For the preservation, protection, and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine
The Vermont Loon Conservation Project, a program of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), would like to thoroughly assess loon activity on Lake St. Catherine this year.
The Vermont loon population has expanded greatly over the past 20 years. If a loon pair ever forms on Lake St. Catherine, they will likely need a little help since loons nest right on the water's edge near boat traffic and occasionally near cottages and other shoreline activity. Loons prefer to nest on islands and at marsh edges but occasionally nest on spits of land or little shelves that are easy to crawl onto.
Photo credit: © Elinor Osborn via VCE website
Eric Hanson, the VCE conservation biologist who coordinates the loon program is looking for some volunteers who can boat the entire lake occasionally when the water is calm (evenings and mornings tend to be best) and count all loons present. Whether volunteers conduct just one survey all summer or go every week, it's all helpful. Residents can also report incidental sightings (e.g., out your camp window).
VCE is also looking for a volunteer to survey Lake St. Catherine on July 15 as part of the annual statewide count.
If you'd like to assist Eric with this project, please contact him at ehanson@vtecostudies.org or call 802-586-8064.
The Lake St. Catherine Association is still searching for a Recording Secretary.
The Recording Secretary will record, type and distribute the minutes for the four Trustee meetings and the the Annual Membership Meeting for the LSCA. The dates for these meetings are:
All meetings are held at the Lake St. Catherine Country Club.
If you are interested in this position and volunteering with the LSCA, please contact us at info@lakestcatherine.org.
Looking for a local hike? Climb St. Catherine Mountain and enjoy a bird’s eye view of the lake and the Adirondack Mountains in the distance.
Green Mountain College’s Lewis Deane Nature Preserve is an 85-acre parcel of land located on the eastern slopes of Mount St. Catherine, part of the Taconic Mountains. More than 285 plant species provide a habitat to more than 50 species of birds, nine species of mammals, five species of amphibians, and one reptilian species. Endless Brook is home to indigenous brook trout. The brook snakes its way along the east side of the nature preserve, going underground as it nears Lake St. Catherine, earning the brook its intriguing name. Two trails climb to the top of the mountain, a favorite site for picking blueberries and enjoying the view.
Since its acquisition in 2002, Green Mountain College has utilized the preserve as an outdoor classroom. A number of classes have incorporated Deane Preserve into their curricula. Students from Images of Nature classes have helped to build and maintain these trails.
Trail head parking is on the west side of Endless Brook Road just past the pink bed and breakfast, Toad Hall, about one mile southeast of Route 30. A kiosk provides visitors with background information on the geology, hydrology, ecology, and history of the reserve, and it highlights how the preserve is being used by Green Mountain College for education, research, and recreation.
Map by Green Mountain College
Visitor Guidelines
All visitors to the preserve are asked to follow these guidelines:
Each season, the Lake St. Catherine Association staffs the boat launch with "Greeters". These representatives of the LSCA play a very important part in keeping invasive species of plants and fish out of the lake.
We are currently looking to add to our monitoring staff for the 2017 season.
Our boat launch greeter duties include:
To be a LSCA boat launch greeter, you need to:
At the DEC training class, you will learn about:
Greeters will be paid $15 per hour, including a paid lunch hour. Supervisors have the potential to make more for their increased responsibilities.
If you are interested in becoming a LSCA Boat Launch Greeter, please email us at: info@lakestcatherine.org.
On Town Meeting Day, the Town Of Poultney voted to approve the appropriation of funds for the Lake St. Catherine Association.
"We want to thank the new Poultney Town Manager, Paul A. Donaldson and the Town of Poultney for their contribution of $20,000.00 to the Lake St. Catherine Association towards our work to maintain the health of the lake," said LSCA President, Jim Canders.
Maintaining the lake costs approximately $100,000 annually. Grants, membership dues and contributions make up the majority of our funding. If you'd like to help, please consider becoming a member or making a donation. The LSCA is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and any contribution that you make is tax deductible.
Thanks again to the Town Of Poultney!
