In one Minnesota lake, researchers remove invasive ‘lake killer’ by hand

When an invasive species takes root, it’s often the sign of an unfortunate end to a favorite place. But in Grand Lake, near Rockville, MN, the hopeful solution was biblical — painstaking labor. And after a couple years of disciplined hand pulling the starry stonewort from the water, they’ve got the plant on the run.

It’s a story worth noting because invasive species are — sooner or later — a problem we’ll all have to deal with.