CBI Newsletter                    July 2018
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In This Issue
Training Documents and Links
Archive
  May 2018  
 April 2017  
July 2015 
May 2015 
I hope everyone is having a great season so far.  There was a spectacular save on Pennesseewassee Lake which should be shared with your inspectors. I have also included information about an Excel workaround for folks doing data entry. Feel free to respond to this email if you have any questions.  
 
Sincerely,
Mary Jewett - Milfoil Coordinator
Major Catch in Norway!
On May 31st Larry Levesque, a CBI with the Lakes Association of Norway, inspected a boat registered in New Jersey going into Penneseewassee  Lake. The previous waterbody was the St. Lawrence River in New York. Upon inspection a suspicious plant was found. Milfoil was suspected and the Lake Stewards of Maine (formerly VLMP) identified it as Eurasian Milfoil. While this is an amazing catch the story doesn't end there.

When the fragments were inspected more closely a tiny mollusk was discovered on the stem of the invasive plant. It was too small to be definitively identified but the general consensus is that it was a zebra mussel. You can see the offender in the picture above. 

The DEP has put out an official press release on this catch. You can download and read a copy by clicking here. 

This "save" only increases the pressure for all of us to be vigilant at the launch. We should always be asking if someone has drained their boat and educate them on why this is important. Zebra mussels can survive indefinitely in standing water in bilges, live wells, bait buckets, motors, and anything else that may have collected water from a water body. 

CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY!
Data Entry Troubleshooting
Some people have been having trouble saving their Excel data sheets using the file naming protocol outlined by DEP. What I ran into was that when I copied the file name generated by the template it wouldn't let me paste into the Save As box. It was so frustrating!! I started pasting the file name into Word and then recopying it to put it into the Save As box. Totally crazy but it worked.

I discovered a new workaround that cuts down the extra steps a bit. When you copy the file name it is then saved on the "Clipboard". When you open the clipboard within Excel the filename will be there. All you have to do is click on the filename and then go to Save As and it will paste. I created a super high tech video showing the process:

Educating at the Boat Launch
Part of the CBI job is educating the public about the threat that invasive species pose to our lakes and rivers. If a boater is uninformed or has questions it is important that the CBI be ready with information.

This spring the 7 Lakes Alliance set up an education display at their launch on Great Pond, an infested lake. The display received a lot of attention. Here is a note from Amy Soper, CBI Director for 7 Lakes Alliance:

" I just spoke with a couple that have lived on great pond their whole life that knew there was milfoil in the pond but had no idea what it was. It was a great opportunity to talk to them about it and show them what it looked like."

If you would like more information about the education display you can contact Amy at: amy.soper@7lakesalliance.org.

Clean, Drain, Dry
Invasive small-bodied organisms, such as  zebra mussels, can survive in standing water. 
Other New England states require boaters to drain and dry their boats between water bodies.

Please make sure that your inspectors are familiar with the clean, drain, dry message. The procedure is outlined on page 1&2 in the CBI handbook . Here's a short video from Minnesota that shows the steps:

Lakes Environmental Association | 207-647-8580 | mary@leamaine.org | http://mainelakes.org
230 Main Street
Bridgton, ME 04009

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