Last week, the commander of the New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers toured Lake Champlain projects that improve water quality and prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Colonel Thomas Asbery tells WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley that his third visit to the watershed focused on invasive species prevention efforts.
“The Corps we’re really one of the only federal agencies that has the unique authority in order to mitigate or manage aquatic invasive species. The current study that we’re working on, and we hope to finish by summer of 2020, is going to look at what other opportunities we can do. I don’t think there’s the possibility to completely eradicate these type of species. I think what we can do is mitigate and prevent further infestation or migration of species into other systems that they currently do not exist.”
Commander Thomas Asbery and Army Corps of Engineers staff itinerary included visiting a breakwater to discuss its reconstruction and impact on fishery restoration; a decontamination station; and kayaking to assess water chestnut infestation and help harvest the invasive plant.
