By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — When the town manager brought up the use of herbicides to get rid of invasive plants growing on the land near Pleasant Lake and Parker Pond, plenty of people expressed their opposition.

In the end, Casco town officials decided not to take the herbicide path to get rid of the invasive shrubs. Instead, the goal of removing the invasive plants will be a multiple-year project using cutting back methods and revisiting the spot to get rid of any new growth. 

These are not aquatic invasive species. The plants have been growing on land across from the Casco Town Beach on Mayberry Hill Road.

On Tuesday, the Casco Board of Selectmen got a clear message from community members not to use any herbicide even though the product was approved by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for use near water. Also, one selectman spoke in favor of protecting the water and using more time-consuming methods to remove the invasives.

Imazapyr is a popular synthetic herbicide that is approved for use near water.

“Last year, we dealt with some invasive plants down by Mayberry Hill Road. Part of it was on town land, part of it was on Hancock property. Last year, we hired a company to come in and deal with that. [The company] is certified by the DEP,” according to Casco Town Manager Anthony “Tony” Ward.

The company uses ecology-sensitive methods to get rid of invasives, he said.

“They don’t spray when they deal with invasive plants. What they do is cut it down and then paint the roots. They paint it on the roots. Ultimately, it kills the roots and binds into the soil and the rest is broken down by bacteria in the soil.”

“What I read from DEP . . . this material does not get into groundwater because it binds so tightly into the soil,” Ward said.

Historically, pesticides and herbicides have proven harmful to the neighboring bodies of water, he said.

“Everything I’ve read from DEP to any university says it [the herbicide] starts breaking down in eight to nine days and dissipates totally within six months,” Ward said.

The plants on the town-owned property have been identified as Japanese barberry shrub and invasive honeysuckle shrub. It would cost less than $1000 for this process, he said.

“Do you want to deal with invasive plants this year or not,” he asked.

Trevor Kidd, of Casco Village, spoke.

“I was opposed last fall when I came to see the board, and I continue to be opposed. We have a lot of bittersweet, honeysuckle in the area. If the town’s answer is to put chemicals, herbicides on, I know that the DEP says it is okay. I just don’t think the need to do it is really a need at all. If it is for view, mechanically cut the scrubs down,” Kidd said.

He predicted that the town will be spending good money on ineffective herbicides and the town would be liable from any negative impacts of the herbicide.

“You will end up chasing the shrubs no matter what, if you put herbicides on them or if cut them down because invasives are so widely spread in this area,” he said.

Sam Brown said he echoed Tidd’s comments, saying, “Your points are very valid.”

“We have been dealing with [Japanese] barberry, knotweed or bamboo, Asiatic bittersweet all over the place. Mechanically, we can cut them back and keep cutting them back. I am anti-herbicides,” Brown said. 

Selectman Grant Plummer agreed.

“Pleasant Lake is just a fantastic resource as far as beautiful and clean. We are talking about being a few feet from that body of water,” he said. mechanical

“I would ask for seasonal mechanical over seasonal herbicide,” Plummer said.

Chairman Robert MacDonald said that two weeks ago, the board opted to be stricter than DEP standards with its vote to keep land in the Resource Protection Zone.

Town manager Ward acknowledged the direction that would be taken.

“You do not want to be using any herbicides. No need for a vote. Got it,” he said.

Brown added a comment.

“We have this growing public works department. This is an opportunity for good old fashioned shovels,” he said.

Plummer said every time someone tries to get rid of invasives, they spread elsewhere.

“You dig up knotweed or bittersweet, if you cut it and chop it up, those little pieces will reproduce somewhere else. It is a serious battle over a long period of time,” he said.