Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 6, 1993 TAG: 9310150341
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The salad is in the form of a plant called hydrilla, an aquatic invader that is spreading so rapidly in some states it has fishermen, boaters, lake- property owners and state officials using terms like ``warfare.''
In Virginia, hydrilla has taken root most aggressively in the Potomac River, Gaston Lake and the ``hot'' side of Lake Anna. Earlier in the year, patches were reported in Kerr Lake, but a search there by biologists last week failed to turn up the plant. Officials plan a second look in the fall.
``I think it probably is a matter of time before it gets to other lakes,'' said David Whitehurst, deputy director of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
That department, along with the Department of Environmental Quality, has scheduled public meetings near the Potomac River and Gaston Lake this month in an effort to establish a hydrilla management plan for Virginia.
``Each water body that is infested will have to have its own management plan, and those plans should be developed with public input,'' said Whitehurst.
The Potomac River meeting is scheduled Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., at the National Wildlife Federation Building in Vienna. The Lake Gaston meeting is set for Sept. 16, 7 p.m., at the LaCrosse Commerce Center in LaCrosse.
For fishermen, hydrilla has its good and bad points, said Bill Kittrell, a fish biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Kittrell, who works Gaston Lake, has had experience with the exotic plant as a biologist in Florida and Texas.
Fishermen tend to like it, up to a point, he said. ``It provides an edge effect. There are holes and pockets in it that provide structure.''
The openings create ambush points for bass, and make excellent casting targets for anglers. The cover also protects young fish and provides food for a variety of species.
``Aquatic vegetation is good for a fishery,'' Kittrell said. ``I just wish those were native plants that wouldn't get out of control.''
Too much hydrilla can clog up outboard engines, make it impossible to work a fishing plug and even lower the value of shoreline property by limiting activities such as boating, water skiing and swimming, Kittrell said. When that occurs, the county tax base can take a plunge.
``The one thing you don't want it to do is get out of control and top out to where there are large expanses of the lake that are totally unuseable for anything.''
North Carolina, with assistance from Virginia, has been using chemicals to control the plant in Gaston. While that hasn't been without controversy, the effort is keeping hydrilla in check, said Kittrell.
``It never has gotten over about 400 to 500 acres out of a 20,000 acre lake,'' he said.
But chemical controls won't work well in flowing water, such as the Potomac River.
``It hasn't reached the problem level on the Potomac River as far as fisheries goes,'' said Whitehurst. ``It is certainly a problem for adjacent landowners who have docks along the river.''
There is a heavy infestation of hydrilla in the hot side of Lake Anna, a Vepco nuclear power project. That side of the lake is private property. On the larger side, which is public, hydrilla has been increasing, but has not become a problem, said Whitehurst.
Biologists believe hydrilla arrived in the United States from South America or central Africa.
In some instances, grass carp are being stocked to control hydrilla, said Kittrell. The problem with that, the carp can cost $10 apiece and you can't be certain they will do the job.
by CNB