For the preservation, protection, and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine
Hey there LSC, we wanted to let you know that local artist Peter Huntoon has posted on his website the painting he created during the Art & Nature Libraries Love Lakes Fall Event at Wells Lakeside Park on Little Lake back in October.
You can see it here: https://www.peterhuntoon.com/painting/lakeside-park/ - and Peter has prints of the original painting available.
Libraries Love Lakes (librarieslovelakes.org) is an outreach project pairing libraries with lake scientists to provide collaborative programming emphasizing the importance of lakes to our everyday lives. The ongoing partnership between the Wells Village Library and LSCA was funded by education and outreach grant through the Lake Champlain Basin Program (lcbp.org).
This event focused on Art & Nature and encouraged attendees to use the inspiration of the beauty of Little Lake to express themselves creatively. This was the fourth and final Libraries Love Lakes event in 2024.
You can see some of the other art created on this day here in our recap: https://lakestcatherine.org/blog/13421121
The LSCA and Wells Village Library hope to hold additional Libraries Love Lakes events in 2025.
We thank Peter for participating, and for creating this beautiful painting of the lake!
Hello LSC!
Are you ready for Spring - and getting excited for another fantastic season at Lake St. Catherine this year?
Let's have a little fun and make some predictions for when the ice will go out.
Last year was the earliest ice out recorded at LSC on March 7th. This year, we actually had a winter, and the ice has been pretty solid since mid January.
Please fill out the form linked below to make your guess.
Note: Since the ice is good at hanging around in some of the bays for quite a while, to simplify things this year, we'll use open water in the middle of the Big Lake to make the call on the date & time for ice out. Let's say if you could drive a boat from the western shore to Cones Point.
The winner will be crowned "LSC 2025 Ice Out Champion" and will have bragging rights all year!
Will your name be added to this list of previous Ice Out Champions?
Click here to make your guess - and good luck!
> 2025 Predict Ice Out Day on Lake St. Catherine Form
Good morning LSC.
On Tuesday, March 4th, 2025, the residents of Wells and Poultney voted to provide $12,000 and $15,000, respectively, in support of the Lake St. Catherine Association's mission of the preservation, protection and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine.
We'd like to thank the good folks of both towns for their continued support!
These funds help us manage and fund important programs that include: aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention and control: our boat launch Greeter Program, VIP Program, Milfoil Control Program, and water quality improvement programs: Lake Wise, LSC Stormwater Master Plan, Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan, and maintaining lake buoys and markers.
You can read more about our efforts for the benefit of Lake St. Catherine here in our 2024 Year In Review on our website:
https://lakestcatherine.org/blog/13443222
Grants, membership dues and contributions from the lake community, and allocations from our Towns make up the majority of our funding. If you'd like to help, please consider becoming a member or making a donation for 2025. The LSCA is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.
Thanks again to the residents of Wells and Poultney!
Good afternoon LSC, we'd like to share a recording of the Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan Update Meeting from last evening. Thank you to all who attended! The LSCA would like to thank Hilary Solomon & Sadie Brown from the Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District (PMNRCD), Evan Fitzgerald from Fitzgerald Environmental Associates, Professor Andrew Vermilyea from VSU Castleton, and limnologist Emily Porter-Goff for their continued hard work on the LSC LWAP, and their participation in the meeting last night. A tremendous amount of effort has gone into this project, and we are excited for the final plan and the positive impact it will have for Lake St. Catherine. We are excited about the completion of the LWAP, which will be in mid-2025. At that time, we'll schedule an in-person meeting to introduce it the lake community. You can watch the recording of last night's update meeting here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5reV_5dahM Please let us know if you have any questions or comments at info@lakestcatherine.org. Thank you!
Hello LSC, we unfortunately have some very sad news to share with you.
Long-time LSCA Trustee Frank Callahan passed away at his home on the lake on January 26th.
Many in the lake community know Frank from his numerous years of working to maintain and deploy the lake's safety markers and buoys, and working with his 'Buoy Buddies' around the lake.
For many years, Frank also taught the boating safety education course so folks of all ages (12 and above) could earn their boater education card to be able to operate a motorized vessel. As a former teacher, he looked forward to administering these classes each year, and interacting with everyone in the lake community to help them pass the class. Over the years, he helped hundreds of people earn their boating card.
As a Trustee, a neighbor, and a friend, Frank was always willing to help out in any way he could, and always with a smile. He will be missed.
