6 WEEKS! It’s officially been 6 weeks since I started at the Squam Lakes Association (SLA). I feel like I only just got here, but at the same time I feel like I’ve been here for ages. I feel like I’ve already learned more than I could have hoped I could have during this experience.
5 of these last 6 weeks have been training. Of course there was the obligatory first aid and CPR training, but then there was the fun stuff like trails training, water quality training, boating training, and SCUBA training. We also had a couple hours of canoe training, where we got to practice what to do if our canoe flipped over by tossing ourselves into the lake over and over again.
Now that we’re finally through all of our training, we get to actually do all of the cool things that we’ve been learning how to do for the last month. One of the coolest things being the Diver Assisted Suction Harvester (DASH) that we use to pull variable milfoil from the lake. It’s a pretty cool system, and definitely takes some getting used to. It’s essentially a giant vacuum that’s manned by a diver at the bottom of the lake.
While doing our training for the DASH system the other day, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’re doing more harm than good using the DASH system. While it is much more efficient than pulling milfoil by hand, it also rips it up a lot. It felt like all we were doing while the divers were underwater was scoop up tiny bits of milfoil that had been ripped up from the DASH. Milfoil can spread and grow if even the tiniest piece gets by us. Which is, understandably, a bit daunting.
On the other hand, the amount of milfoil that we can pull out of the water using the DASH system, truly is amazing. Just during our short training session the other day, we pulled 30 gallons of milfoil out of the lake! That’s triple what we were pulling by hand, and we only had the DASH system running for a couple of hours. Imagine how much we could get after an entire day!
I guess it really is a double edged sword. We were told at the beginning that it was basically impossible to completely eradicate variable milfoil from a lake once it’s started growing here. It’s an extremely adaptable plant. But keeping it in check is the key. We can’t let it grow or spread out of control. That’s the most important thing. It’s easy to lose track of that when you’re in a kayak surrounded by milfoil, desperately trying to collect it all before it drifts away.
Shea is a half-term member at the Squam Lakes Association. You can learn more about them here!