News Blog

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

Posted: 5/23/2019

The geese are flying by honking as they go north; the loons are courting noisily and the Snowbirds are back complaining about how cold it still is here and “what’s all this white stuff still lying around?”  Yes it finally is SPRING IN THE ADIRONDACKS. We hope you are enjoying this “fine feathered” rejuvenation of life after what seems like an incredibly long and cold winter.

With the change in weather comes the launching of many things the SLA has been planning and working on all winter:

Mapping the Lake BottomWe are working with the help of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) to map the bottom of Schroon Lake. Why do this? Because milfoil only grows in less than 20 feet of water and we are finding milfoil in parts of the lake that should be deeper than that. We have found some wrinkles in the bottom, surrounded by deep water, which come up near enough to the surface to grow milfoil a great distance from the shore. Using a sonar device, which we have purchased, we will go forward with this project in mid-May. In addition to preparing a map, we will locate milfoil growth later in the summer and map it. We will also follow up with our surveillance dive team to check the mapping and direct the professional harvesters to hot spots.

Boat Launch and Decon Stations: Working with the PLA we are getting our North Schroon/Paradox Decontamination Station in Severance up and rolling so we can start washing boats Memorial Day Weekend. The Boat Launches at the Schroon Town Dock and the Paradox State Campgrounds will also be in operation checking boats for invasives. We still need STEWARDS to run these of all ages. The pay is a little over $11.00 an hour.  We are looking for folks willing to work full time or part time through Columbus Day. Please sign up with Chris Stone at Schroon Town Hall (cstone@schroon.net).  The Town hires the Stewards and we reimburse the Town. Our training session for stewards is 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday May 18 at Schroon Town Hall.

Testing the Waters: Paid and volunteer folks will be testing the Schroon waters for contaminants, invasives and bacteria all summer. ESSLA is joining with us to check for bacteria in our waters and to perform testing under the CSLAP program. Results will be published. Our Lake Manager is also conducting surveillance and testing on the tributaries heading in to Schroon and will report back on his findings. Professional Harvesters will remove milfoil and other invasives four times this summer.  Please give their divers plenty of room to work.

Education and Fun: The SLA, PLA and ESSLA are jointly sponsoring our annual Educational Program on Friday Night July 12, 2019 starting at 7 pm in the Schroon Lake Central School Auditorium. The topic this year will be: Fishing in Our Schroon/Paradox Watershed- Is it in Trouble?”  We will explore issues of sedimentation, bank erosion, cover destruction, invasives, stocking and water level fluctuation.  Participants include DEC Fish Expert Jim Pinheiro, Fisheries and Water Quality Expert Margaret Murphy PhD, Tom Luciano chair of the Park District and Alice Halloran of Essex County Soil and Water District. Be there!

Our 50th annual CRAFT FAIR will be held above the town beach on Saturday July 20, 2019 from 10 am to 4 pm.  Deadline for being a vendor is June 1, 2019. See our website.

Our State of the Watershed and Town and annual meeting and elections is Friday August 16 at 7 pm in the Schroon Lake Central School Auditorium. Supervisor Mike Marnell will make his last presentation before retiring and a panel of experts will discuss the state of the watershed.

There will be a social gathering at Sticks and Stones from 2-5 pm on Saturday June 1 and other functions are being scheduled.

YOUR HELP NEEDED!!

All this takes volunteers, dues and donations. Have you renewed your dues and donations? If we have your email and haven’t heard from you we will be sending out a reminder email shortly. Please respond generously to protect our watershed.

Following this second round of emails, we will send out a snail mail request.  Each mailed request costs us about $3.00 which can get into serious money fast. Plus many hours of volunteer time stuffing and getting the mail out.  Those volunteer hours and the money to mail could be better spent on our mission. Please give us your email and sign up today.

 

More to come: Be watching for Lake Trout Telegrams, Facebook posts and other notices around town. HAPPY SPRING!!

Mark Granger, President SLA   mgranger@mgrangerlaw.com


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