First Patrol of 2026

The lake is warming up, and aquatic plants are beginning to take off. It’s time to pull out your gear and reacquaint yourself with the native plants in Conway Lake, as well as the invasive species we are watching for.

I patrolled most of Zone 1 this past week and noted many floating aquatic plants, including water lilies, watershield, floating burr-reed, and floating pondweed, as well as lots of submerged grassy spike rush, two large patches of native Elodea (doted circles on the map), Pipewort and Purple Bladderwort emerging from the lake bottom, and small amounts of ribbon pondweed. In addition, I noted filamentous green algae growing on submerged plants, along with some large patches floating on the surface. No suspicious plants were noted.

Common water snake hiding under my overturned kayak.

Floating fragment of native Elodia (waterweed) in Dolloff Cove. This native plant has two invasive look-alikes, so it is important to know how to distinguish them. Native Elodea typically has just 3 spiked leaves radiating from the stem while the invasive look-alikes have 4 or more.

Floating mat of filamentous green algae. These algae can be seen growing on submerged plants and the lake floor and can form floating mats when trapped oxygen bubbles that it creates float it to the surface.