Armed with rakes, bare hands and canoes, members of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association in New Jersey led volunteers in a water chestnut removal effort. “It’s very labor-intensive,” said Jim Waltman, Executive Director of the Watershed Association. The group pulled out “vine-like plants up to 15 feet long,” during their June 28th excursion on Hiohelo Pond in the Hopewell Township. The association hopes to prevent the spread of the invasive plant into other water bodies, mainly Stony Brook, Millstone River and Lake Carnegie. “We’re trying to attack this before it takes over our region.”