The Fall 2024 Newsletter is here!

A short run of printed copies of the newsletter are available at Wellsmere Farm in Wells, and the Cones Point General Store / Cluckin' Cafe in Poultney. 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 and Nicole for having them available!

Also, your LSCA Trustee neighbors will have printed copies available around the lake over the weekend, so stop in to say hi.

The digital version is now available online via our website through this link: Click here to view the Fall 2025 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.

Good morning LSC - we wanted to post a quick update to thank our volunteers: Donna, Mary, Lisa, and Gloria - for joining us for the first VIP Paddle of the season.

The VIP program was established by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in 2007 to focus on early detection of all known and potential aquatic invasive species (AIS) before they can become established in a waterbody.

At 9 AM on Saturday, we met at the boat launch in Wells to perform a Vermont Invasive Patrollers paddle to look for invasive species.

We did not discover any new invasive species, but we did see examples of existing invasives: eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and some purple loosestrife on the shoreline.

We also observed and identified a number of our native plants like american eel grass, pickerel weed, robbins pondweed, illinois pondweed, ribbon-leaf pondweed, and broad-leaf pondweed, among others.

We'll fill out and submit a VIP report for this paddle to the DEC this week. We are also planning for another paddle in late August / early September that will take place near the State Park. If you'd be interested in participating, let us know!

You can read more about the VIP Program here on our website: https://lakestcatherine.org/vermont-invasive-patrollers

Thanks to our volunteers - we hope you enjoyed the paddle!

On Saturday, July 27th, the Lake St. Catherine Association held their third meeting of the 2024 season.

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

Guests: None

Call to Order: President Jim Canders called the meeting to order at 8:37.

Public Comment: None.

Approval of Meeting Minutes: Minutes of June 22, 2024 posted. Motion to accept the minutes as presented. All in favor, so moved.

Treasurer’s Report: Mary Jo Teetor presented income, expenses, and anticipated costs for DASH, Arrowwood and Greeter Program. A foreign transaction fee in account, Jerremy will look into. Motion to accept the Treasurer’s report. All in favor, so moved.

Annual Membership Meeting: John Belnavis. Meeting is this evening at the CC. Discussion of setup for the meeting & dinner. John made a motion for an allocation of $275 for the facility fee. All in favor, so moved. Mary Jo will take care of checks for facility fee and dinners paid for on the LSCA to the CC.

Milfoil Management: Jerremy Jones. Discussion of LL, and treatment in northern end, detached plants being caught in topped-out pond weed in middle to eastern shore. Ed mentioned Lake George court decision. Discussed new permit and probable public meeting. Discussed Arrowwood estimate and contract, Jerremy will ask Arrowwood for COI.

Greeter Program: John Belnavis. John said 630 boats greeted so far, and he recounted a discussion with Kim J from DEC asking that we work on installing a wash station.

Water Quality and Testing: Mary Jo Teetor. No sign of bacteria or cyano. The lake looks clean, but geese are very active this year. Discussion of the loons.

Publicity: Jerremy Jones. Good recent coverage in the FreePress, and a FOVLAP update.

Lake Safety: Frank Callahan & Mike Gay. New buoys placed at Sunken Island. Discussion of adding additional reflective tape.

Nominating Committee: Jim and other members have not heard from Bob. We’ll have 2 vacancies on the board after the annual meeting.

Membership: Jerremy Jones. To date there are 360 LSCA members. The membership goal is to reach 400. A reminder postcard was sent. $71k in dues & donations so far.

Government Relations: Jerremy Jones. Our 3 state senators, 1 state representative, and all members of the Wells Select Board were invited and will be attending the annual meeting.

Grants: Hilary S from PMNRCD will be attending the annual meeting and speaking about 2 grants, LWAP and SWMP project development.

Old Business: LSCA to participate in East Poultney Day, August 10th, Jerremy, Jim and Frank to work the booth. Jerremy will leave briefly to attend LSCCF meeting. Formal approval of the DASH expense that was discussed over email.

New Business: LSCA sponsored a Wells teen for the new Junior Warden program. Discussion about dues collection and the bylaws.

Motion to adjourn meeting at 10:08, all in favor, so moved.

The board remained to review the slide presentation prepared for the Annual Meeting.

Respectfully submitted, Kemi McShane

Good morning LSC.

A big 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. We had a full house!

We hope you enjoyed the 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 wonderful service and the excellent dinner. 

Finally, thank you to Hilary Solomon from PMNRCD for the update on the LSC Watershed Action plan, and the LSC Stormwater Master Plan, and to all of our invited guests, and the lake community for your interest!

Check out a Photo Gallery from the evening.

Here is our slide presentation:

Here is a recording of the meeting via YouTube:

We'd like to share a quick DASH update with you this afternoon.

Beck from our DASH team just sent in this quick report:

"DASH has started and we have already cleared location C, 2.33 acres. There was a dense patch of EWM out front of the state park boat launch that we wanted to prioritize this summer. We are currently working in location D (near Kinni Kinnic) moving towards some larger patches growing in location E, Sandy Bay."

Beck also reports that milfoil conditions are looking good overall (great news!), but will be prioritizing dense areas, including spots in Sandy Bay and areas along Cones Point, location E over the next few weeks.

Thanks to Beck and his team for doing a great job!

Good afternoon LSC.

We'd like to let you know that the Vermont DEC were at Lake St. Catherine late last week conducting Lake Wise training for Poultney Mettowee Natural Resource Conservation District (PMNRCD) staff, and other organizations that will be preforming Lake Wise assessments in the area.

