Myriophyllum heterophyllum was NOT FOUNDIt just stopped raining as we started our investigation. We are in a heavy stand of cedar and hemlock with light coming in from the lake's edge. The ground near the water's edge is mostly dirt with lots of dried up needles and small cones. There are a few small ferns and other plants. The edge of the land drops off about 2 feet to the water. The water looks kind of grayish, but is clear enough to see the bottom. There are some tires in the water that someone is using as a bumper point for their boat. We can hear a motor boat in the distance but cannot see it. We threw the weed weasel about 20 feet out. We tried it 3 times and only pulled up two different kinds of plants on the third try.
The stems of Variable Watermilfoil are thick and reddish brown. This stem was pretty thin and was pinkish yellow in color.
The leaves of Variable Watermilfoil are feathery and whorled with 5 to 14 pairs of leaflets per leaf. The plant we found only had one leaf on the stem and it is oval in shape.
This is a picture of the second plant we found. It does have thinner leaves that are whorled (like Variable Watermilfoil does), but it does not have a reddish stem. It also has leaves that look like those of a spider plant, not the feathery look described for Variable watermilfoil.
Boats
Walking trail
People
Other
: Fishing line was found in the water at our site.
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Third throw
It seems that your third throw was a charm. The photo and written evidence that you've provided is clear and well put together. I was very glad to read that you did not find any plants that you suspect to be variable water-milfoil. It sounds as thought you have picked a good location for an investigation (with vectors like boats nearby). Are there any other locations on Long Pond with similar vectors nearby that you might investigate?
Other Long Pond sites
Long Pond also has a public boat ramp and cottages that rent boats near the north end of the lake. The site we were on is at the south end of the lake. Belgrade Stream runs out of the lake about 200 yards south of our site. Belgrade Stream is interrupted by a dam about .5 miles from its start. I believe that end of the stream has been identified by the Dept of Conservation as a lake endangered by milfoil. It would be interesting to check and compare above the dam vs. below the dam as well as checking out the conditions at the boat launch.