Whalebone Cove Friends Hold Annual Meeting; Features Talk on Handling Local Explosion of Invasive Hydrilla

This photo was taken September 2020 during an inspection of Whalebone Cove, in which it was found that 60 to 70 percent of the waterways were clogged with hydrilla vines.

LYME — The Friends of Whalebone Cove host their annual meeting virtually Sunday, April 11, at 3 p.m. All are welcome.

The featured speaker will be Margot Burns, who is an environmental planner for the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments (RiverCOG.) For a Zoom link to the meeting, send an email to: [email protected]

In the last three years, underwater invasive hydrilla (water thyme) vines have been spreading rapidly throughout the Connecticut River, choking its coves, bays, and tributaries and making them almost impassable for kayaks, canoes, motor boats, and many fishermen.

The spread of hydrilla is a major problem for the Connecticut River, which has exploded exponentially in just the last two years. More than 65 percent of Whalebone Cove was covered by it last year and 90 percent coverage is anticipated this year. Selden Cove, meanwhile, experienced 80 percent coverage in 2020.

This aerial picture shows hydrilla covering the Mattabasett River north of Middletown, CT, August 2020 by Greg Bugbee, Conn Agriculture Extension Station, New Haven.

Burns will discuss the worrisome spread of hydrilla and what steps need to be taken to mitigate its effect on the Connecticut River watershed and prevent its spread elsewhere in the State.

For more information about the problem and current responses to it, watch Invading the CT River — The Spread of Hydrilla and/or visit this link.

There are also four informative webinars on CT River Aquatic Invasives: Parts 1 through 4, links to which are provided below:

Part 1:
Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4: