Boat inspections, other steps taken to avoid aquatic invaders.
Cazenovia Village trustee Amy Weber Mann at Lakeside Park, Cazenovia Lake, where treatments are being done to eliminate milfoil from the lake. Amy Weber Mann experienced the Eurasian watermilfoil infestation firsthand, while boating on Cazenovia Lake with her family two years ago.
“There’s a spot on the west side where we’d always drop anchor and go swimming,” the Cazenovia Village Trustee said. “But that year, my kids wouldn’t get out of the boat.”
At the weed’s peak in 2008, the thick stands of milfoil had overtaken 420 acres of the 1,160-acre lake.
Last fall, after the community fought back with a chemical treatment, the improvement in water quality was noted by outdoor enthusiasts, lakefront property owners and recreational users.
As the lake enters its second summer of treatment, local leaders are taking steps to protect the waters from future invasive species.
Scientists from Allied Biological are expected to finish applying the aquatic herbicide triclopyr, also known as Renovate, to 177 acres along the lake’s eastern and western banks and the southern basin later today.
To build on the success of last year’s treatment on the north end, Mann and other local leaders have been enhancing stewardship efforts.
Boats that use the public launch at Lakeside Park are inspected by lake stewards for traces of aquatic invaders like water chestnuts, zebra mussels and spiny water fleas, which can hitchhike from one body of water to another on propellers, trailers and bait buckets.
A new kiosk with educational materials set up near the launch provides some perspective on the importance of the five-minute process.
“Once aquatic invasive species are established, eradication is almost impossible,” reads one pamphlet published by the Watershed Stewardship Program in the Adirondack and Champlain regions.
Other changes include:
* Inspections at a private yacht club on Cazenovia Lake;
* A new pilot program that issues day permits for $10 from Tuesday through Thursday to non-residents who don’t want to purchase a full season pass for $75; and
* Efforts to discourage boaters from launching from a parking area near the lake’s south end.
The benefits apparently are worth the investment. Mann cited a recent study showing an 88 percent decline in aquatic invasive species in water bodies with lake stewards.
The statistic seems to be holding true in Cazenovia Lake, where spot checks of areas treated last year have turned up no trace of milfoil.
Cazenovia’s progress is ahead of many Upstate communities. Saratoga officials are struggling to find funding and volunteers to start an inspection program this summer, following three years of Renovate treatment, Mann said.
The battle on Lake Champlain is being fought by a handful of volunteers trying to educate boaters who can launch at more than 200 public access points.
In the future, Mann sees the possibility of a “boat wash” at the Lakeside Park launch, where boaters can hose down watercraft using hot water and a filtered drain before or after entering the lake.
“This is a start,” she said. “We all want a healthy lake.”