5th Annual Water Chestnut Removal
Tuesday, June 19th - Saturday, June 23rd , 2012 8:00am - 12:00pm
Hand Hollow Conservation Area – 387 Gale Hill Rd, New Lebanon
Older Children and Adults
Free
Join the Columbia Land Conservancy for educational programs and work days on the water as we remove this non-native, highly invasive species. CLC will be showing volunteers how to remove these aquatic plants and dispose of them properly. CLC will provide volunteers with waders, gloves, canoes, and kayaks. If you have your own, bring them along! CLC will be showing volunteers how to remove these aquatic plants and dispose of them properly. This is an ideal opportunity for landowners to learn how to protect ponds and lakes on their own properties. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Volunteers can come for a portion of the day or the entire morning during any of the five days.
Water chestnut is an invasive plant that grows so densely it blocks native plants from getting oxygen and sunlight. Water chestnut must be removed every year before it can drop another round of seeds. These plants out compete most native vegetation and have an adverse effect on the wildlife that lives in and around the lake. From a recreational standpoint, water chestnuts grow in such dense mats that they clog the waterway making fishing difficult, encourage mosquitoes to breed, and make activities around the lake hazardous due to the sharp spikes of the chestnut.
Attend this event and help ensure the Hand Hollow Conservation Area remains a beautiful place for recreation with abundant wildlife habitats. The 414-acre site is open to the public at no charge, year-round. It is frequented by beavers, turtles, osprey, and belted kingfishers, all of which have been spotted during previous water chestnut removal events. The property is owned and managed by CLC.
Photo by Andreas Stresemann
View album from 2011 on facebook
For more information, contact Tom Crowell at 518.392.5252, ext. 209 or tom@clctrust.org.
