Temperatures and leaves are dropping but Curly-Crew’s spirits remain high! Dive leader, Alyssa Arscott prepares for an afternoon dive on North Pond.

As the water temperature cools, the 7 Lakes dive team members can finally take a breath above water and reflect on the season. Since joining 7 Lakes Alliance in 2018, I can easily say that 2026 has been our most challenging season yet for invasive aquatic species management.

This year, we deployed three separate dive teams across the watershed to meet a growing list of challenges: taking on management of variable-leaf milfoil in Messalonskee Lake, responding to the rapidly expanding curly-leaf pondweed infestation in North Pond, preparing for anticipated milfoil regrowth in Great Meadow Stream on Great Pond, and beginning a multi-year effort to tackle the extensive milfoil infestation in Belgrade Stream.

While most of our seasonal employees have wrapped up for the year, our year-round management team and the notorious “Curly-Crew” based on North Pond will continue diving through the end of October.

Alyssa Arscott descends upon new curly-leaf pondweed shoots emerging from turions near the entrance of Little Pond

Led by UMaine graduate Alyssa Arscott, the Curly-Crew faced an especially daunting task this season. Unlike most of the invasive plant infestations we manage throughout the watershed, curly-leaf pondweed can—and now does—grow almost everywhere in North Pond. The lake’s shallow waters provide abundant habitat, while strong winds can carry plant fragments and reproductive structures throughout the lake. The sheer extent of the infestation meant there was always more work waiting.

Some days were harder than others, but through it all, the Curly-Crew kept showing up and giving 110% to protect North Pond.

Left to right: Carly Campbell, Sharon Mann, Alyssa Arscott, Vienna Melzl at Flagstaff Lake

To reset, the crew traded North Pond for Flagstaff Lake on a crisp September weekend, heading north in search of the flooded town and some much-needed respite. After a couple of days exploring the lake and basking in the beauty of the Bigelow Mountain Range, the Curly-Crew returned refreshed, geared up, and ready to tackle the final weeks of the 2026 dive season.

We still have work ahead of us before the boats come out of the water, but after a season like this one, we couldn’t be prouder of the dedication, resilience, and good humor our dive teams have brought to the water every day.

Dive season will continue in the East Pond Serpentine and North Pond to remove curly-leaf pondweed until October 26th.