April
By John McKenna  
Waterbury Republican-American
   
MORRIS - The town and the state Department of Environmental Protection have reached an agreement on a lease granting the state use of the town-owned Bantam Lake boat launch through 2008.
 
Under the terms of the lease, which was approved by the Board of Selectmen Tuesday, the DEP will pay the town $50,000 in two annual installments of $25,000. The money will be used to help fund the invasive weed treatment program Morris, Litchfield, the White Memorial Foundation and the Bantam Lake Protective Association are sponsoring.
 
The terms are outlined in a March 21 letter from the DEP's commissioner, Gina McCarthy, to Morris First Selectman Philip Birkett. McCarthy, in her letter, said the state will maintain the boat launch, staff it on weekends and holidays during the summer, and assist with the permit process for chemical treatment of invasive weeds.
 
"The DEP is resolved to rebuild the trust between the town and our agency through better boat launch management and by taking steps to assist in improving the water quality of the lake," McCarthy wrote. "It is our sincere desire to maintain this lease agreement with the town in the future and to pursue plans to renovate the launch at the expense of the DEP. Such an arrangement would benefit the town as well as Connecticut boaters."
 
The DEP leased the boat launch from 1980 to 2005 under a 25-year agreement that went into effect after a state-funded dredging project was completed. Before the lease expired, the DEP and town were unable to reach an agreement on a new long-term deal, and the DEP has been leasing the launch on a year-to-year basis since.
 
Local officials wanted a new lease to involve a financial contribution from the DEP and assurance by the agency that it would better maintain the launch, which is in disrepair. The DEP, however, balked at both requests. But at a meeting with Birkett in January, McCarthy, who became commissioner in 2006, said the state was prepared to make a greater commitment to the launch and the lake.
 
"We have developed a good rapport with the state and I'd like to see that continue," Birkett said. "This time around they are showing us the money. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come as far as working for the benefit of the lake."
 

Sept. 14, 2006
By John McKenna
Waterbury Republican-American
  
MORRIS - Local and state officials toured Bantam Lake by boat Wednesday for a look at the result of the first round of herbicide treatment of Eurasian milfoil, a non-native invasive weed capable of choking off large sections of the lake.
 
Five areas totaling 52 acres were treated in June by Aquatic Control Technologies of Sutton, Mass., the firm the towns of Litchfield and Morris, the White Memorial Foundation and the Bantam Lake Protective Association selected to carry out a three-year weed management plan.
 
Morris First Selectman Philip Birkett and Bantam Lake Protective Association president Connie Trolle organized the tour aboard lake resident Scott Morris's wheelboat, the Jubilee. Litchfield Selectman Joan Whitbeck and representatives of White Memorial, the Bantam Lake Protective Association and the Bantam Lake Authority participated as did state Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-Goshen, and Litchfield Hills Council of Elected Officials planning director Richard Lynn.
 
Leading the tour was Gerry Smith, president of Aquatic Control Technologies. The state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Health, which must approve permits for next year's round of treatment, were also represented.
 
According to Smith, the herbicide killed 95 percent of the targeted milfoil in the areas of treatment along the shorelines of Deer Island and North Shore Road, at the Bantam River outlet, the southeast corner near Morris Town Beach, and the east shore of the north bay.
 
"Things look very favorable in terms of controlling milfoil, but we are by no means where we want to be yet," Smith said.
 
Herbicide is scheduled to be applied in the spring of 2007 and 2008 under the management plan, which carries an estimated cost of about $200,000, but Smith said the success of this year's treatment could mean that less herbicide will be needed next year. Litchfield, Morris, White Memorial and the Bantam Lake Protective Association each contributed $25,000 toward the first treatment.
 
Over the next several months, lake biologist George Knoecklein of Northeast Aquatic Research of Mansfield will compile a report evaluating the result of this year's treatment and recommending a strategy for 2007. If milfoil has been reduced to the extent believed, Smith said, next year's treatment of the five areas could be less intensive.
 
Knoecklein, who took the tour, is also working on a diagnostic study of the lake's sources of phosphorous and other nutrients that promote weed growth.
 
Herbicide will control but not eradicate the targeted weeds, Smith said. After the three years of treatment are completed, lake residents will be asked to monitor shorelines for the presence of the weeds.
 
"There needs to be a sustained, long-term plan involving the people living on the lake and public officials," Smith said.
 
Nancy Murray, a biologist with the DEP, spent much of the tour at the bow of the boat pulling weed samples from the bottom. Although the first treatment appears to have worked well, Murray said much work remains.
 
"These weeds are not completely removed in one season, so that's why we like to see treatment plans last longer than one year," Murray said. "The more you can control milfoil, the more chance native weeds have to take its place."
 
The tour also provided a look at the 700-foot mesh net Smith's company placed at the mouth of the Bantam River inlet to control the growth of fanwort, another non-native invasive weed. Fanwort began growing in the river and has proliferated at the inlet. The net extends four to six feet below the surface of the lake and is designed to control the spread of the weed. Herbicide can't be used at the inlet because the area is home to species of native weeds protected under state law.
 
