[Daily Record 06 July 2013] Hopatcong USA — A group of 20 kayakers paddled past the Hopatcong State Park beach, next to kids swimming and people fishing. They were Water Scouts, on the lake to work. The Water Scouts have spent the past month scouring Lake Hopatcong for invasive plant species, particularly the water chestnut. The plants, native to Eurasia and Africa, displace native plants and reproduce rapidly by dropping black seeds bearing four sharp spines to a lake’s sediment. Thick mats of the plant can choke out other native plants that are a vital part of a lake’s ecosystem. The water chestnut was first sighted in New Jersey in 2001 and has been spreading rapidly in many waterways in New Jersey and other states, scientist Chris Mikolajczyk said. It was spotted in a cove of Lake Hopatcong near the Landing shoreline in 2010, and it has become the scourge of the nearby Lake Musconetcong over the past several years. Water Scouts hand pulled the chestnut out of the water in 2010, and it hasn’t returned since, due in large part to the watchful eyes of the Scouts. The Water Scouts, which is made up of mostly adults who live on the lake, was founded with the purpose of keeping unwanted species out of the lake.Site=C0&Date=20130705&Category=NJNEWS&ArtNo=307030038&Ref=V2&MaxW=300&Border=0&Scouting-water-chestnuts-protect-Lake-Hopatcong