Greenwood Lake officials are calling on the community to help fight an invasive species that has again begun taking over the lake.

They are adding to their battle plan to manage this year's explosion of water chestnut.

Jim Martin, a preservationist with the Greenwood Lake Commission, tells News 12 the water chestnut invasion is starting early and will probably outdo last year's takeover of the lake.

Dense mats of the invasive, floating plants can kill native plants, make fishing pointless and make boating dangerous and sometimes impossible.

Martin, a nearly lifelong resident of the village, says that without a comprehensive control plan water chestnut spreads rapidly.

"Each one of these seeds can produce 15 of these rosettes, which grow to like 14 inches wide," he says.

Martin is helping in next Saturday's manual chestnut removal.

Village officials are asking anyone with a canoe or kayak to come help pull out the plants — and their seeds -- from the lake, especially the northern arm of the lake where chestnut usually first takes hold.

"They like the shallow, nutrient-rich areas," Martin said, "and this was the best place for them to start, really."

After the manual removal, the village is planning to do herbicide treatments and mechanical harvesting.

Mayor Tom Howley says the village has to protect the scenery and recreation that make the lake such a popular summer draw.

He is also concerned about other dense vegetation that also seems to have arrived ahead of time.

"The long grass and weeds give boaters a lot of issues with their props (propellers), etc.," he says. "They're a little earlier, a little faster this year."

Howley is holding a brief organizational meeting this Saturday, May 31, at 12 p.m. at Village Hall to prepare volunteers.

The water chestnut removal event begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 7 at the kayak launch on the north side of the lake's north arm.