For the preservation, protection, and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine
Hello LSC.
You may have recently seen a news story about fresh water mussels in Vermont, specifically the Brook floater (which is not in LSC) on WCAX. The link is included below. This is a good opportunity to talk about the fresh water mussel that we do have in Lake St. Catherine called the Eastern Elliptio (which is briefly mentioned in the story). The Eastern Elliptio is abundant in LSC, and you have probably seen the discarded shells left by muskrats near the shoreline. This native mussel is very beneficial to the lake!
Photo: Eastern Elliptio, Vermont Center for Ecostudies As noted by the Chesapeake Bay Program and NH F&G, the Eastern Elliptio needs relatively clean water to survive, so its presence is a good indicator of environmental health, an adult mussel can filter and clean about 10 gallons of water each day, it has an important role in filtering water and nutrient cycling and therefore water quality, and because of its abundance and important role as both prey and water filtration, it is among the most valuable benthic organisms to local ecosystems. The Eastern Elliptio should not be confused with the much smaller, and invasive zebra mussel (which are in nearby lakes). Our Greeter Program at the boat launch checks incoming vessels for this invasive mussel, and other aquatic invasive species (AIS) to make sure they do not get introduced into LSC. This image shows a native mussel with multiple zebra mussels attached:
Photo: Mussel with Zebra Mussels attached, University of Minnesota Extension As noted by Vermont F&W, zebra mussels have many ecological and economic impacts in waters they have invaded. They reproduce quickly, form dense colonies, and can completely coat lake bottoms in densities of more than 10,000 per square meter, reducing available food resources for native species that rely on plankton and can impact native mussel populations in particular. You can read more about the Eastern Elliptio on this page from Vermont Center for Ecostudies: https://val.vtecostudies.org/projects/vermont-freshwater-mussel-atlas/elliptio-complanata/ The WCAX Brook floater story: https://www.wcax.com/2022/08/16/wildlife-watch-brook-floater/?fbclid=IwAR0PNGgebopxnmZz5r_9SuS4OkMq0YXnLZS3kKfacwDPHcffWfM8cVA2arg
On Saturday, August 27th, the Lake St. Catherine Association held their fourth and final meeting of the 2022 season. Meeting minutes compiled by Jeremy Jones.
Attendance: Jim Canders, Jerremy Jones, Mary Jo Teetor, John Belnavis, Frank Callahan, (Online) Ed Laird, Nancy Liberatore, Mike Gay, (Online) Jeff Crandall, (Online) Mark Shea, Sue Williams. Absent:, Bob Williams, Lisa Micich, Kemi McShane, Rob Nesbit
Guests: None
Call to Order: President Jim Canders called the meeting to order at 8:33.
Public Comment: None.
Floor To Ed Laird: To accommodate Ed’s schedule, Jim started the meeting by giving the floor to Ed to discuss the land donation to the LSCA and the LSCA conflict of interest policy. Ed reported that the closing of the land should be soon, and then the property can be listed for sale, with a target of September 2nd. Nancy Liberatore has donated her time and services to list and sell the property. Nancy presented the selling agreement, a motion was made to approve by John, seconded by Frank. Motion passed unanimously, Nancy abstained. Nancy’s recommendation is to list at $64,900, a motion was made by Frank, seconded by John. Motion passed unanimously, Nancy abstained. Ed then discussed the LSCA’s Conflict of Interest agreement that was instituted in 2012. It was suggested that all current board members reattest their agreement. Jerremy will create an online form with the agreement so all Trustees can do so.
President’s Opening Comments: Jim Canders, Jim said a few words remembering former Trustee Bill McLaughlin who recently passed away, and asked for a moment of silence.
Approval of Meeting Minutes: Minutes of July 23, 2022 posted. Motion to accept the minutes as presented, made by John, seconded by Nancy. All in favor, so moved.
Treasurer’s Report: Mary Jo Teetor, report presented on screen. Large bills have been paid to SOLitude, DASH crew. Membership contributions and donations above estimated budget. Projecting a surplus. Motion to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented made by Frank, and seconded by Mike. All in favor, so moved.
Annual Meeting / Use of LSC CC: John Belnavis, John has reserved the LSC Country Club for the dates of our 4 Trustee meetings in 2023, and the Annual Meeting. Dates are: May 27th, 2023, June 24th, 2023, July 22nd, 2023, August 26th, 2023 at 8:30 AM. The Annual Meeting will be July 22nd, 2023 at 6 PM. John explained that we will need to close RSVPs for the dinner on the Sunday before the meeting so the chef can have a count. We sold out of dinners this year, and the kitchen was concerned about having enough food. Everyone enjoyed the guest speaker Eric Hanson, and his loon presentation. We’ll look to have a guest speaker next year as well.
