Sen. Schumer Seeks Funds To Fight Weeds In Finger Lakes

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for $850,000 in federal funding to help remove an invasive weed that could choke out recreation in the Finger Lakes.

Schumer will be in Seneca Falls on Wednesday afternoon to call on the Environmental Protection Agency and Fish and Wildlife Service to approve funding for herbicide to remove hydrilla from Cayuga Lake.

The fast-growing aquatic weed has recently spread across a 27-acre area in Cayuga Lake. Schumer says it can make boating and fishing nearly impossible.

Schumer says federal intervention to fund eradication and lake-wide monitoring this summer is needed to prevent the plant from spreading even more.