GOULDSBORO, Pa. — In Wayne County, there are concerns that an invasive plant is taking over a lake in a state park.
The manager at the Gouldsboro State Park has a warning for anyone looking to put boats or anything else in the water.
"The people I've talked to say this is the worst that they've ever seen it and I have no trouble believing that,” said park manager Lee Dillon.
Dillon points at the plants that are bobbing at the surface of the lake at the park.
He says an aquatic resource specialist from the state came last Tuesday and took samples to determine if it is an invasive plant species that could potentially take over the lake.
“I got to spend a little bit of time with him. He spent the entire day on the lake doing as comprehensive of a survey of what is in the lake as vegetation,” said Dillon.
Dillon says he is still waiting for test results.
But James Kohn, who owns a home on the lake, was so concerned about the issue he found a company to take samples for him.
Kohn says the testing showed it is an invasive plant called multi-leaf milfoil.
He researched what the plant does.
However, Kohn wants people to know he's no scientist or specialist; his information he found online.
“It's inundating the lake, and from what I have studied on this particular vegetation, plant, within two years, it will have completely engulfed the lake,” said Kohn.
While the use of the water has not been banned, there is something the park manager wants people to do.
It's already a park rule to clean off whatever you put in the water before you leave.
The park manager says with what's happening now in the lake shows the importance of that rule.
Dillon says this will prevent the transportation of any invasive plants from this lake to another.
Jason Vo, from Ransom Township, was at the lake to fish for yellow perch.
He says invasive species happen more frequently than people realize.
“Invasive species can happen all over the place. We have them; they come from all over. Even some of the fish that people commonly fish for are technically invasive,” said Vo.
One of the Lehigh Township supervisors says James Kohn will be available for a public meeting Saturday at 11 a.m. to explain what's happening with the lake.
That meeting will be at the 3rd Street pavilion in Gouldsboro.