Author: littleyorklake_5bxuky

2020 Work Plan Released

The LYLPS board has had a busy fall reviewing last summer’s milfoil treatment as well as other efforts. We have developed and approved a work plan for 2020  and are in the process of briefing various public entities. This includes the County Ag & Planning and Highway Committees as well as the Soil and Water Conservation District.

Here is a short summary of the plan:

  • Prevention
    • Support the installation and roll-out of the boat decontamination station at Dwyer Park
    • Continuing support, through C-OFOKLA, of the boat steward program, CCStoptheInvasion.org
  • Monitoring
    • Monitor the lake through CSLAP
    • Conduct regional CSLAP training on May 8th
    • Expand the monitoring by joining the Finger Lakes PRISM macrophyte program
  • Treatments
    • Treat variable leaf milfoil in previously untreated areas
    • Test treating starry stonewort
  • Management
    • Support new drawdown permit process
    • Establish shorescaping program in collaboration with SWCD
    • Continue support of septic education program
  • Organizational
    • Continue to build community
    • Maintain the lake management plan

As you can see, we have a lot on our plate, but all of it is important and part of our ongoing efforts to restore and maintain the lake.

                       Bed of Starry Stonewort

Of course, one of the more visible components is conducting additional treatments for variable leaf milfoil as well as addressing another major invasive species, starry stonewort. Our treatment plan can be found here.

We issued an RFP in January and received two bids. We have decided to move forward with Solitude Lake Management, the same firm we used for our treatment last year.

We plan to treat milfoil beds in areas where we didn’t treat last year. We plan to conduct the treatment during the early growing season, in May. This year we intend to use a different herbicide, Procellacor.  It has been in use for several years in other states and was registered for use in New York last year. This herbicide has been demonstrated to have even less impact on the environment than Navigate and we will use less of it. 

Starry stonewort is an algae and requires an algaecide. We are working with the Starry Stonewort Collaborative of the Finger Lakes Institute, Solitude, and DEC to determine the best approach. Treatment will likely occur in July. More information will be provided shortly.

We will follow a process similar to last year:

  • File for a permit in late February
  • Notify all affected riparian owners of our intent to treat and approximate dates
  • Conduct a public meeting to discuss any concerns 
  • Raise money to cover the treatements
  • Complete the treatments

Of course there are many additional steps involved, but this presents the main points.

One of the key benefits of our treatment program last year was the reduced amount of milfoil floating on the lake. This benefited everyone. This year we are going to ask everyone to donate to support the cost of treatment. We are also going back to the county with a request that they pay for their share once budgets have been finalized.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please email us at [email protected]

3rd Annual Docks Out Day October 6th

Our 3rd Annual Docks Out Day is scheduled for Sunday, October 6th at 10:00 a.m. If the prediction is for totally-lousy-can’t-deal-with-it-weather we’ll move it up to Saturday, 10/5. The annual lake drawdown is planned to begin 10/4.

If you have stuff that needs to be taken out of the lake, we’re pooling our resources and helping each other out. Oh, there might be some beer along the way (and after).

So email [email protected] if you want to help and receive some help. Exact schedule TBD so also include any time restrictions.

Fall Meeting and Picnic 9/22

Our fall meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 22 at noon followed by our fall picnic at 1 pm. All festivities take place at the main pavilion in Dwyer Park (where CRT plays).

In addition to our normal reports, our fall meeting will feature a discussion of this year’s herbicide treatment as well as initial ideas for next year’s efforts. Please be sure to complete our treatment survey by Wednesday morning the 18th so that the board has your input as we prepare plans for next year.

Following the meeting we’re having our first annual fall picnic. LYLPS will provide hot dogs, rolls, condiments, iced tea, lemonade and paper products. Please bring a dish to pass and any other beverages you would like. Music will be provided by Tribal Revival. Thanks to the Nortons for organizing this including the music.

Please RSVP by Thursday, September 19 so that we know how many hot dogs to provide. Click on this link to let us know if you will or will not be attending.

Annual Meeting

Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 8th at 10:00 a.m. in the Dwyer Memorial Park main pavilion.

All are welcome to attend and encouraged to join our Society.

Get a printable version of our agenda here as well as a copy of last year’s minutes here.

The meeting will feature an update on the lake management plan including our herbicide treatment as well as news on futures plans. YOUR INPUT IS CRUCIAL as we move forward in restoring our lake.

Herbicide Treatment Completed

The herbicide treatment on Little York Lake was completed today at approximately 12 noon. Swimming is prohibited until 12 noon on Friday, May 31.

Lake and downstream riparian owners should not use the water for irrigation or drinking until we have conducted tests and verified that the concentration levels are <100 ppb and <50 ppb respectively. We will conduct our first downstream tests in 10 days and publish the results as soon as possible.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, contact us via email at [email protected] or via phone at 607-218-2550.

Milfoil Treatment Begins May 30th

The treatment of the lake with Navigate to reduce Milfoil is scheduled to begin Thursday morning, May 30th. Signs have been posted along the public access areas of the lake in the treatment area and flags have been placed to mark the final treatment zones.

Water use restrictions apply and are listed in the table below:

The final treatment area is depicted in the following map:

Treatment Map May 30, 2019

We will be conducting water testing following the treatment and until the usage restrictions are cleared. Check back on this web site to stay up to date. We will post regular updates as the testing progresses.

Preparing to Treat for Milfoil

We’ve been working diligently for the potential milfoil treatment that we first presented in our mid-December letter. We have:

  • Issued an RFP and received 3 bids to treat the lake
  • Selected a vendor, Solitude Lake Management, and began working with them
  • Refined the treatment map to cover a larger percentage of property owners
  • Learned a lot

This has involved multiple board meetings, conference calls and discussions with vendors.

We plan to treat the lake with Navigate which is the brand name for 2,4-D, a widely used herbicide. This will be applied in a granular form which minimizes drift.

The restrictions on water use post treatment are listed in the table below. To minimize the impact on downstream users (south of the dam) we plan to lower the lake to near its winter level and hold the water in the lake for 24 hours.

In order to maximize the number of properties we can treat with this herbicide and minimize the downstream impact, we had to strike a balance between the amount of herbicide we can put into the lake and the holding time of the dam. Unfortunately this means that some properties cannot be treated in this round. However, assuming this initial treatment is successful, we intend to continue treatments in the coming years and eventually treat all property owners’ lakefront.

The planned treatment area is pictured in the map below (click on it to get a full-sized version).

The two main areas that are not being treated are portions of the western shoreline in the upper lake and the southern end of the lake just above the dam.

  • The western shoreline is relatively deep and would require twice as much chemical per square foot to effectively treat. Treating this area would substantially reduce the total treatment area. We are not able to treat from 6222 Little York Lake Road south through 6180 Little York Lake Road in this round.
  • The southern end of the lake is too close to the outlet and the chemical will not effectively dilute during the holding period. Treating this area would have also substantially reduced the total treatment area. We are not able to treat properties from 6054 Rt. 281 south in this round.

We are in the process of applying to DEC for a permit for treatment during May. While approval is not guaranteed, preliminary feedback from both DEC and Solitude give us reason to be optimistic.

Now is the time to get involved with the our lake association so that you can help us to continue our efforts to restore Little York Lake and preserve it for future generations. Become a member today!