Hello LSC, we have some very exciting news to share with you today.

Back in August of 2021, we received a letter from someone who wanted to make a land donation to the LSCA to help support our mission for Lake St. Catherine. They said: "I am aware of the work the LSCA does in preserving Lake St. Catherine and hope this donation furthers your ability to continue that work."

After all associated costs from the sale of the property have been accounted for, the proceeds from this donation will total just over $42,000 dollars. Two of our trustees donated their professional time to minimize the expenses of LSCA related to this real estate transaction.

This donation will help to fund important water quality improvements like the creation of the Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan, and the projects that will result from it.  

In addition, this large supplement to our cash reserve will help LSCA bridge the timing gap that often exists between the expenses incurred to preserve the lake and various municipal grants awarded for this purpose. Sometimes the timing gap is as long as one year. 

Please join us in thanking the donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) for this extremely generous donation which will greatly benefit Lake St. Catherine.

THANK YOU!

> Photo by Andrew Gioulis

Good afternoon LSC.

Our Game Warden Justin Turner sent us this update about his work at the lake this past week, June 17th - 24th to pass along to the lake community. He will be providing updates throughout the season, and this is his second update.

We thank Justin for his work, and providing these updates to the lake community!

Justin's Report:

"Last week Vermont Game Wardens conducted boating patrols throughout the week, to include more safety inspections, fishing compliance checks and general patrol for boating safety. Wardens addressed personal floatation device (pfd) violations, wake violations, and failure to have an observer while water skiing.

Wardens have noticed while doing safety inspections that life jackets and fire extinguishers are not always easily accessible or found in a known location. For example, safety equipment found in a compartment under an anchor line or other miscellaneous items. It may be worth checking your safety equipment to ensure you know where it is and that it is easily and quickly accessible.

As a reminder, its is a violation to operate a boat within 200 feet of the shoreline; an individual in the water; a canoe, rowboat, or other vessel; an anchored or moored vessel containing any individual; or anchorages or docks, except at a speed of less than five miles per hour that does not create a wake.

In addition, and worth noting, an individual shall not operate a vessel, except at speeds of less than five miles per hour, within 200 feet of a designated swimming area. This applies to the designated swimming area buoys found off the beach at the State Park.

Here is a link to distance requirement statute: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/029/03311

As mentioned before, Wardens will be conducting safety inspections throughout the summer. A safety inspection is an equipment check including but not limited to the following items when applicable, working lights, pfd’s, fire extinguisher(s), registration numbers, current validation sticker, muffling device, a working bilge blower, and a boating safety card. If you see Wardens out and about, please feel free to flag us down on the water or from your dock and we are happy to complete an inspection for you or answer any questions/concerns you may have.”

Thank you to Justin for working to keep us all safe on the lake, and for providing these updates.

You can read more about boating rules, and how to contact Justin on our Lake Safety page here: https://lakestcatherine.org/lake-safety

Finally, Justin will be one our guest speakers at the LSCA's Annual Meeting & Dinner on July 22nd at 6 PM at the LSC Country Club. You can click here to RSVP, and reserve a dinner: https://lakestcatherine.org/event-5329309 - please join us!

Hello LSC.

We'd like to invite you to the 2023 Lake St. Catherine Association's Annual Meeting & Dinner at the Lake St. Catherine Country Club on Saturday, July 22nd, beginning at 6 PM.

The LSCA Trustees will update you on lake issues, give you reports from their committees, and discuss current and future initiatives for the lake. The meeting will conclude with an open question and answer session, then we'll have a nice dinner together with our lake neighbors.

Guest speakers will be announced soon.

We are looking forward to seeing you!

At approximately 7:30, dinner will be served. If you'd like to stay for dinner, the LSC CC has provided the menu below.

Dinner options:

• $25 - Chicken Piccata, rice, mixed vegetable, salad
• $25 - Baked Haddock, rice, mixed vegetable, salad
• $30 - Prime Rib, baked potato, mixed vegetable, salad

- Includes dinner rolls, cake and coffee.

