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Charts include a summary of all CLP project status with focus on:
- Completion of the 6 month/$250,000 Town of Ellery (Lead Agency) Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
- Submission
of 2018 herbicide treatment permit applications by the Towns of Ellery,
North Harmony, Busti and Ellicott and the Village of Celoron
- Herbicide treatment offshore five Chautauqua Lake communities which were permitted and for which local funding was obtained
Included
on the posters was a photo of Bemus Bay with the suggestion, “While at
the Boat Show, take a ride through weed-free Bemus Bay”.
Yes,
the treated portions of Bemus Bay are free of the invasive weeds which
dominated the aquatic environment as recently as early summer 2017. This
summer, County residents and visitors are enjoying weed- and odor-free
swimming, skiing, boating, fishing and general enjoyment of the lake in
the five areas treated as shown on the maps in the poster chart set
(attached).
The
Chautauqua Lake Association (CLA), suspended Bemus Bay weed cutting and
near shore and shoreline cleanup in mid-June, 2017, prior to the 2017
herbicide treatment, over 13 months ago. As a result of this suspension
and removal of the invasive weeds near the surface which are subject to
propeller chop, there have been almost no weed fragments floating near
shore or deposited on the shoreline in Bemus Bay. The minimal amounts of
near shore and shoreline fragments are now coming from other parts of
the lake.
We’ve
heard the same positive story from members of other communities which
received treatment this year: Sunset Bay, Bly Bay, Sunrise Cove/Ashville
Bay,
offshore the Town of Busti, locations highlighted with light blue crosshatch on the poster maps.
Comments from those stopping by the CLP tent and sending emails to the CLP website have been of two types:
From those who received 2018 herbicide treatments,
we’ve received only thanks for including their community’s offshore in
the SEIS and permitapplications and for making the lake so that they
can, for the first time in recent memory or ever:
- Swim without getting tangled in the weeds
- Fish without losing hooks, worms and lures
- Boat without getting stuck
- Enjoy the near shore and lake shore and lake without the foul odor and obstruction of masses of decaying weeds
From those who did not receive 2018 herbicide treatments we’ve been asked:
- Why their communities didn’t receive the treatments?
- What they must do to get herbicide treatments in 2019?
The
answer to the first question is that areas proposed for treatment were
not treated because of (1) failure to receive DEC permits, (2) DEC
permit conditions which rendered the treatment ineffective, (3) lack of
government funding and (4) insufficient community/municipality support
to propose treatment.
It
follows, therefore, that the key to continuing a Chautauqua Lake
herbicide treatment program into 2019, and, hopefully, developing and
implementing an optimal weed management program with targeted herbicide
treatments and impact-mitigated harvesting, is grassroots community
action by year-round and summer residents and visitors. This action
includes garnering support among residents and lobbying representatives
to support herbicide treatment.
The
CLP will be providing specific suggestions on how to implement that
community action within the next few days. The actions recommended must
begin immediately,
before
the summer is over and many leave for the season. A portion of the
CLP’sLabor Day Rally (see below) will be dedicated to reporting out on
these activities. We suggest getting members of your community to attend
the Rally as a group.
Please
attend the County’s Chautauqua Lake Rally on August 18, 2018, 9:00 am
–noon, and, especially, the CLP’s Labor Day Rally on Saturday, September
1, 9:00- 11:00 am, both at The Village Casino in Bemus Point. You’ll
learn about what theCLP and other lake organizations have been doing on
behalf of the lake and have an opportunity to comment on what’s been
done and what you’d like to see in the future. You have a voice!
Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Inc.
Officers, Board Members and Advisors
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