Native weeds serving as habitat for fish aren't affected by the herbicide, nor are the fish, Smith said.
 

Officials to visit the lake

September 8, 2006
By Dawn Caminiti
The Litchfield Enquirer

Just months after the start of a three-year treatment plan to eradicate the weeds taking over Bantam Lake, state and local officials are anxious to see what progress has been made.

Morris First Selectman Phil Birkett and Litchfield Selectman Joan Whitbeck will tour the lake Sept. 13 with representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the state Department of Public Health, White Memorial Foundation, Bantam Lake Protective Association and members of Aquatic Control, the Massachusetts company that applied the herbicide treatment.

We'll take a tour of the areas that were treated to assess the success, which to me I think is very, very good. We've had excellent results from the treatment," Mr. Birkett said.

"I think it's good thing for all of us to get together to see what was done and what we hope to accomplish so that when we begin the permitting process this fall and into the winter the people writing the permits for us will be able to see with their mind's eye what we're doing and what we've accomplished," Mr. Birkett said.
At 916 acres, Bantam Lake is the largest natural lake in the state.
It borders Litchfield and Morris and for years the two towns have been trying to secure state funding to clean up the growing invasive weeds taking over the lake.
After failing the secure state funding, the towns of Morris and Litchfield, along with the White Memorial Foundation and the Bantam Lake Protective Association each contributed $25,000 toward the weed eradication program.
Already a screen at the Bantam River inlet was installed to control the spread of fanwort, a growing problem in the river. In June, five areas of Bantam Lake were treated with pesticide to kill the invasive weeds in the lake.
A similar treatment is planned for the next two years, followed by a maintenance program. A permit from the DEP is required for each new year of treatment.
Aquatic Control, an aquatic vegetation management company, has successfully completed similar treatment programs in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

© The Litchfield Enquirer 2006

Morris still seeking help for lake cleanup

January 2006
By Dawn Caminiti
Staff Reporter
The Litchfield Enquirer

Morris’ first selectman is continuing his battle to get assistance from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection with regard to the monumental clean-up project planned for Bantam Lake. The 916-acre lake is the state’s largest natural resource. Recently Litchfield, Morris, the White Memorial Foundation and the Bantam Lake Protective agreed to fund a three-year pesticide treatment program to eradicate the invasive plants (such as milfoil, fanwort and water chestnut) taking over the lake.

“I think we’re all very disappointed that the state doesn’t live up to its responsibility to be a constructive participant in protecting a unique natural resource, which is our largest natural lake, and I think the state’s failure has resulted in the towns taking matters into their own hands,” said State Sen. Andrew Roraback (R-Goshen), who has been working closely with Morris to find aid for the lake.

First Selectman Phil Birkett sent a letter to David Leff, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, outlining the program and requesting any assistance from the state. Previously he had asked for financial assistance in exchange for the state’s access to a boat launch on East Shore Road. The state’s lease with the town expired last year in June and a new one has yet to be negotiated. “I write with great disappointment that an accord could not be reached between the Town of Morris and the Department of Environmental Protection with regard to the Bantam Lake Boat Launch lease,” Mr. Birkett wrote in his Dec. 27 letter, which went on to say that “the state of Connecticut DEP was asked to partner with us toward to goal of weed eradication as a part of the lease negotiations. I feel strongly that the State of Connecticut DEP has a vital role to play in the clean-up of the state’s largest natural lake.”

Mr. Birkett asked for continued assistance to secure permits for the duration of the three-year program and on-going maintenance following it. The DEP has already approved a one-year permit for an herbicide treatment.The letter also asks for assistance monitoring wells within the lake’s parameter, promoting public awareness and coordinating with Aquatic Control, the organization overseeing the chemical treatment plan. He also requested support for the Heritage Lake designation and funding assistance for a two-year diagnostic feasibility study.“We need to know the enemy we’re fighting,” he explained Monday. “If people are putting different chemicals in the lake, we need to know about that. We have to have a handle on what we’re doing.”

Last year State Rep. Craig Miner (R-Litchfield), who is also working with the town to find aid, introduced a bill to designate Bantam Lake as a heritage lake making it part of a preservation program, but the bill was tabled in April. It would need to go before the environmental committee in order to be considered again. Mr. Miner said Wednesday that he would reintroduce it if Mr. Birkett wanted. “I don’t personally believe that designation is helpful in getting the DEP to be any more active than they already are,” Mr. Miner said, adding that the town would have greater luck continuing to use the boat launch as a negotiation tactic.

“I think the town of Morris has the state of Connecticut in a different position than it otherwise might be because access to the lake is very important to the DEP and the prospect of trying to develop a launch at some other place is very expensive and highly unlikely,” Rep. Miner said.

Sen. Roraback that point, adding that the state owes the town as much financial and technical support as it can given in exchange for its access to the lake. “What we’re trying to do is have the state do as much as it can to support the efforts to clean up the lake,” he said.

© The Litchfield Enquirer 2006