Please RSVP for the meeting by clicking here to register. You will be able to indicate the selection of dinner(s) you'd like to reserve. If you'd like to attend the meeting, but not stay for dinner, leave the dinner selection fields blank. You can pay online with a credit card or with cash at the door.

You must RSVP for a dinner by July 14th so the Country Club can properly prepare. We'll not be able to take walk-ins for dinner.

80 dinners available. Dinners sold out last year, so please RSVP as soon as possible. 

Thank you!

Good afternoon LSC - we'd like to give you an update from our Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) team.

Owen and Beck have started hand-pulling in Area F by the State Park (see the attached map) by swimming the area and using mesh bags for collection. 

Full DASH operations will begin on July 1st. At this time, the team can use the DASH boat and suction tube. After hand-pulling the milfoil from the lakebed, they place the pulled weed into the suction tube and it's transported to the collection table on the boat. Milfoil is then placed in buckets and removed from the lake.

Once full DASH operations can begin, the team will prioritize Area M in the Channel and Area C in North Bay. These are 2 of the 3 'moderate' density areas.

Also, you may have seen milfoil fragments (see attached photo) making their way around the lake. You can help to make a difference by scooping these fragments out of the lake, and out from around your dock & shoreline. As a general rule, get as much milfoil out of the lake as you can - let it dry out on land and dispose of it as you would yard waste. See the attached flyer for other tips - and try to avoid driving through milfoil patches with your boat.

Keep an eye out for the guys, and give them plenty of room to work. We'll keep you up-to-date on their progress throughout the season.

Thanks for your great efforts Owen & Beck!

Good afternoon LSC.

Our Game Warden Justin Turner sent us this update about his work at the lake this past weekend to pass along to the lake community. He will be providing updates throughout the season, which we will share with you.

We thank Justin for his work, and providing these updates to the lake community!

From Justin:

“Vermont Game Wardens conducted boating patrol on Lake St. Catherine over the weekend, to include safety inspections, fishing compliance checks and general patrol for boating safety. Wardens addressed personal floatation device (pfd) violations, fishing without a license, and failure to have an observer while water skiing.

As a reminder, USCG approved wearable pfd’s are required for each occupant on board a vessel, to include those in kayaks. Children under the age of 12 are required to wear a pfd at all times when under power and on an open deck, and if you’re towing somebody in a tube, wakeboard, kneeboard, water skis etc., an observer over the age of 12 is required in a position to observe the progress of the individual or individuals being towed.

Here are some links with information about lights and equipment along with the water ski regulations:

• https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/029/03306
• https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/029/03315

Wardens will be conducting safety inspections throughout the summer. A safety inspection is an equipment check including but not limited to the following items when applicable, working lights, pfd’s, fire extinguisher(s), registration numbers, current validation sticker, muffling device, a working bilge blower, and a boating safety card."

Justin said that he will be able to be on the lake more this season, so be sure to say hi when you see him.

You can read more about boating rules, and how to contact Justin on our Lake Safety page here: https://lakestcatherine.org/lake-safety

Hello LSC.

We'd like to let you know that we have some openings available in our Greeter Program.

The LSCA has managed and funded the Lake St. Catherine Greeter Program since 2004 through membership contributions & donations, and grants.

Our Greeters are hard working folks who have been trained to identify aquatic invasive species (AIS) to stop them from entering LSC at the boat launch. 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.

Their duties include:

• Approaching and interacting with boaters
• Inspecting watercraft
• Identifying and handling suspicious specimens
• Collecting and reporting data
• Distributing educational material on aquatic invasive species

Greeters do not just check boats and trailers for milfoil - they are checking for many invasive species that are just a lake or two away from us. These invasives include zebra mussels, spiny waterflea, asian clams, water chestnuts and starry stonewort.

Our Greeters are on duty from Memorial Day through Labor Day - working on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They also cover holidays and fishing tournaments. You can learn more about the LSCA's Greeter Program by clicking here.

Greeters will be fully trained, and will earn $15 per hour.

