Protecting our lake from invasive plants and animals is critical. Large areas of invasive plants in Contoocook Lake would make swimming and boating difficult and possibly dangerous. Invasives are expensive to control and nearly impossible to get rid of. They also reduce shoreline property values. And the occurrence of invasive plants and animals in New Hampshire lakes is increasing. For more information on invasives currently threatening New Hampshire lakes visit: www.nhlakes.org/wp-content/uploads/Lake-Host-AIS-Identification-2019-1.pdf
One of our major ongoing maintenance efforts has been to control the invasive variable milfoil in our lake. It was discovered in Contoocook Lake in 2015??? and is currently controlled with SCUBA diver hand harvesting, Diver-Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) and with the herbicide ProcellaCOR. In 2025 it cost CLAPA over $30,000 to treat less than 10% of the area of our lake.In an effort to mitigate the cost of removing invasive species, CLAPA will be partnering with NH Lakes to implement the Lake Host Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program during the 2026 season as the first line of defense to protect our lake.
The goal of the Lake Host Program is to restore and preserve the health of New Hampshire lakes by educating lake visitors and homeowners about aquatic invasive species, distributing educational materials, compiling data on boater habits and conducting boat and trailer inspections on watercraft arriving and departing the public boat ramp at Old County Road. It takes only one boat that has not been properly cleaned, drained and dried to introduce an invasive plant or animal into our lake. You can help protect our lake by becoming a Lake Host Volunteer for the 2026 season. If interested, contact Mark LeBoeuf, the Lake Host Coordinator, at [email protected] or 978-257-1865. For more information visit https://nhlakes.org/lake-host.