CASCO (AP) – A network of boat inspectors is on the front lines at many of Maine’s lakes in an effort to stop the spread of invasive plants.

At the boat ramp at Sebago Lake State park, 19-year-old Mary Cloutier can be found most days checking the hulls and propellers of boats entering and leaving the lake. She tries to make sure they don’t have milfoil on them that might be carried to another body of water.

“I have to stop everyone,” she said.

In the years since milfoil and other invasive plants were discovered in Maine, lake associations and the state have engaged in a collaborative effort to make sure the problem doesn’t worsen.

Invasive plants can grow fast and choke the life out of lakes and ponds, while threatening native plants and fish.

No new infestations were reported last year or the first half of this summer. Of the 6,000 lakes, ponds and other waterways in the state, only 26 have invasive plant species, said John McPhedran, a biologist with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Boat inspection is one way to stem the spread of invasive plants, said Peter Lowell, director of the Bridgton-based Lakes Environmental Association, which helps provide inspectors such as Cloutier for area lakes.

The number of boat inspections increased from 30,000 in 2004 to 40,000 last year, but groups around the state providing the inspections need more support from the state, he said.

The next step in fighting invasive plants will be to control or eradicate the plants that are already in the lakes, he said. The lakes association received $2,000 in grant money to help, which is minimal, Lowell said.

“The real issue is there are lakes sitting here, like Little Sebago, with enormous infestations and little or no money to deal with it,” Lowell said.

The state’s primary focus now is to prevent invasive species from reaching untainted lakes.

At the boat launch on Sebago Lake, Cloutier spends about eight hours a day trying to spot invasive plants and educating boaters about them.

While many Mainers know about milfoil, there are plenty of boaters from other states who aren’t aware of it, she said.

And even for those who do know, education is not always enough. On an afternoon late last week, at least one boater ignored Cloutier’s questions as he slid his boat into the lake.

“This really is a green monster,” she said about milfoil. “There’s no other way to describe it.”

AP-ES-07-17-06 1055EDT