The decision as to whether Chester will modify an existing ordinance for Cedar Lake to prohibit boat trailers and boats with water-cooled engines, due to threat of a new strain of an aquatic invasive species, will be made by the citizens of the town, according to Chester First Selectman Lauren Gister.

“I think the way to go is to do an educational presentation and then a public hearing and then go to town meeting, which hopefully we will be able to have at some point in the spring in a way that people can really participate in,” Gister said at the Dec. 9 Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting.

In February, Chester’s Cedar Lake Watershed Commission proposed changes to the ordinance governing Cedar Lake. This was done after a survey of the lower third of the Connecticut River by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) revealed a new strain of an aquatic invasive species, hydrilla, in the river.

“It was a strain of hydrilla which had never been documented before anywhere in the world and certainly not in the United States or North America,” said Greg Bugbee, a lead CAES scientist, at Chester’s BOS meeting in early October.

Bugbee said that the hydrilla found in the Connecticut River has not been found in any Connecticut lakes to date, and that scientists are now working on solutions to mitigate its impacts and remove it.

“If you saw just how dense this hydrilla is in certain areas, you know what we’re up against,” said Bugbee. “It goes for miles and miles along the river.”

Due to the ability of this strain of hydrilla to reproduce rapidly and form a dense mat of vegetation, it can have lasting impacts on a body of water including a crowding out of native vegetation, slowing the movement of water and impeding recreational use, according to CAES.

Tom Brelsford, chair of the Watershed Commission, said that although it’s currently not in any lakes, “we don’t want to be the first one.”

“If this particular invasive plant gets into Cedar Lake, not only will it impact the recreation, the hydrilla will be so thick at the launch, you won’t be able to launch a boat. We won’t need an ordinance,” he said.

Bugbee cited the Town of Coventry as an example of the costs associated with the chemical treatments used to remove the plant.

Although the hydrilla in Coventry Lake is not as “robust and aggressive” as the hydrilla found in the Connecticut River, he said, the town is spending approximately $1 million annually to remove it.

“This could go on for a decade in order to get it out,” said Bugbee. “It shows you how tenacious this particular plant is.”

Bugbee also reported at the October BOS meeting that there is the opportunity for hydrilla to spread by boat trailer and potentially by birds, citing “a goose flying from river to a lake” as an example. It can also be transported on other watercraft such as kayaks and canoes.

Bugbee recommended an educational campaign that would include signage and surveying the lake, so that if hydrilla was caught early enough, it could be pulled out.

The state’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection currently conducts education and outreach programs to increase awareness on aquatic invasive species, using funds from the Aquatic Invasive Species Stamp Fee that boaters pay the state. These funds are also used to rehabilitate lakes and rivers with aquatic invasive species.

Regarding the educational program on aquatic invasive species, Brelsford, a former state conservation officer, said, “In my opinion, it’s failed.”

“We have a lot of lakes where we have invasive plants, including Cedar Lake, and those plants were initially, most of the time, found at the boat launch, which indicates that is where it came from,” he said.

Boaters are currently required by state law to clean and inspect their vessels and trailers to help ensure that they are free of aquatic invasive species.

Gister acknowledged the need to educate citizens regarding the threat posed by this particular strain of hydrilla, “so that if they’re making the decision for the town by voting that they understand the possible ramifications of whatever decision that they’re making.”

Selectman Tom Englert agreed that educating citizens was an important first step.

“It has to be pure education, they need to understand,” said Englert. “They need to learn what is going to happen if this gets in there, what the real impact is going to be on Cedar Lake.”