Services for Frank will take place at a later date - we'll let you know when they have been scheduled.
You can read more about Frank's life, and share a memory here:
https://www.robertsaubinfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Frank-L-Callahan?obId=35635440
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region in Rutland, VT or to your local Hospice.
Frank teaching a boating safety class in Poultney.
On Tuesday, February 11th, at 7 PM, the LSCA and the Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District will be holding a meeting to update the lake community on the progress of the Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan, and to select 3 projects identified in the plan to move ahead to the design stage.
In 2021, the LSCA applied for and earned a grant with the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) to create a Lake Watershed Action Plan (LWAP) for Lake St. Catherine. Work began in 2022, and the final plan will be completed by the end of June 2025.
An LWAP is designed to identify and communicate the problems and fixes within a lake watershed to best protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and the lake’s ecosystem health. These plans answer the questions 'what issues threaten the health of our lake the most?' and 'what can we do about them?'
PMNRCD, Fitzgerald Environmental Associates, Professor Andrew Vermilyea from VSU Castleton, limnologist Emily Porter-Goff, the Vermont DEC, and the LSCA have put a tremendous amount of effort into this project, and we are excited for the final plan and the positive impact it will have for Lake St. Catherine.
We hope you can join us on Tuesday, February 11th at 7 PM for this online meeting to hear a quick update on the LWAP, and to help us select the first 3 projects to be designed.
The meeting will be held online via Google Meet, and here is the link:
LWAP Lake Community MeetingTuesday, February 11 · 7:00 – 8:00pm
Google Meet joining info:
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/fmv-gxgm-iwn Or dial: (US) +1 323-641-3303 PIN: 571 183 591#
A future meeting in the Spring will be scheduled to introduce the completed Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan.
We hope to see you on February 11th!
On Friday, February 7th, at 12 PM, the LSCA and Community Science Coordinator Dana Williams from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) will be having a chat about VCE's Loon Conservation Project - and you are invited.
With all the excitement of our nesting pair of loons proudly parading their chick around the lake last summer, we know that LSC went looney for loons in 2024! So, we'd like to invite you to participate in this chat so you can loon more about loons, and what VCE is doing and planning for their Loon Conservation Project.
About the meeting from VCE:
We’re looking forward to when the loons return in just a few months and as we’re getting ready for the new season we’re excited to explore opportunities to expand the loon project. This is partially because we have some additional minds joining us from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies staff. We’re hoping that some of these opportunities will help us spend more time in the field, help you get loon updates faster, and help everyone learn more to conserve Vermonts’ loons. While we have some ideas about what would be helpful for us on the research side of things, we want to make sure we hear from you since your collaboration in the project is crucial to its success. To this end, we would like to invite you to have a meet and greet conversation with Dana Williams to share what you love about the loon project, any challenges you have faced participating in the loon project and what opportunities you would be interested in seeing us pursue for the future.
We’re looking forward to when the loons return in just a few months and as we’re getting ready for the new season we’re excited to explore opportunities to expand the loon project. This is partially because we have some additional minds joining us from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies staff.
We’re hoping that some of these opportunities will help us spend more time in the field, help you get loon updates faster, and help everyone learn more to conserve Vermonts’ loons. While we have some ideas about what would be helpful for us on the research side of things, we want to make sure we hear from you since your collaboration in the project is crucial to its success.
To this end, we would like to invite you to have a meet and greet conversation with Dana Williams to share what you love about the loon project, any challenges you have faced participating in the loon project and what opportunities you would be interested in seeing us pursue for the future.
The Meeting will be held online via Google Meet, and here is the link:
Loon Discussion With Dana From VCEFriday, February 7 · 12:00 – 1:00pm
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/jaq-dvqb-gfj Or dial: (US) +1 669-238-0306 PIN: 500 528 169#
Please join us on February 7th!
Photo: Karen Velsor
We are very happy to report that the LSCA has earned the Healthy Ecosystems - Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention and Management Grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) for $25,000 to be used for our Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting Program (DASH), and our Greeter Program at the public access boat launch in Wells.
These funds will help to partially fund these very important programs in 2025.
About the Greeter Program:
Our Greeter Program is very important to the health of Lake St. Catherine. Our Greeters have been trained to identify aquatic invasive species (AIS) - like spiny waterflea, golden clams, water chestnut, starry stonewort and zebra mussels - to stop them from entering LSC at the boat launch in Wells. They also educate boaters about the importance of looking for these invasives on their boat or trailer so they are not spread to LSC or another lake. Each year, they do a fantastic job checking vessels and educating the lake community on the dangers of invasive species for Lake St. Catherine. They are on duty from Memorial Day through Labor Day - working on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They also cover holidays and fishing tournaments.
