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.
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 contact@littleyorklake.com.
