COLONIE — Man has been battling water chestnuts and other invasive aquatic plants for more than a century. And, right now, it’s not even a close contest. The weeds are winning — hands down.
In New York state, it is easier to list the counties that don’t have an issue with water chestnuts than list the ones that do. And once they dig in, they spread with a vengeance, are extremely difficult to get rid of and can hinder recreation, commerce and emergency access to the river.
That is the first problem facing the Town of Colonie as it explores ways to re-open the boat launch at the Mohawk River Park and Pool off Route 9. The second is the level of silt that has accumulated, but nobody is really sure how much would have to be dredged, or if the bottom needs a scrape or not.
There was a dock the town would set each summer but at some point over the last few years it was pulled out one fall, put into storage somewhere and never brought back out said Supervisor Peter Crummey, who made giving residents access to the Mohawk a plank of his campaign platform during last year’s election. Actually, he said, a cursory search for the missing dock this spring proved unsuccessful so if anything does happen at the boat launch a new dock will likely be built or bought.
Crummey said he is looking at some grant options to either fix up the existing site or find a location for a new one somewhere along the miles of Mohawk River frontage that is in Colonie.
“We had a boat launch there for years and right now it is not usable. I can’t tell you why previous administrations did not maintain that area but the clearly did not,” Crummey said. “It’s a beautiful place and residents of Colonie should have access to the Mohawk River. I want that thing open again and we will open it again. And if we have to move it because it is cheaper and more viable to move it we will.”
Weeds
Structurally, there is nothing stopping anyone from launching a boat into the Mohawk River from the driveway on the back end of the Town Park and Pool. But, getting a boat past the water chestnuts into open water would take some doing.
The weeds are rooted in the river bottom and have 12 to 15 feet of stem and leaves before breaking the surface. They are extremely difficult to paddle through and can cause mechanical issues with motorized boats. Their rosettes — or fruit or nutlets — have pointed, sharp barbs and spines and can cause injury if handled improperly or stepped on without the proper footwear.
Recently, the town Conservation Advisory Council had a representative of the state Department of Environmental Conservation come speak about water chestnuts and other invasive species along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers.
Generally, there are generally two acceptable methods of getting rid of water chestnuts and neither are easy or quick, said Catherine McGlynn, an aquatic invasive species coordinator for the DEC
One is using an accepted chemical to kill off the plants but it is the less favorable option.
The second is physically pulling the plants from the roots either by a mechanical harvesting machine or the old fashioned way — by hand. There are two scheduled “pull parties” where people in kayaks and canoes and rowboats go out and yank up the plants, shove them into garbage bags and take them to a compost facility.
Sounds easy enough. But, just like weeds in a garden, they keep coming back.
McGlynn said once the plant drops its fruit, the pods can remain viable and able to produce a new plant for up to 12 years. As they drop, they can also get swept along with the currents and the field can spread or they can attach to boats and inadvertently brought to other bodies of water.
“This is a long term commitment because you want to exhaust the seed bank. Pulling the plants the first year is great, and you will prevent more nutlets from dropping but you still have other nutlets down there and they will continue to sprout every season so you have to harvest, or pull them, every year,” she said. “It’s a decades long commitment and the process has to continue each season.”
The DEC has mapped out vegetation in the Mohawk and Hudson rivers and the priority is continuing to provide unhindered emergency access along the river. But, she said, marinas also have an issue as do municipalities, like Colonie, and even rowing clubs.
The are two “pull parties” planned for later this month are at Aqueduct Park in Niskayuna, which hosts a number of rowing clubs, and on Camp Road in Rexford, that will provide access for recreation and emergency watercraft. The pulls are sponsored by the DEC and the Capital Region Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management.
A representative from PRISM could not be reached by press time but visit its website, capitalregionprism.org, for more information on the pulls.
“I think folks think there is little they can do to help out regarding this issue but even organizing a hand pull can help out. Even if your infestation is very large and you have a hand pull to clear a path for recreational use. Even that helps,” McGlynn said. “I hope people consider if they work together they can make a difference in beating back these infestations. The DEC has a limited capacity to deal with this. We are helping to organize and connect people, but ultimately we need the help of the folks who have a vested interest in seeing these infestations controlled.”
If you are standing at the boat launch in Colonie and look at the residential home to the left, the owners have pulled weeds to make a path through the water chestnuts to the river proper. The patch is clear (see aerial photo) but there are white stakes marking it in case the weeds shifted.
Pulling weeds
Crummey said hosting a pull party would be an excellent first start but if the area along the old boat launch has to be dredged that is a different story.
“We have student volunteers and this type of thing could be fun for the community,” he said. “It would be great to get something going up there along the river because it is a beautiful spot and if there is a silt issue too then we need to find out what has to be done and see if it can remain a viable option.”
The CAC was supposed to meet with a DEC representative at the boat launch on Friday, July 8, but the meeting was adjourned.
“The Conservation Advisory Council is excited to be able to work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to address the water chestnut issue on the Mohawk River,” said CDC Chairwoman Zainab Magdon-Ismail. “There is so much opportunity in this beautiful area of the town. We are looking to work with other areas of the state to perhaps apply for some funding to assist in the effort.”
The dense mats of vegetation shade out native aquatic plants that provide food and shelter to native fish, waterfowl, and insects. Decomposition of these dense mats reduces dissolved oxygen levels and may kill fish. Property values along shorelines of infested waters can also decrease.
Water chestnuts were first introduced to the U.S. in the mid-1800s as an ornamental plant. Around 1884, it was found growing in Collins Lake in Scotia and have been spreading across the state since. They spread so quickly, and last for such a long time, the only way to combat invasive species is to team up, McGlynn said. To exemplify, just across the river from the Colonie boat launch is another water chestnut field as large or larger, as the one along Colonie’s shore.
“There some options to consider but it is best considered with other folks who have an interest too because it is difficult for one entity to deal with all this,” McGlynn said. This is a problem that is effecting emergency access to the rivers and it impacts fishing and business and tourism and the natural ecology.”