Boat Wash Station-Lake Carmi State Park

Franklin Watershed Committee (2015). Boat Wash Station-Lake Carmi State Park (Final Report). Grand Isle, VT: Lake Champlain Basin Program.

• Dataset 1

Lake Carmi, in Franklin, VT, is an impaired lake. It is impaired not only because of Phosphorous loading from runoff, but also because of the spread of aquatic invasive species. The water quality of Lake Carmi continues to degrade through the rampant spread of Eurasian Milfoil throughout the lake. The dense mats of milfoil make recreation difficult (boating, fishing, swimming) and have an ill effect of the already poor water quality within Lake Carmi. In the summer of 2014 water chestnuts were identified in the Mill Pond (the outlet of Lake Carmi) and were removed by DEC and a group of volunteers. This new invasive showing up within the Lake Carmi watershed drew attention to the need for a boater greeting/boat wash station.

The goal of this project was to provide information about proper boat launch techniques (clean, drain, dry) in order to reduce the possibility of the spread of aquatic invasive species. This project provided a boat launch greeter at the Lake Carmi Fish & Wildlife boat launch area and Lake Carmi State Park boat launch area along with a boat wash at the state park as well. The project primarily took place in the Lake Carmi State Park during the summer months, and that’s where the wash station was installed.  There would be days when the attendant is assigned to the other public boat launch at the north end of the lake to greet boaters and distribute information about proper launch procedures.

This has been the only invasive education effort within the Lake Carmi watershed of which we are aware. This project greatly benefited the Lake Carmi watershed and all those impacted by its health: year-round community members, camp owners, and the Town of Franklin as a whole.