Invasive Weeds at Lake Tahoe Being Tackled with Volunteer Help

The League to Save Lake Tahoe is taking a new approach to identifying invasive weeds.

Jesse Patterson, Deputy Director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe meets volunteers at Baldwin Beach. He prepares them to take on the enemy -- invasive weeds like Eurasian Water Milfoil and Curly Leaf Pond Weed -- which are formidable.

"An invasive comes in and there is really no natural checks for them and so they grow unobstructed and they take over large areas and then they alter the habitat to make it more hospitable for themselves and less hospitable for the natives we want here.” -- Jesse Patterson, Deputy director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe

The trainees stalk the plants on the beach, crouch near ponds, snorkel, 

With 71 miles of shoreline, authorities could use the help. In just one month, the league already has trained 30 people what to look for and how to report it. Nicole Jergins with the league says, the trainees should seek, but not destroy.

The weeds can spread with just the touch of a finger. So it takes specialized training to remove them. But for now, the League has some new front-line recruits.

Eurasian Water Milfoil     Photo by Fungus Guy / Wikimedia Commons