On Tuesday, March 7th 2017, the residents of Wells voted to provide $12,000.00 in support of the Lake St. Catherine Association's mission to protect and maintain the lake.
"We want to thank the residents of Wells for providing this money to help support our efforts to maintain the lake," said LSCA President, Jim Canders. "These funds will be used for numerous tasks, including: controlling Eurasian Watermilfoil, boat launch monitoring, suction harvesting and the continued vigilance over the general welfare of this magnificent natural resource."
Thanks again to the good folks of Wells!
Longtime Lake St. Catherine Association Trustees Martin and Ellen Greenberg have decided to retire from the board. The LSCA would like to thank them for their MANY years of service to the lake community!
As a result, we have an opening on the board for our Recording Secretary.
It's something the lake community looks forward to every year - the 4th of July fireworks!
The Lake St. Catherine Association has been informed by lake residents Rick Roberts and Jack Williams that they have scheduled their coordinated fireworks displays for the evening of Saturday, July 1st. Rick and Jack are working with Young’s Explosives from Rochester, NY.
Rick expressed his gratitude to those who donate in support of the show financially - and to the good folks that help him each year with "The Barge".
Rick also talked about why he likes putting on the show each year, "...I hope that the show lets everyone lay down their 'stuff', if only for a time, and to sit back, relax, and realize that sometimes life—and the Lake—are pretty good things."
On behalf of the Lake St. Catherine community, the LSCA would like to thank Rick and Jack for their extremely generous efforts to light up the sky for Independence Day.
Hello Lake St. Catherine community!
The Lake St. Catherine Association's 2017 Membership Drive is underway.
Last week, we sent out mailings to the Lake St. Catherine community containing the 2017 Membership Application.
If you'd like to support the LSCA and become a member, you can fill out the Membership Form linked above, or you can fill in our online membership form and submit your dues online. If you'd like to do so, you can click here to go to our Membership section.
Some of the services the LSCA provides are:
Your membership and the dues and contributions we receive allows us to accomplish our work. Maintaining the lake costs approximately $100,000 annually. While we do receive annual grants from Poultney, Wells, and the State, membership dues and contributions make up the majority of our funding.
After receiving your dues, our Treasurer Elaine will send you a welcome mailing which includes a LSCA member card for your window and a LSCA pen.
We appreciate your support!
If you have any questions, please contact us at at info@lakestcatherine.org.
Hello Lake St. Catherine!
In an effort to communicate better with our members and the Lake St. Catherine community, we are excited to launch a new website for the Lake St. Catherine Association.
We still have some updating to do, so you may see a page or two with "Coming Soon..." or a typo here or there. We'll be working on those... If you see a typo or something that does not look quite right, please let us know.
There are a lot of new features to tell you about. Here is a brief description of what you'll find in each section of the site.
The Association:
In this section, you can read about Our Purpose, Our Bylaws, Our Committees, a list of our Trustees and information about Volunteering.
The Lake:
This section contains information about Lake St. Catherine, including: Lake History, Fishing, Recreation, Water Quality & Safety and Milfoil Control.
Membership:
One of the great new features of the site is the ability to pay your LSCA online. Members that have paid their 2016 dues will soon receive an email with a link to create your password to access the member area. Here, you will be able to view a Member Directory, update your information (ie. lake address, home address, email, phone number, add a photo, etc.) and renew your yearly membership. There is also a Forum for members to post and reply to discussions.
Calendar:
Another new feature, the Calendar will list all LSCA events. These will include the monthly board meetings during the summer, the member dinner and the boat parade. We are also considering adding local community events to keep you informed of fun things happening around the lake.
News:
The News section has 3 sections, Blog, Newsletter and Lost & Found. The Blog will be continually updated to keep you informed about what we are doing and what is going on around the lake.
Sponsors:
Here, we hope to offer our local business members a place for their logo and a link to their website.
Finally, on the homepage, you'll see that you can make a donation to the LSCA. We appreciate your support!
Please have a look around, and let us know what you think.
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