We wanted to give you a quick update on our upcoming lake harvesting efforts—and share a temporary regulatory hurdle we’ve run into. The Plan (And the Catch) We originally scheduled weed harvesting to begin the week of June 22nd, targeting two specific fields that are currently threatening to impact boat navigation.
However, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently implemented new rules. As a result, Cortland County Soil and Water (CCSWCD) must now obtain a specific permit before any harvesting can take place.
Where Things Stand Right Now
Permit Status: The permit application has already been submitted, and the CCSWCD team is working diligently to expedite its approval.
Timeline Adjustments: Because we are waiting on the state’s green light, our broader harvesting schedule is temporarily up in the air.
Shoreside Impact: This permit delay may also push back our shoreside harvesting efforts.
For those registered for Shoreside Harvesting: We haven’t forgotten about you! We will reach out to everyone who registered next week with an update on the program.
Next Steps
We sincerely apologize for this sudden uncertainty. While dealing with unexpected bureaucracy is never fun, it is completely out of our hands. We are pushing hard behind the scenes to get the machinery back in the water as quickly as possible.
We will provide another community-wide update as soon as we have concrete news, but no later than next Wednesday.
Thank you for your patience and ongoing support in keeping Little York Lake beautiful and navigable!
Expand the monitoring by implementing the Lake Management Plan Tracker methodology from APIPP with Soil and Water (SWCD)
Develop a HABs monitoring program
Prevention
Continuing support, through C-OFOKLA, of the boat steward program, CCStoptheInvasion.org and including support of the boat decontamination station.
Provide content for public outreach, both directly and through C-OFOKLA.
Treatments
Treat the identified VLM field with ProcellaCOR
Perform ~2 weeks of harvesting focused on key time frames
Run a shoreside harvesting program based on last year’s pilot.
Management
Continue support of septic education program
Refine working relationship between LYLPS and LYLPRD
Organizational
Continue to build community
Maintain the lake management plan
Provide consistent communication to the community using email of lake property owners, the Little York Lake association web site, our Facebook page, and USPS when appropriate.
Managing the milfoil remains a top priority in our lake management efforts. We anticipate treating the identified milfoil bed in May to maximize the impact.
We plan to manage other plants on the lake through mechanical harvesting. Lakeside harvesting focuses on maintaining navigability and ensuring the lake is useful for recreation. Shoreside harvesting will be provided so that owners can keep their shorefronts in good order. Our only potential issue is that SWCD may require a permit to perform harvesting and we are actively working with them to ensure that permits are in place for this season. The primary permitting risk is for shoreshide harvesting.
This was a challenging year for harvesting and herbicide treatments due to some big changes in permitting and this being the first year using the new harvester acquired by Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD).
Herbicide treatments were challenged by new DEC requirements to obtain a wetland permit in addition to the treatment permit. While the permits were requested in January of 2025, the wetland permit approvals were very late in coming and this in turn delayed our treatment to the last possible date in the treatment period. We were able to treat milfoil as proposed in the channel along I-81 and curly leaf pondweed in the lower channel, the results were not as effective as we hoped given the late date which enabled additional weed growth. The wetlands permit from New York State is for five years; therefore, our herbicide treatments in 2026 should be done earlier in 2026 and subsequent years and as such be more effective.
The weed harvester obtained by (CCSWCD) via a large grant was operational on the lake just before the 4th of July holiday week a full month later than we had hoped. CCSWCD spent a considerable amount of time on the lake in training as well as harvesting and we’re excited about its use in 2026 on the lake.
We continued our ongoing water quality monitoring with CSLAP.
Dockside Harvesting Program
In conjunction with CCSWCD, we completed a pilot program last summer to provide dock-side harvesting. The focus of our lake-wide harvesting program is to ensure that the main navigable portions of the lake are cleared and open for recreation.