About the DASH Program:
Our DASH crew suits up in scuba gear and hand-pulls milfoil by the roots from the lakebed. In sections of lower milfoil density, they will swim the area and hand-pull with mesh bags. In higher density areas, they will set up the DASH equipment which allows them to suction the hand-pulled milfoil up through a tube to a catch table on a boat. Milfoil is then placed in 17.5 gallon buckets for transport off the lake.
Thank you to the LCBP!
The LSCA will continue to work on bringing grant funds to Lake St. Catherine this winter. We are awaiting word on another grant that has already been submitted, and we will be applying for another in February.
Hello to the good folks in the Lake St. Catherine community.
It's that time of year again... As the Lake St. Catherine Association heads into its 72nd year, we are asking for your support for the 2025 season.
What does the LSCA do for Lake St. Catherine? Please check out our recently published 2024 Year In Review:
LSCA's 2024 Year In Review
Your membership contributions & donations, along with allocations from the towns of Wells & Poultney, and grants earned from the state and the Lake Champlain Basin Program & NEIWPCC help us to fulfill our mission of the preservation, protection, and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine by helping to fund important lake programs and projects. Some of which include: water quality improvement programs like Lake Wise, the LSC Stormwater Master Plan, and the Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan, and our aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention and control programs like our Greeter, Vermont Invasive Patroller (VIP), and Milfoil Control Programs. You can learn all about these initiatives on our website: https://lakestcatherine.org.
We have multiple membership levels available. These include memberships for cottage owners, business sponsors, and our Supporter Of LSC level for those of you who love LSC but are not a cottage owner (like family members of property owners, renters and those who use the lake for recreation).
There are two easy ways to renew or become a member of the LSCA.
Soon, you will be receiving a mailing from us that contains the 2025 Membership Form. You can also download a copy by clicking here: 2025 Membership Form - just print and fill out the form, then mail it in with your check to:
Lake St. Catherine Association PO Box 631 Wells, VT 05774
Or, you can renew or become a member on our website. If you were a member in 2024, click here to renew: https://lakestcatherine.org/membership-renewal, or click here to become a new member: https://lakestcatherine.org/become-a-member - and you can pay your dues online with your credit card. If you were a member last year (whether you paid by check or online by credit card), the website has an account ready for you. If you don't remember your password, or have never logged in, please click here: https://lakestcatherine.org/Sys/ResetPasswordRequest to set or reset your password.
We'd also like to encourage you to check with your employer to see if they have an Employer Matching Gift Program for charitable donations. Many generous businesses will match donations made by their employees through these programs. So, take a look - you may be able to double your contribution!
Upon receiving your membership contribution, we’ll send you the 2025 membership package, which will include: your receipt, a '2025 Member' sticker for your LSCA window card (or a card & sticker for new members), a hand-written thank you note, and a new, beautifully designed 3" x 3" iron-on patch depicting a brown trout.
We'd like to thank LSC camp owner Andrew Gioulis (VT Lake House) for again providing a fantastic design for the 2025 patch, which you can see below:
We are happy to report that in 2024, we had 378 paid members, which includes 15 Business Sponsors. The average contribution of our members was $206 - THANK YOU! Your membership dues and additional contributions over and above our base $100 membership level are crucial to funding our important lake programs. As always, we ask you to help us to spread the word by discussing the LSCA with your neighbors. We are hoping to get our membership to over 400 this year.
We will continue to work hard for Lake St. Catherine to earn your support.
Thank you for your support of the LSCA!
- The Trustees of the Lake St. Catherine Association
If you ever have any questions about your membership or Lake St. Catherine, please email us at info@lakestcatherine.org.
We hope you have all enjoyed the holiday season with your family and friends. As we approached the New Year, the LSCA posted a summary of our work for the benefit of Lake St Catherine 2024. The presentation was very informative and nicely organized, but if you missed it, here is the link for your review:
LSCA's 2024 Year In Review: http://lakestcatherine.org/2024-year-in-review
I would like to thank the Trustees, Membership and friends of the Lake St. Catherine Association for all their support in 2024, and wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year! A special New Year wish to the Chairpersons, Select Boards and residents of the Towns of Poultney and Wells for all their support throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Jim Canders President, LSCA
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