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DEC: invasive aquatic species detections rising; agency weighing program changes and herbicide permits
Summary
Vermont DEC told a committee that watercraft inspection intercepts and aquatic invasive species introductions are increasing. The agency described reliance on volunteers, limits to boat washing capacity, its aquatic nuisance control permit program and the use and review of the herbicide ProcellaCOR.
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation told a legislative committee that interceptions of invasive species on watercraft and new lake introductions have both trended upward, and that the state is evaluating alternatives to the current prevention program.
“Spread prevention is by far the most cost‑effective way to manage invasive species,” said Jenny Austin, the DEC’s lakes and ponds program manager. She said the state depends heavily on lake associations and volunteers for watercraft inspection and monitoring but that capacity is limited: only “around maybe 40” of the state’s roughly 800 lakes have volunteer inspection stations and only a small handful—she estimated five to…
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