Milfoil Management: Jeff Crandall, DASH report submitted by DASH team. 252 buckets harvested over 76 acres. Some areas marked for DASH on the map were not visited. The DASH team has marked potential areas for 2023. SOLitude will perform the plant survey in September. Little Lake treatment was very effective. Lake tour with Misha went well.
Boat Launch Greeter Program: John Belnavis, hired a new Greeter. 2 other inquiries. Total payroll for the year will be under budget.
Publicity / Membership: Jerremy Jones, 377 members, with a goal of 400, surpassed last year’s total of 372. Fall newsletter was printed and available.
Lake Safety: Frank Callahan & Mike Gay, new marker buoys built and installed in Atwater Bay. Mike estimated that we need 10 more new buoys to be fabricated in the new style. A motion to allocate up to $850 for new buoys was made by John, and seconded by Jeff. All in favor, so moved.
Nominating Committee: LSCA has a full complement of Trustees.
Grants / Government Relations: Received a letter back from the Basin Water Quality Council. Members have already been selected, and according to the bylaws, we would not qualify to be on the board. Mark and Sue have volunteered to help with grants. We have quarterly reports due on October 10th, and new grants have just been announced.
New Business: Discussion of buoy incident in North Bay and jetski speeding incident in the Channel - appears to be the same people. Discussed hand pulling milfoil test in Little Lake with LSCCF. Have not received a reply from F&W to our letter, will send email asking if we will be receiving a reply. Discussion of loon project with VT Ecostudies to place collection tubes at the boat launch to collect lead sinkers and monofilament line, with instruction from our Greeters - spring 2023.
Old Business: Discussed East Poultney Day, new tent and other gear for events. Discussed meeting dates for next year.
Election of Officers:
- Treasurer: John nominated Mary Jo Teetor, all voted in favor.
- Recording Secretary: Jim nominated Kemi McShane, all voted in favor.
- Vice President: Mary Jo nominated Mike Gay, all voted in favor.
- President: Mary Jo nominated Jim Canders, all voted in favor.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 10:27, seconded and all in favor, so moved.
Next meeting: May 27, 2023 at 8:30 AM LSC CC.
Meeting minutes compiled by Jerremy Jones.
The Fall 2022 newsletter is here with news of the LSCA's work for the season with some brief recaps, some information about two initiatives involving loons for 2023, a discussion about milfoil, and details on a new project to patrol LSC looking for aquatic invasive species (AIS).
In an effort to save on printing and mailing costs, we've decided to only print a short run of copies and distribute them at Wellsmere Farm. If you'd like a printed copy, please feel free to pick one up when you are out and about (available now!). Thank you to Michelle for having them at the farm!
Also, your LSCA Trustee neighbors will have printed copies available around the lake over the weekend.
The digital version is now available online via our website through this link: Click here to view the Fall 2022 Newsletter, or click on the image below. When you click on the link for the newsletter, you will be able to view it on screen - and be able to zoom in or out using the controls in your browser window. Or, you can click the download button to save a copy to your computer to view with a PDF reader, and/or print a copy.
Hello LSC, we have some sad news to report today. Former LSCA Trustee William "Bill" McLaughlin passed away at his home in Albany on July 25th.
LSCA President Jim Canders remembered Bill: "He was very dedicated to the lake and he always had an idea about how to get something accomplished during his years of service on the board."
You can read Bill's life in his obituary here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/timesunion-albany/name/william-mclaughlin-obituary?id=36296505
Plans to celebrate Bill's life will be announced at a later date.
Our thoughts are with his family.
Good morning LSC. We'd like to give you a quick update from our Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) team.
They have been hard-at-work all summer, hand-pulling milfoil in numerous areas around the lake. Last week, they finished working in area J, near Idylwild. They will be finishing their contract this week, working in North Bay. In the coming weeks, we'll provide a full recap of their work for the summer.
We thank them for their work and dedication to LSC - thank you Beck & Owen!
We also wanted to share an underwater video survey they took of Forest House Bay on August 11th. This area of Forest House Bay received a small milfoil spot treatment on June 20th. As anticipated, no milfoil was observed, and you can see that our native plants like eelgrass, illinois pondweed, and robbins pondweed are healthy and abundant.
