Week 6: Reaching New Heights

June 26, Monday:

We started this week with beautiful weather out on Candlewood Lake. Today, Luke and I sampled the six sites on the New Milford Arm of the lake, plus some additional coves that we wanted to check for fish. As we are now in our final round of sampling the entire lake for the early months of summer, we want to make certain that it is searched thoroughly for the carp. We have found 40 out of the 50 tagged carp, meaning that these remaining 10 fish may be in areas of the lake not designated on our maps as sampling sites. Although our sites are spread as evenly as possible throughout the entire lake, and located in areas with the highest Milfoil density, there is still a chance that some of these fish may have selected to live in a smaller Milfoil bed in one of the many small coves or crevices of the lake. These coves or inlets are often blocked by islands or land features that can block the radio wave signal issued by the carp's tag. Therefore, to make certain that we are not missing any fish, we have created additional sampling sites on our maps to be sure that we are covering all possible locations that the carp could be.

Special thanks to Alan and Noreen for taking us sampling today!

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June 28, Wednesday:

We sampled the Sherman Arm again today, and aside from the definite movement of a few fish to nearby sites, our data did not yield any unexpected results in terms of the carp.

However, we did spot an unanticipated visitor to the lake. While sampling in Atchison Cove in Sherman, we saw suspended clouds green algae growth anchoring itself to the tops of the Milfoil. Unlike the Blue-Green Algae blooms that release neurotoxins into the water, this species is harmless, albeit a bit slimy, to humans. Unfortunately, although harmless, these green algae blooms are caused by the same conditions that create the harmful Blue-Green Algae blooms. Many of the homes in Atchison Cove had no buffer gardens, meaning that they had no shrubs or plants other than grass down to the water's edge. Despite this, the lawns were perfectly manicured, without a weed in sight. The lack of buffer gardens allows for phosphorous containing fertilizer to enter the lake water directly from the property, as there is not significant plant growth to soak up runoff. The phosphorous then acts as a fertilizer for not only the Eurasian Milfoil, but promotes algae growth and blooms as well.

Special thanks to Len for taking us sampling today!

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June 30, Friday:

Today we sampled the middle section of the lake for the third time. In regards to the carp, our data collection yielded information that three of our fish are definitely on the move. Near Brookfield Town Park, we saw the reappearance of one fish that had vanished the last time we collected data there, while another fish that had been their previously had disappeared. In addition, the fish that traveled all the way from Sherman Town Park (see last week's blog post) and was seen near the tip of Vaughn's Neck on June 20th had once again vanished. Although the movements of these carp are still without explanation, we are able to say for certain that the fish are alive and well, as they are exhibiting a large range of movement between locations.

Unfortunately, as seen above, the Milfoil has begun to reach the surface in some of the largest beds on the lake. It is our hope that the Grass Carp will be able to keep the growth of these beds in check as the summer progresses.

The above image shows the length of some of the strands that have already reached the surface in a bed at the start of the New Milford Arm. These strands are at least a meter long and are hazards for boaters and swimmers. While out sampling today, we had to stop twice to remove weeds from the propeller of the boat, a testament to the current size of the weeds.

The last image (pictured above) shows some pleasant visitors to the lake. These ducks stopped by our boat as we were sampling near the causeway of Candlewood Isle. Although they were swimming over a large Milfoil bed, they had no interest in the aquatic growth beneath them. It seems the Grass Carp are on their own for controlling the population of the Eurasian Milfoil.

Special thanks to Len for taking us out twice this week!