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Consultants present draft Long Pond and Little Long Pond management plan, recommend genetic testing for milfoil
Summary
GEI Consultants presented a DEC-funded draft management plan for Long Pond and Little Long Pond, recommending continued monitoring, genetic testing of variable-leaf milfoil, and a mix of cutting and targeted herbicide based on bathymetry and rare-species locations.
Luke Gervasi and Lara Pomi Urbat of GEI Consultants presented the draft lake-management plan to the South End Township trustees, describing methods, field work and initial recommendations funded by a DEC invasive-species grant with Community Preservation Fund support.
Gervasi said the team completed bathymetric mapping, water-quality monitoring with data loggers and a full aquatic-plant survey for both Little Long Pond and Long Pond. He said the draft plan compiles citizen-collected phosphorus data and GEI’s water-quality samples, and that the draft has been submitted for review and expected to be finalized in about a month.
"This is August '25 through March '26," Gervasi said of the logger data, explaining that loggers recorded dissolved-oxygen and temperature at 15-minute intervals and showed oxygen depletion at pond bottoms during late summer and fall in Little Long Pond. He said Little Long Pond reaches about 19 feet deep while Long Pond is nearer 12 feet.
Gervasi and Pomi Urbat flagged variable-leaf milfoil as an important management uncertainty. "One of the recommendations we have is actually do genetic testing to find out which one this is," Gervasi said, adding that confirming whether specimens are invasive or native affects eligibility for DEC invasive-species funding.
The consultants mapped areas where cutting is preferable and where targeted herbicide could be appropriate, emphasizing careful selection near sites with rare and state-listed plants such as the globe-fruited seed box. They recommended spring cutting at higher water levels and continued monitoring and watershed-level actions (septic review, stormwater) to reduce nutrient loading.
Trustees asked about timetables and access to the plan; Gervasi said the draft will be finalized soon and images and data can be provided to the board.
Next steps: trustees and staff will review the draft plan, consider priorities for pond treatments and discuss possible requests for qualifications to identify implementation contractors or partners.
