For the first time since the highly-invasive aquatic weed hydrilla appeared on the Connecticut River in 2016, officials say they’ve begun to turn the tide in their long-running fight against it. Army Corps of Engineers employees check a tube emitting dye into a harbor in Portland on Sept. 9, 2025. The work was part of an annual hydrilla study along the Connecticut River. Researchers were forced to scale back their efforts earlier this year after lawmakers failed to include money for the Connecticut River hydrilla project in the latest government funding bill. Army Corps of Engineers employees add dye into a tank that pumps it into a harbor in Portland, Conn.