Finally, you can read all about our 2022 Milfoil Control Program, including how you can individually help to 'Stop The Spread' of milfoil in the lake here: https://lakestcatherine.org/blog/12787652
Video:
Thanks to everyone who stopped in to talk about Lake St. Catherine at East Poultney Day!
It was great to speak with you all.
If you have any further questions, please reach out at info@lakestcatherine.org.
Thank you for your support of the LSCA!
The LSCA would like to thank Kimberly Jensen (and her great crew!) from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC) for both performing a Vermont Invasive Patrollers (VIP) training and zebra mussel water testing at Lake St. Catherine On August 9th. Much was learned - and a good time was had by all!
What is the Vermont Invasive Patrollers Program?
The VIP program was established by the VTDEC in 2007 to focus on early detection of all known and potential aqua c invasive species (AIS). Although VIPs now emphasize aquatic invasive plants more broadly in their surveying efforts, they are trained to identify both aquatic invasive plants and animals that are either established in Vermont or in nearby states and pose the greatest threat to Vermont’s water bodies.
This hands‐on workshop trained participants what aquatic invasive species are, how to prevent the spread of AIS, and how to identify the species that pose the greatest threats to Lake St. Catherine.
The goals of the program are:
This is a GREAT addition to our invasive species control and prevention initiatives which includes our Greeter Program. Our Greeters work at the Wells boat launch and at the State Park to inspect vessels before (and after) they enter Lake St. Catherine to check for AIS like spiny water flea, asian clams, zebra mussels, and other invasive plants and animals that are only a lake away from LSC.
Volunteer!
If you enjoy paddling on Lake St. Catherine and would also like to be part of an early warning system looking for invasive species, we hope you will join us and participate in this program. You can help us to monitor LSC for invasive species, survey our healthy native plant populations, and reduce the threat for invasive plant species introductions. Email us at info@lakestcatherine.org to let us know you’d like to volunteer for this program!
THANK YOU to the tremendous group we had at the Lake St. Catherine Country Club Saturday evening for the LSCA's Annual Meeting & Dinner. It was great to see so many of you who care so much about LSC. What a crowd! We hoped you enjoyed our presentation, your meal, and your evening with your lake neighbors.
Thank you all for your interest in the preservation, protection and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine.
We'd also like to thank the Lake St. Catherine Country Club staff for their excellent service and a wonderful meal, Eric Hanson from Vermont Center for Ecostudies for his fantastic presentation on loons, and to our Trustees for their excellent reports from their committees, and their hard work for Lake St. Catherine.
Attached below you will find a video of the presentation, which includes our slides and the audio of the speakers. Unfortunately, the recording stopped before the end of the meeting (missing the last 15 minutes), but the full slideshow is also included.
If you have any questions, please email us at info@lakestcatherine.org.
Slideshow:
On Saturday, July 23rd, the Lake St. Catherine Association held their third meeting of the 2022 season. Meeting minutes compiled by Kemi McShane Bostock
Attendance: Jim Canders, Martha Pofit, Jerremy Jones, Mary Jo Teetor, John Belnavis, Lisa Micich, Frank Callahan, (Online) Jeff Crandall, Rob Nesbit, Kemi McShane, Mark Shea. Absent: Ed Laird, Nancy Liberatore, Mike Gay, Bob Williams.
Call to Order: President Jim Canders called the meeting to order at 8:34.
Approval of Meeting Minutes: Minutes of June 25, 2022 posted. Motion to accept the minutes as presented, made by Lisa Micich, seconded by Frank Callahan. All in favor, so moved.
Treasurer’s Report: Mary Jo Teetor, awaiting large invoices from DASH, SOLitude. Discussed checks for LSC CC for facility fee, money collected for dinners. Annual Meeting will show pie charts for income & expenses. Motion to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented made by Lisa Micich, and seconded by Martha Pofit. All in favor, so moved.
Milfoil Management: Jeff Crandall, DASH permit allowed to start July 1, 2022. Will compare the suction work to the hand-pulling to see if it was effective. Jim stated that Misha will be at LSC on August 8, 2022 for a discussion and tour. MJ has arranged for transportation. Jeff reported on the good results in LIttle Lake. Frank spoke to the increase of boat activity on the LL. LSCA is receiving positive feedback from the LL property owners.
Boat Launch Greeter Program: John Belnavis, reports need for more workers, recently received inquiries. Not much boat traffic at the State Park. John provides the State Park with the Greeter program informational pamphlet to hand out to campers/boaters. Program under budget to date. The Greeter Program has a website for training purposes to hire new people. Discussed the fishing tournaments that take place on LSC, and other than Champlain, LSC has the majority of fishing tournaments in the State of VT.
