Our official 2025 Work Plan Review is on our website here.
Herbicide Treatments and Lake 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.