Volunteers Needed - Aquatic Invasive Species

While some non-native species can be harmless to the environment, others can wreak havoc. When a non-native species easily out-competes native species, the non-native species can become invasive. Invasive species choke out native species and can collapse entire food chains if they get out of hand. Aquatic invasive species can impact wildlife, plant life, and our quality of life.

Because Moon Lake is small and relatively secluded, our lake is somewhat isolated from many would-be invasive species. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't have any invasive species.

The number and types of invasive species in our lake are important metrics for measuring the health of the lake.

The MLPC is working with the New York State Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA) to help figure out what kind of invasive species we have in Moon Lake, but we can't do it alone!

We need some citizen scientists to examine the kinds of aquatic plant life they see around the lake and to help report invasive species they come across using iMap Invasives.

NYSFOLA has a full write-up on how to collect, photograph, and report invasive species.

They also have a document listing the known aquatic invasives species in Jefferson County, including the two that have been confirmed in Moon Lake.

You can find more information on aquatic invasive species on the NYSFOLA website, and on the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (SLELO PRISM) website.

If you're interested in helping us document the invasive species in Moon Lake, please reach out to us at moonlakepreservationcouncil@gmail.com!