CHESTER, Connecticut — Between lawmakers and state agencies, there is a unified front to fight the highly problematic invasive aquatic plant called Hydrilla.
The plant, which spreads rapidly and is not native to Connecticut, has taken hold of marinas and coves in the lower Connecticut River Valley.
At the Chester Boat Basin, experts from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Connecticut DEEP, and lawmakers including Senator Richard Blumenthal and State Representative Christine Palm gathered to discuss plans to fight the plant.
“It is one of the most pernicious environmental plagues that we have in Connecticut and it's only getting worse.," said Palm.
"It poses real-life dangers to Connecticut ecology, economics, and environmental quality.," Senator Blumenthal added.
Blumenthal is looking to secure $25 million from the Federal Government to help combat Hydrilla in the state.
Presently, state agencies are testing ways to try and control Hydrilla. Greg Bugbee, who is an associate scientist from the CT Ag Station and now heads up the newly formed Office of Aquatic Invasive Species said, “We are in full testing mode now, the Connecticut Ag station as well as the Army Corp (of Engineers) is working on the river doing something called ‘dye testing’. We want to see how the water moves in and out -- how long it would last in the water and (which) products that would be used based on that data.”
Collectively, the hope of all the parties working to control Hydrilla is to find a plan to control it and implement that plan in the Connecticut River sometime in 2024. Everything is on the table at this point including using herbicides to fight Hydrilla.
Matt Goclowski, a supervising fisheries biologist with CT DEEP said, “It’s going to be really difficult to eradicate (Hydrilla) so I think management is going to be a more realistic goal.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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