If you are interested in becoming a Lake St. Catherine Greeter, please contact us at info@lakestcatherine.org.

Thank you!

On Saturday, May 27th, the Lake St. Catherine Association held their first meeting of the 2023 season.

Attendance: Jim Canders, Jerremy Jones, Mary Jo Teetor, Frank Callahan, Ed Laird, Nancy Liberatore, Mike Gay, Jeff Crandall, Mark Shea, Sue Williams (Online), Bob Williams, Absent: Lisa Micich, Kemi McShane, Rob Nesbit, John Belnavis

Guests: None

Call to Order: President Jim Canders called the meeting to order at 8:30.

Public Comment: None.

Approval of Meeting Minutes: Minutes of August 27, 2022 posted. Motion to accept the minutes as presented, made by Frank, seconded by Nancy. All in favor, so moved.

Treasurer’s Report: Mary Jo Teetor, outlined 2022 income and expenditures, and projections and budgeting for 2023 with printed reports. Motion to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented made by Jeff, and seconded by Mark. All in favor, so moved.

Annual Meeting / Use of LSC CC: As reported by Jim Canders, John Belnavis has reserved the LSC Country Club for our Annual Meeting: July 22nd, 2023 at 6 PM. John is working with the LSC CC on arrangements and dinner for the meeting. Details will be presented at the June Meeting.

Milfoil Management: Jeff Crandall, Jeff discussed the favorable results of the early May survey, and explained that after discussions with the DASH team, they decided that they can cover the sparse milfoil growth and a spot treatment would not be needed. Also discussed, contracts with Arrowwood Environmental to take over our fall plant survey from SOLitude and our contract with limnologist Emily Porter-Goff for the LWAP. Motion by Mary Jo to approve Arrowwood contract, and seconded by Mark. All in favor, so moved. Motion by Mary Jo to approve limnologist contract, and seconded by Frank. All in favor, so moved.

Boat Launch Greeter Program: As reported by Jim Canders, John Belnavis has the Greeter Program underway as of Memorial Day Weekend. John and Greeters recently attended in-person training in Manchester.

Water Quality: May Jo Teetor, lay monitoring to start, new water testing equipment purchased for lay monitoring water testing. Underwater viewers purchased to launch the Vermont Invasive Patrollers Program (VIP).

Publicity: Jerremy Jones, Spring newsletter available, emailed to members, posted on website, printed copies available at Wellsmere Farm. Frequent postings on our website, Facebook, email blasts to keep the lake community informed.

Lake Safety: Frank Callahan & Mike Gay, new marker buoys built, will be installed over the weekend. Boating license classes scheduled for June 21 & 22 in Poultney, June 26 & 27 in Wells.

Nominating Committee: Bob Williams, LSCA has a full complement of Trustees, but always looking for folks that would be interested.

Membership: Jerremy Jones, in good shape, 335 members to date, 16 of which are Business Sponsors. Goal is 400, ended 2022 with 388. Patches have been popular.

Grants / Government Relations: Discussed our State & LCBP grants and the need for help from other Trustees with reporting. Mark indicated his interest in assisting.

New Business: VT Ecostudies will be installing lead tackle and old monofilament collection tubes at the boat launch. Will have Greeters point them out, and keep an eye on them. Eric Hanson from VT Ecostudies will be at the lake later today to inspect the area where loons are exhibiting nest building activities. We have been invited to present a history of LSC at East Poultney Day - discussed what could be presented and who would present (maybe Frank?). Boat Parade will be Saturday, July 1st at 1 PM. Will start promoting and signing up boats.

Old Business: Ed and Nancy discussed the land sale, we have an offer. After discussion, it was decided to counter. Nancy will present the counter to the potential buyer and will report back.

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 10:30, seconded and all in favor, so moved.

Next meeting: June 24, 2023 at 8:30 AM LSC CC.

Meeting minutes compiled by Jerremy Jones.

Good morning LSC,

We would like to invite you to our annual Milfoil Cleanup Community Day & Milfoil Control Meeting at the Wells Lakeside Park on Little Lake on Saturday, June 17th at 9 AM.