Publicity / Membership: Jerremy Jones, 350 members, with a goal of 400. By the end of 2021, had 372 active members. Just mailed reminder postcards to increase members. Have 59 new members. Use of FB, postings of events, pictures and educational/informational updates keep people engaged and interested in the LSCA.
Lake Safety: Frank Callahan, markers and buoys are secured and in place, none have been removed or damaged. Discussed the differences regarding the boat safety course requirements between Fish & Wildlife and the VT State Police Marine Division. Has issued temporary boating certificates. Reported a tree being cut down and possible concern for it floating in the lake - will be looked into. Not sure of location. Water level is very low this summer season.
Nominating Committee: Slate of 5 candidates to present at the Annual Meeting for vote. Mark Shea was newly appointed Trustee, and will serve the remaining term of an open Trustee spot (2024).
Annual Meeting: John Belnavis, Jerremy Jones, John discussed the menu, expecting 80 members to attend. Jerremy presented the order of slides with discussion. Guest speaker, Eric Hanson of VT Ecostudies will speak on loons. Committee reports will be presented.
Old Business: Jerremy Jones, discussed his position on both boards: LSCA and FOVLAP. Board discussed the implications of his involvement as to voting, balancing representing both boards.
Discussion regarding the wake boat petition, its implications, and legislative process involved.
Letter from LSCA to VT FIsh & Wildlife: Board did not feel the response received from our May 31st letter addressed our concerns. After initial follow up from the board requesting a meeting, a reply from Eric asked that we ‘submit additional questions in writing’. Jerremy made a motion to send a reply asking that our concerns in our letter be addressed. Frank seconded, all in favor, so moved to send the request.
New Business: Jerremy Jones, presented three items to be purchased for education/ community outreach by the LSCA. A tent, a banner stand, and a table throw & table for set up at community events. A motion was made by MJ to designate up to $1,500.00 for the purchasing of these items. John seconded, all in favor, and so moved.
Grants: Martha Pofit, presented a motion to the Board to send the letter drafted to PMNRCD and the Rutland Regional Planning Commission requesting that they approve the Lake St. Catherine Association to be a member of the inaugural Basin Water Quality Council in order to: provide local water quality knowledge; advise Clean Water Service Providers on funding decisions; prioritize projects; and participate in the Tactical Basin Planning process. Martha made the motion, Frank seconded, all in favor, and so moved to send the letter.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 10:39, seconded and all in favor, so moved.
Next meeting: August 27, 2022 at 8:30 AM LSC CC.
Respectfully submitted, Kemi McShane Bostock, Recording Secretary
It was great to see so many folks attending our first Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan Stakeholder meeting this evening at the Wells Lakeside Park!
We hope you enjoyed the presentation.
About the Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan:
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) describes the purpose of a Watershed Action Plan as:
A Lake and Watershed Action Plan (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?'
After many years of successfully managing and participating in individual lake programs to protect Lake St. Catherine, which include: water testing (Lay Monitoring Program) in-lake invasive species control (Milfoil Control Program), invasive species prevention (Greeter Program), and stormwater management (Lake Wise Program, LSC Stormwater Master Plan), the LSCA is now poised to integrate these programs into a broader watershed plan with a focus on the prevention of pollutant loads (phosphorus, nitrogen, sediments) that enter into the Lake from sources outside the waterbody. The LSCA plans to use the success of these building blocks to expand its work in the watershed and focus on prevention for the future as part of a comprehensive long-term plan. The resulting plan will leverage current LSCA investments in water quality and pollution prevention, be driven by accepted best management practices, elevate under-assessed areas and gaps, and will identify issues, opportunities, and projects to guide locally-led water quality implementation work in the Lake St. Catherine watershed.
The findings from the creation of the LWAP will guide our long-term efforts to increase water quality, and projects identified can then feed into the DEC Watershed Projects Database and be considered for funding under the Clean Water Initiative Program (CWIP) and other sources.
One of the first steps in this 3-year process was to hold a meeting with Lake St. Catherine stakeholders to describe what LWAPs are, to outline our work plan, to discuss how the Lake St. Catherine watershed will be assessed, and to inform you on how you can help and participate in planning for the future of Lake St. Catherine. We'll let you know about future meetings.
If you were unable to attend, you can view our slide presentation below.
Please let us know if you have any questions at info@lakestcatherine.org.
Thank you!
Presentation:
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