RANGELEY — Mooselookmeguntic Lake was recently spared the destructive force of invasive plants by a pair of Courtesy Boat Inspectors working their first shift ever. Don and Pam Mantovani, who were trained just the week before through Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust’s Headwaters Lake Protection and Education Program, intercepted an invasive plant while inspecting a boat from Massachusetts.

After examining the hull, the prop and the trailer, they noticed a tangle of brown and green leaves wound around the anchor line. Having been trained to collect all plants, regardless of what they look like, the Mantovanis scooped up the fragments. With the help of fellow inspectors Ellie and Willis White, they had the plants delivered to Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust. Several days later, the Montavanis and the Whites got the news that the plant they intercepted was invasive curly leaf pondweed.

The plant came from Lake Cochituate, a 614-acre Massachusetts lake that is heavily infested with four species of invasive plants. Once prized for its scenic and recreational values, the lake has been the focus of a costly, highly toxic and largely ineffective removal effort.

Local residents quarantined parts of the lake and installed barriers to reduce the growth of the plants, but the number of infested acres doubled in just one year. And through the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, they applied controversial and poisonous herbicides that reduced, but did not eliminate, the plants. So, despite local efforts, Cochituate’s plants continue to grow and hitchhike their way to Maine and the Rangeley region.

As the newest addition to the trust’s team of volunteer courtesy boat inspectors, Don and Pam Mantovani are passionate about the health of the lakes. “We became CBIs because we recognized the threat that invasive aquatic plants inflict is irreversible,” Don Mantovani said following his first day at the launch. “For that reason, we encourage others who care about protecting the waterways in the Rangeley Lakes Region to contact RLHT and become a CBI.”

The trust has been coordinating the CBI and shoreline survey program for nine years. It trains all of the CBIs and combines education and public outreach with boat inspections and shoreline patrols. Serving as friendly ambassadors and advocates for the lakes, RLHT volunteers and staff have inspected more than 10,000 boats, educated an estimated 40,000 people and surveyed more than 100 miles of shoreline.

“Boat owners are very receptive and grateful of our efforts with inspecting their boats, trailers and equipment,” said Don Mantovani. Both boaters and CBIs have learned that conducting a top to bottom, inside and out inspection before the boat leaves the launch area is critical.

Describing the recent interception Pam Mantovani said, “the plant matter was found inside the boat and wrapped around the anchor rope; this reinforces the threat these plants possess with spreading easily and underscores the reason protective measures are important.”

As volunteers, CBIs work as many or as few hours each week as they want, whatever days they want. To become a CBI, contact Rebecca Kurtz at 864-7311, ext. 5 or [email protected].