All are welcome to attend to learn about our milfoil control plans for the season, and then those who would like to participate can head out onto the lake to do some milfoil & detached plant cleanup.

All the details are included below. We hope to see you on the 17th!

Milfoil Control Program Meeting

As we have for the past 2 seasons, we'll be holding a Milfoil Control Meeting and volunteer Milfoil Cleanup Community Day.

On Saturday, June 17th at 9 AM, we'll have a meeting at the Wells Lakeside Park on Little Lake to discuss our Milfoil Control Plans for the season. We recently outlined our plans in a previous email, and on our website here: https://lakestcatherine.org/blog/13207138

We'll discuss our plans for the season, and answer any questions you may have.

Here is a quick summary of our plans for the season:

After reviewing all the data, and discussing the current milfoil conditions, our Milfoil Control Committee and our DASH team have concluded that we will not need to perform a spot treatment this year. All the hard work of our Milfoil Control Committee, our DASH team, and all of you who have been removing milfoil from the lake have helped to get us to this point. Milfoil is an extremely fast growing invasive weed, so a spot treatment may be needed in the future. However, we will be working very hard to keep milfoil at sparse, controllable levels that our DASH team can manage to the extent possible. This season, our DASH team will be expanding by adding a new member to their crew, and this team will be able to handle the milfoil identified in the surveys. Soon, we’ll share a map showing the locations the DASH team will be working in this season. There has been regrowth of milfoil in the northern section of Little Lake. Since DASH is not feasible there because the depth and loose sediments making it difficult to work, we are exploring a hand-pulling pilot program there this year. We’ll provide details on this potential new program soon.

We hope to see you on the 17th at the park!

Milfoil Cleanup Community Day Kick Off

After the Milfoil Control Meeting, we invite volunteers to help us kick off our Milfoil Cleanup Community Day by heading out onto the lake to collect detached and floating milfoil (and other detached and floating plants) to get them out of the lake and on to our drop off point. 

Volunteers that would like to participate can head out onto the lake in kayaks, boats, canoes, and SUPs to scoop up floating milfoil and other detached plants and place them on the drop off float that has just been set up in the Channel south of the bridge.

Milfoil spreads easily via fragmentation, so getting milfoil out of the lake helps to prevent it from infesting new locations.

If you can't participate on the kick off day on June 17th, that's OK - you can still contribute throughout the season. This initiative will continue throughout the summer, and the LSCA will collect the deposited detached plants as the float fills up. So, cleanup can continue until the drop off float is removed in the late fall. 

Read on about how you can help to stop the spread of milfoil in all areas of the lake.

What Else Can You Do To Help To Stop The Spread Of Milfoil?

• As a general rule, get as much milfoil out of the lake as possible and dispose of it..
• Don’t drive through milfoil patches with your boat which will create fragments.
• If you have milfoil on your prop, don’t just reverse and drive away, please remove it from the lake.
• If you have milfoil growing in your dock or swimming area, pull it out by the roots and remove it from the lake.
• If you see milfoil floating anywhere in the lake, near your dock, or along your shoreline, remove it from the lake.
• Become a member of the LSCA to help support our efforts!

The LSCA has always employed evidenced-based decision making when evaluating lake related issues, and we continue to do so with our Milfoil Control Program. Working with the State and lake scientists & experts, following the science and the data, and evaluating the results of our efforts show that we are doing the right things for the long-term health of LSC. To our members, and all who love LSC, if you ever have any questions or concerns, reach out to us, we’d be happy to answer them. You can always reach us at info@lakestcatherine.org.

Read more about Eurasian watermilfoil (milfoil, EWM, Myriophyllum spicatum) - what it is, what it does when introduced into a lake, and why we work to control it in Lake St. Catherine on our Milfoil Control Program here: lakestcatherine.org/milfoil-control-program

Hello LSC - we hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend at the lake! 

We'd like to let you know that the 11th Annual LSCA Boat Parade has been scheduled and is open for registration!

