GRAY – Milfoil has been officially identified in Maine for the first time, officials said Monday.

Fragments of Eurasian milfoil were removed from a boat that was launched into Crystal Lake on July 9. Whether the lake is actually infected with the invasive weeds won’t be apparent for another year or two, said Roy Bouchard, a biologist with the Department of Environmental Protection.

Cheryl and John Welch, longtime lakefront residents, saw the milfoil on a small boat while it was parked at a local store and gas station. The milfoil looked like long strands of weeds hanging off the boat.

The owners of the boat, who were not identified, told the Welches they had used the boat the day before at Saratoga Lake in New York, which they said was infested with weeds. The Welches asked the owners not to launch the boat in Crystal Lake, but the woman refused and the man said only that he would wash it at a local carwash before using it.

Half an hour later, they saw the boat being prepared to be launched.

“It’s very disturbing for all of us to think that [Eurasian milfoil] could virtually ruin the lake for all recreational activity,” Cheryl Welch said.

John Welch had plucked some plant fragments from the boat and under its exhaust cover. Bouchard, who tested the fragments, said, the samples are “the first obvious instance where a boat came into the state and we saw it had the Eurasian milfoil.”

Eurasian milfoil forms dense mats of vegetation on the surface of the water that interfere with the existing ecology and make activities such as swimming, fishing and boating difficult to impossible. Its spread could seriously hurt tourism, property values and public water systems.

Eurasian milfoil infiltrated much of Canada and the United States years ago, Bouchard says, but had yet to be identified in Maine.

Maine legislators this year passed a law that will impose fees beginning next year for using watercraft in Maine and bans milfoil-carrying boats and gear from the waters. Offending owners will be fined up to $2,500. The money will go toward a milfoil research, inspection and education program.

Members of the Crystal Lake Association will meet on July 30 to discuss the Eurasian milfoil and other environmental threats facing the small, spring-fed lake.