RAYMOND–A free half-day training session is being held Sunday, July 11 in Raymond to train the public in monitoring and mapping invasive aquatic plants.

Enrollment is still open for the training, which starts at 8 a.m. in the Jordan River in Raymond near Panther Run Marina.

According to one of the organizers of the event, Noralee Raymond of Raymond Waterways Protective Association, the prime focus will be mapping the milfoil in the Jordan River, which lies on the Sebago Lake side of Route 302 at the intersection of Route 85. The short river is thick in places with variable milfoil, and the goal is to map exact locations so future teams can eradicate the invasive species.

“Once we have the river mapped for both native and invasive species, we’ll be able to see our best steps for moving forward,” Raymond said.

Learning how to map an infested area will be one of the valuable lessons from the four-and-a-half-hour workshop, and will likely bring people from around the area who are interested in combating milfoil on other water bodies, Raymond said.

The session is a cooperative effort between Raymond Waterways Protective Association, Portland Water District, Maine Milfoil Consortium, and Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program’s Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants. Registration is required for the workshop. Contact the Monitoring Program at vlmp@mainevlmp.org or 783-7733 to register or for more information.