I spent my first few months out of college chopping up invasive Kahili ginger, Strawberry guava, and Australian tree ferns with the Koke’e Resource Conservation Program (KRCP), a volunteer driven invasive species control group operating in the mountains of Kaua’i. Shortly after arriving on the Garden Island, idealistic, and starry eyed, I received a brisk slap in the face from reality. I was standing at an ecotone (the transition zone between two biological communities), a machete hanging from my hand, fingers stained blue from the dye we added to the herbicide, sweaty and covered in the tiny, sharp, unbelievably itchy hairs that an Australian tree ferns gently sprinkles down on you as you chop away at its trunk. “My God” I thought, “they can’t be stopped. This is literally an exercise in futility.” At my back, the native forest with ginger interspersed in the understory; before me, a steep drainage dropped away revealing a valley floor choked with huge plots of ginger, the striking yellow flowers fluffed with pollen that would soon be floating further down the valley on the wind. Few can tolerate working in the face of such seemingly insurmountable odds, but one of the few is the program’s director, Katie Cassel. She’s been fighting weeds on Kaua’i for over 20 years and holds a fountain of optimism that wells inside her and spills over to the many that have worked on her holy war against the invaders. Dealing with invasives is never really simple but her message can be distilled to a couple words. Persistence and hope. And both are on display at the Squam Lakes Association as we strive to maintain a high quality watershed and keep it from being overrun by non-native, invasive species.
As the lake opens and spring blooms around us, we at SLA are preparing to continue the efforts of these last 10 plus years to keep variable milfoil at bay. With large infestations no longer present in either lake, thanks to Millie, our trusty dive boat, and the work of many hands, we’ll be employing the persistence part of the invasive species message and visiting areas of regrowth to make sure this insidious aquatic threat doesn’t catch us unawares. Areas of past infestation likely still harbor a seed bank and need to be routinely checked to prevent them from popping back to life and creating their characteristic monocultures which can be harmful to the ecosystem. This is where support from our community is absolutely vital! We rely on folks boating around the lake to let us know if they spot a patch of milfoil. If you see a suspicious plant this spring or summer, let us know and become a Squam Weed Watcher! But there are still significant infestations in the Squam river and I’m looking forward to putting the Diver Assisted Suction Harvester (DASH) to use as we keep pushing the milfoil farther downstream til we corner it against the Ashland Dam. When dealing with aggressive non-native species, “containment”, rather than “eradication” is usually the word. However, the consistent decrease of milfoil in Squam leaves room for hope that one day Millie will be out of a job and keeping a watchful eye for new threats will be the focus.
As I go about the business of readying our boats and docks for the summer season and taking care of the million little details that need attention during the switch to warm weather operations, those two words, “persistence” and “hope” stick with me. Blaise Pascal wrote “We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty.” My bulwark against uncertainty lies outside my window, in the diminishing ice; in the bright curls of aquatic plants beginning to break through the littoral soils; the ferns, after lying flat and green against the leaf litter all winter, now photosynthesizing like mad before the tree canopy leafs out and shades them. It’s in the Ring-neck ducks visiting on their way north for the summer, in the immature Bald Eagle learning to fish on our cove, in stoneflies and mayflies hatching from the water, discovering how to use wings and breathe air. Whatever happens on the news the natural order persists, the Northern Hemisphere tilts towards the sun, the seasons change, and, in this period of new growth, life and hope, spring eternal.
Elijah is a full-year LRCC member serving with the Squam Lakes Association. You can usually find Elijah lounging in his pink slippers, making chicken wings, and reading. You can learn more about Elijah here!