The 2024 Lake Wise team will start reaching out to LSC property owners who have signed up to schedule appointments for your assessment.

The Lake Wise Program is free to LSC property owners who are interested in making their shoreline lake friendly, working to keep runoff from your property carrying phosphorus, sediment, and other pollutants into the lake. If you are interested in participating for the first time, or if you'd like a revisit, we have a few spots left for 2024, so please email us at info@lakestcatherine.org to sign up!

You can read more about the Lake Wise Program on LSC here: https://lakestcatherine.org/lake-wise-program

This Lake St. Catherine Association project is made possible by a grant earned from the Lake Champlain Basin Program & NEIWPCC, and is partially funded by the US EPA, and Lake Champlain Sea Grant.

Good evening LSC, we'd like to give you a brief recap of the Libraries Love Lakes Summer Event which took place today at the Lake St. Catherine State Park,

What a fun day!

Kids and their families got to enjoy all the Lake St. Catherine Park has to offer, and they got to go swimming, get a treat at the snack bar, and participate in the fun educational activities with the educators that were on hand.

The stream table was a hit:

As was the Giant Lake Champlain Watershed Map:

...and the boat ride for water testing:

...with some followup at the Nature Center:

The kids tested for dissolved oxygen, and took secchi disk and temperature readings. They also saw one of the eagles, the eagle nest, and the loon family! They had quite a boat trip. Some also then ventured forth to Endless Brook to check out the macroinvertebrates.

The LSCA and the Wells Village Library would like to thank the Lake St. Catherine State Park - and their fantastic staff, 'Captain' Martha Pofit for taking everyone out on her boat, our volunteers for the day, the awesome staff from PMNRCD - Jaden & James, Megan Hill from the Maritime Museum, Park Interpreter Jeff Ormsbee, and all the families that attended the event - we hope all involved had a great time!

Finally, we would like to thank the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission which made this day possible through an Education & Outreach Grant earned by the LSCA and Wells Village Library.

Our final Libraries Love Lakes event will take place in the fall and will focus on the artist side of nature. Watch for details for this event in the coming weeks.

More images from the day are available in our Facebook photo gallery:

Facebook Photo Gallery

Hello LSC.

The Lake St. Catherine Association and the Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District (PMNRCD) were interviewed earlier today by Senator Brian Collamore for a new episode of his public affairs show Catamount Community Connection.

Our episode will air this Sunday, July 14th on WJJR, 98.1 FM at 6 AM, and on Cat Country, 105.3 FM at 11 PM. You can listen to both of these stations online by clicking the attached links.

We'll do our best to record our episode in case you miss it and make it available for listening at another time.

Jerremy Jones from the LSCA and Hilary Solomon from the PMNRCD had a great discussion with Senator Collamore about the projects and programs our organizations are working on, and how we are working together on numerous preservation and protection initiatives for the lake and the Lake St. Catherine watershed.

Thank you to Senator Collamore and to Catamount Radio for this opportunity to speak about these important topics for the lake community and all in the Poultney Mettowee conservation district. 

We hope you can tune in!

Hello LSC,  we'd like to let you know about this great Vermont Fish and Wildlife program called Junior Warden Weekend, talking place at the Edward F. Kehoe Green Mountain Conservation Camp on Lake Bomoseen, July 27th & 28th - and the Lake St. Catherine Association would like to sponsor a teen from Wells or Poultney to participate!

Teens ages 15-17 are invited to come learn up close how F&W Game Wardens contribute to conservation in Vermont. Participants will spend the weekend fishing, hiking, exploring mock crime scenes, and seeing K-9 units in action, and teens will stay in the cabins and enjoy campfires, s’mores, swimming, and other camp activities during their stay.

More details about Junior Warden Weekend are included below, and here is the direct link to learn more and apply:

https://vtfishandwildlife.com/learn-more/conservation-education/junior-warden-weekend

The LSCA would like to sponsor a teen from Wells or Poultney and cover the participation fee for them to attend this fun and educational weekend. If your teen from Wells or Poultney applies, please let us know at info@lakestcatherine.org, and we'll work with the program coordinator to make a donation to cover their fee. Spots are limited to 25 teens, so be sure to get your application in soon before the program is full. We'll sponsor the first applicant from Wells or Poultney that the program receives.

Please help to spread the word - thanks!

Hello LSC, here are your winners of the LSCA's 12th Annual Boat Parade. Over 250 votes were cast in the online poll!

THANK YOU to:

• All of our creative participants
• The Goldman Family for being our lead boat
• Karen Velsor for the fantastic photos of the boats

Winner, Best Overall: Boat #9 - Come On Barbie Let's Go Party - Christine Gay

Second Place, Best Overall: Boat #7 - Carnival - Hicks Family

Winner, Funniest: Boat #5 - Dump Run! - Conine Family

Second Place, Funniest: Boat #9 - Come On Barbie Let's Go Party - Christine Gay

Winner, Most Original: Boat #7 - Carnival - Hicks Family

Second Place, Most Original: Boat #2 - The Loon Pontoon - Dawn Smith-Pliner

Winner, Most Patriotic: Boat #11 - God Bless America!! - Dave & Lisa

Second Place, Most Patriotic: Boat #8 - Red, White and Brew BBQ - Cahill & Klamik Family

If you enjoyed the boat parade, please consider becoming a member of the Lake St. Catherine Association to support our work for the benefit of LSC. We have multiple membership levels for you. You can learn more about becoming a member here: https://lakestcatherine.org/become-a-member

Thank you, and have a safe and fun 4th of July weekend!