The war against milfoil in Lake Sunnyside, New York has largely been won — but at the cost of leaving the lake vulnerable to invasion from another plant.
Now, curly-leaf pondweed is taking over the lake, and stewards must fight that one too.
The problem was that milfoil occupied nearly all of the shoreline, the area where sunlight can reach the bottom of the lake, allowing aquatic plants to flourish.
Workers use chemicals that “wiped out” the milfoil but also all the other plants, said Protective Association of Lake Sunnyside board member Eric Sage.
“It devastated the fish population,” he said.
And it left a vacant area for other plants to use, he said. Another invasive species moved in quickly.