that boaters can always do their part to help prevent further spread.
“The main thing is to clean your boat, drain it of any water in any areas that might have water in the boat, and to dry it out,” Goclowski said.