The 11th Annual LSCA Boat Parade will be on Saturday, July 1st at 1 PM.

We all know how fun it is to watch the boat parade, but it's even more fun to be part of it!

As we did last year, we'll take photos of all participants, and we'll have a lake-wide online vote to decide the winner.

Our categories are:

• Most Original
• Most Patriotic
• Funniest
• Best Overall

If you'd like to register your boat, please email us at info@lakestcatherine.org with your name, phone number, and boat name or theme. We'll get you signed up and will reply back with your boat number, and give you all the details on how to participate.

Our 10th Annual Boat Parade winners, and current reigning champions are:

Most Patriotic:

1st Place: Boat #6 - God Bless America - Adam Wunderlich

Funniest:

1st Place: Boat #7 - Monster Mash - The Ramirez Family

Most Original:

1st Place: Boat #12 - RMS Titanic - Goldman Family

Best Overall:

1st Place: Boat #3 - Moana - Megan Frueh

[ All photos by Karen Velsor - thanks Karen! ]

So, start thinking about your theme, and mark your calendars for July 1st! Then, email us at info@lakestcatherine.org to register your boat.

Also, lake resident Rick Roberts has announced that his annual fireworks display will take place that evening, Saturday, July 1st at dusk. 

It's going to be a fun day!

Hello LSC - we have some very exciting loon news to share, and we also need your help!

Over the past few weeks, lake resident Dawn Smith has been observing a pair of loons that were frequently active in the same area near her camp. On Thursday, Dawn was able to record activity by one of the loons that looked like nest building.

We sent this video to loon biologist Eric Hanson from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, and he confirmed that the loons are performing nesting activity. Eric was here at Lake St. Catherine twice this past July, once at our Libraries Love Lakes event, and then again at our Annual Meeting & Dinner. At the Annual Meeting, Eric gave a fantastic presentation about loons, which was recorded - and you can view that here: LSCA's 2022 Annual Meeting & Dinner. In 2021, Eric also rescued a sub-adult loon on Lake St. Catherine that had been caught up with a lure and fishing line. You can read about that here: https://lakestcatherine.org/blog/12107471

This morning, Eric loaded up loon nesting buoys and headed down from Crafstbury Vermont to the lake. We put 5 signs together and headed out to the site:

Although the loons have been performing nesting activity on the site over the past few days, there was no evidence of a nest yet. Eric explained that a nest would look bowl shaped, and that they may be attempting to build a nest in multiple locations. So, now that our territorial pair have decided to nest, we'll need to keep an eye out to see if they attempt to nest at the initial site that they were observed at, or somewhere nearby.

After observing the site, he decided that it was too early to place the loon nesting signs around this area. Dawn has volunteered to store the 5 markers at her place, and if we do see that they are moving ahead with the nest there or at another location, we can quickly deploy them. 

Eric explained that they may not be successful this year, but we could try to help them next year by installing a floating nest platform now that they have selected an area to attempt to nest on Lake St. Catherine. Loons typically nest between May 15th and June 10th, so they still have plenty of time to make their nest.

We need your help to give this loon pair the best chance for success:

• PLEASE be sure observe the no wake speed in the Channel. They are very active in the Channel south of the bridge.
• If you see the loons, PLEASE do not stop your boat while passing them, and give them as much room as possible when passing by. Reel up any lines you may have in the water if the loons are nearby.
• If you see nesting activity in the Channel, PLEASE report it to us. Seeing a loon out of the water on something above the water and moving materials indicates nest building. You can see that activity here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csId0j2_rLU

It is very exciting that a pair of loons has decided to nest here at Lake St. Catherine! Let's all do what we can to give them the best chance possible.

Thank you to Eric for rushing down here help! Also, thank you to Dawn for reporting her observations, helping out with the markers, and for taking us to the location with her boat. She was a great captain for this mission today!

We'll keep you up to date on their progress.

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies, and Eric's work rely on donations and contributions. If you'd like to support their loon conservation efforts, you can learn how to make a donation to them here: https://vtecostudies.org/give/