Pilots of floatplanes could unwittingly be spreading a dangerous invasive weed throughout Southcentral Alaska. Elodea, an aquatic plant that chokes lakes and slow running rivers, has been found in several lakes in the Anchorage area, and at least one water body near Fairbanks, and authorities are warning that the plant’s spread threatens irreversible harm to fish habitat.
Elodea is not native to our sub- Arctic environment, but it can survive freezing. It can also survive being swept long distances downstream, and even tiny fragments of the plant can sprout new ones.