Our dock-side harvesting program made the CCSWCD harvester available for clearing shoreline areas for property owners for a modest fee. The pilot conducted in mid-summer with 30 minute harvesting slots cost homeowners $100 per slot. A dozen homeowners took advantage of the pilot and feedback was positive. We will look at modifying the program slightly in 2026 to adjust the pricing and cost for those homeowners with more need and also look at opportunities for homeowners to harvest more than once during the season.
Community Outreach
CCSWCD also received a grant to support public outreach for aquatic invasive species education. We are working with them through C-OFOKLA to create programs to reach our community.
A key element of this outreach is reminding boaters to Clean, Drain, and Dry their watercraft BEFORE and AFTER they use the lake. If you have a guest at your home who bring a boat in, please remind them of this important practice. Visit bit.ly/LYL-CDD for a brief educational video. The CD3 boat cleaning station at Dwyer Park is an important resource in our campaign to preserve the lake. We continued outreach support through C-OFOKLA and support of the CD3 cleaning station in the park.
Annual meeting
We held 2 community meetings: the LYLPS Annual meeting held on Saturday, June 7th and our fall meeting and picnic held on Saturday, Sept 13.
Boat Parade
The boat parade was held on Saturday, July 5th prior to the fireworks with awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. See the web site for pictures of all the fun.
It’s that time of year. The lake draw down per the DEC permit is scheduled to begin on October 1. Typically, the lake level is down considerably after 48 hours so please plan removing water craft from the lake accordingly.
The maximum draw down is 2 feet according to the permit and is managed by the Cortland County Highway Department.
The draw down is intended to limit weed growth near the shoreline as well as allow owners to maintain their property. The timing and maximum draw down are designed to limit the impact on inhabitants in the benthic layer, an important part of the fish food chain.
There are three yellow buoys placed in the lake along the main inlets by Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District. The buoys will be in place for the month of September and into October. At these locations sediment is being collected to better understand how much sediment is coming into the lake at each of the inlets. Please avoid these as you are boating throughout the month.
This is a continuation of the study begun earlier in the year and we hope to use information gathered to guide our efforts in reducing sediment in the lake.
Join us on Saturday, September 13th at Preble Park for our annual fall meeting and picnic beginning at 11 a.m. As usual, we will provide hot dogs and soft drinks. Please bring a dish to pass.
Everyone on the lake is invited to get an update on our work progress from this past season as well as our plans for the coming year. We’ll discuss the challenges we faced this year, the dockside/shoreside harvesting pilot, and thoughts for a full roll-out.
To help plan for food on hand, please take a moment and fill out the following questionnaire prior to September 10th: https://bit.ly/LYLFall25
The harvester is returning to the lake for some late summer clean-up next week. We will be able to offer shoreside harvesting if you are interested. Please fill out the brief form by clicking the button below and we will contact you to confirm and schedule.
Because of the short time frame, we will need everyone to register by Friday. Work should be concluded next week to give you the last few weeks of summer with fewer weeds!
We were informed today that the water tests for Clearcast were returned at less than 1 ppb (part per billion) which means all restrictions for water use are removed. The only restriction was using lake water for watering plants, and this has now been removed.
This year’s boat parade did not disappoint! The weather was spectacular for participants and spectators alike.
Two judges were selected that did not participate in the parade and were not affiliated with or know any of the participants! There were five participants and each boat showed creativity making choosing the winners a challenge.
First place was awarded to Beetlejuice. Laura Fergosi said they chose Beetlejuice as their theme from the Beetlejuice 2 movie that just came out.
2nd Place went to Rubber Ducky.
3rd Place was awarded to the Partridge Family.
Thanks to all those who participated continuing this tradition on the lake!
We have successfully completed today’s herbicide treatment. This treatment was focused on two areas:
A 2-acre bed of milfoil in the channel along I-81 that is potentially feeding milfoil into the rest of the lake
A ~3-acre bed of curly-leaf pondweed in the middle of the lower channel that impedes traffic and recreational use
All recreational activities on the lake can now be resumed.
The restrictions on drinking the lake water and using it for watering plants may last several weeks. We will update this website when the restrictions are lifted.
The Plan (And the Catch)
Where Things Stand Right Now
Next Steps
