UPDATE: Treatment Scheduled for Thursday, August 18th!
The day is finally here! After years of planning and fundraising, DCR plans to treat invasive plants in the Charles River with herbicides this Thursday, August 18, 2022. NOTE: This is a new date, so update your calendars!
Starting at 9AM, DCR and their consultant, SOLitude Lake Management, will use the herbicide ProcellaCOR and target invasive Eurasian and Variable Milfoil at priority locations in the Lakes District and Lower Basin, covering a total of 145 acres. They will begin near the Longfellow Bridge, and will work their way upstream, treating areas near the river banks in the Lower Basin, and in the main channel in the Lakes District.
River users should plan to stay out of the way of the treatment boat during the herbicide application, to allow them to work efficiently. The herbicide itself is safe for humans and would have no health effects on anyone who may accidentally come in contact with it. The invasive plants take up the chemicals fully within 4-6 hours after the treatment, then slowly die over the subsequent 2-4 weeks. ProcellaCOR is a systemic herbicide, which incorporates itself within the plant tissue and breaks down the structural integrity, and eventually “dissolves” the plant.
If you have any questions about the treatment, please reach out to Lisa Kumpf, River Science Program Manager at lkumpf@crwa.org.
