On August 10, 2022, BIPC Board of Directors (BOD) held their monthly meeting – it was a long one. The length of the meeting was influenced by the Dept of Agriculture’s Public Hearing held on July 28th regarding BIPC’s special permit to allow the use of a herbicide to control Spiny Naiad expansion, as well as alternative control methods presented by a contingent of herbicide-disapproving shareholders.
BIPC was notified of the permit’s approved status for the use of herbicide treatment to control Spiny Naiad the afternoon of August 10th just hours before the directors meeting. The permit review process was delayed as a result of:
- Request for public hearing by potential treatment abutters
- Scheduling public hearing for all interested parties participation (various state departments & vendor)
- Dept of agriculture’s review of materials and opinions presented at hearing
There is a small window to identify the plant and terminate the plant before it develops seeds, after which time herbicide application simply terminates the plants and drops the plants with its seeds attached quickly before the plant can break apart and spread seeds. Spiny Naiad is an annual, not a perennial like Milfoil (which needs to have its root ball hand removed to eliminate it). Spiny Naiad needs to reseed each year to grow back. The strategy in using the herbicide is to prevent Spiny Naiad from reproducing the following year- by terminating the plant before seed development. Timing the use of an herbicide is critical to create the desired effect. Herbicide treatment has no impact on seeds.
Unfortunately, the approval to control Spiny Naiad came too late this year. Once the permit is approved, abutters to treatment areas would need 2 weeks written notice prior to treatment. This would push the treatment to the end of August. Unfortunately, the Spiny Naiad plants are already brittle now and seeds have been confirmed.
Despite permit approval, the BIPC BOD saw no reason to apply herbicide for 2022 given the maturity of the plants and timing of potential treatment. As a result, the following motion was made and passed unanimously.
Motion:
Due to missing the peak time to effectively control seed development of spiny naiad, BIPC BOD has decided to cancel herbicide treatment for only 2022 based on counsel State of NH and WMC. This does not preclude future herbicide treatment