For the preservation, protection, and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine
It's almost here, Memorial Day Weekend, and the 'unofficial start of summer'. We hope that you'll have a fun and safe season at the Lake, and that you'll be kind and respectful of each other and our beautiful lake as you create new memories and enjoy your time here this season.
We also hope that you will take a moment on Monday to remember and honor those who have died while serving our country for Memorial Day.
The LSCA's Spring 2024 newsletter is attached with lots of information about our plans for the season, and details on many of the events that will be taking place at or around the lake.
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 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 Friday after 9AM). 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 Spring 2024 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.
Today, the LSCA was happy to host Olin Reed from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Lakes and Ponds today at the Wells Town Hall for his in-person training session on the Greeter Program.
Folks from lakes all around the State attended the training session to be Greeters on their local lake, including Greeters that will work at Lake St. Catherine this summer.
Today's training included:
> Aquatic invasive species biology, threats to Vermont, the importance of spread prevention
> Access area rules and regulations, invasive species laws
> Invasive species messaging, tips on interacting with the public
> Inspection and data collection training
About the Greeter Program on LSC:
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, asian clams, water chestnut, starry stonewort and zebra mussels (and many others) - to stop them from entering LSC at the boat launch in Wells and the State Park in Poultney. 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.
The Greeter Program on LSC is partially funded by the Aquatic Nuisance Control (ANC) Grant-in-Aid Program, and by membership dues and contributions to the LSCA.
Read more here: https://lakestcatherine.org/boat-launch-monitoring...
If you are interested in being a paid Greeter as part of this program, please reach out to us at info@lakestcatherine.org.
Also, a thank you to the Town of Wells for the use of the Town Hall Meeting Room!
We recently told you about the loon nesting platform that was built and placed in the Channel last month in the hopes that our territorial loon pair would return and nest this year.
Well... our loons in the Channel have built a nest just off the shoreline - foregoing the deluxe accommodations we provided for them... (but we don't mind).
Channel residents Dawn & Joel observed their building activities over the past few days, and they informed Eric Hanson from Vermont Center for Ecostudies.
Wednesday evening, Dawn & Joel assisted us in placing the Loon Nesting Area signs to create a small buffer zone around the nest. These signs were left at the lake last year (with Dawn & Joel) when the nesting activity was first observed. The loons did not end up building a nest last year, so they were not placed at that time.
Now that they have a nest, we need to give them space to do their thing:
Let's keep our fingers crossed that this pair will be successful!
Thanks again to Dawn & Joel for their help!
> Photos by Dawn Smith-Pliner
Hello LSC.
The LSCA is currently seeking dedicated and reliable folks to work as Greeters on Lake St. Catherine as part of the Vermont Public Access Greeter Program.
About the LSCA's Greeter Program:
Greeters earn $20 per hour.
Additional details about the Greeter position:
Boat Access Greeter Duties
Annual Greeter Program Training
All Vermont Public Access Greeters and Coordinators are required to attend annual Greeter Program Trainings. The trainings include up-to-date information about the program and professional development techniques. Some of the topics include:
> In-person training will take place on Saturday, May 18th at the Wells Town Hall beginning at 10 AM.
For more info on the Greeter Program: https://dec.vermont.gov/watershed/lakes-ponds/aquatic-invasives/spread-prevention/vermont-public-access-greeter-program
Please join us in thanking all the volunteers who have been out cleaning up litter along the roadways for Green Up Vermont Day! What a difference!
We estimate that we had around 35-40 volunteers working to clean up all the roads around the lake this year.
We'd also like to thank the towns of Wells & Poultney & the town crews for picking up the bags, and the Wells Country Store for the coffee & muffins this morning at the Volunteer Meetup.
Thank you all for your efforts!
You can see more photos on this Facebook post.
Hello LSC, we'd like to let you know about the LSCA's 2024 plans for our Milfoil Control Program.
On April 26th, LSCA Trustees, our Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) team, our contractor, and Arrowwood Environmental performed a spring survey of the lake for milfoil growth.
Our findings were similar to those seen in the fall 2023 Aquatic Plant Survey, which you can view here. Using the information gathered from both surveys, we have created a map to show where spot treatments will take place, and where our DASH team will be working this season:
Spot treatments of ProcellaCOR EC will take place on Tuesday, June 4th. Please see the attached notice below for further information:
Our DASH team will begin swimming through low density milfoil areas to hand-pull in June when the water temp allows, and will begin full DASH operations on July 1st.
The LSCA’s Milfoil Control Program consists of five components:
1. ‘Stop The Spread’ education and outreach. Our ‘Stop The Spread’ campaign educates boaters and property owners on best practices to limit the spread of milfoil. Each year, the LSCA holds a lake community meeting to discuss the control plan for the season, answer questions, and hand out a flyer with best practices for lake users to limit the spread of milfoil.
2. Volunteer milfoil cleanup. Throughout the season, we organize volunteers to collect detached floating milfoil from the lake and deposit it on our designated drop off platforms. The milfoil is then picked up from the platforms and disposed of. We also encourage boaters and property owners to remove any milfoil they see in the lake while boating or on their shoreline.
3. DASH - Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting. 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.
4. Herbicide spot treatments with ProcellaCOR EC. In order to maximize our DASH crew’s time, effectiveness, and number of acres covered, one of our control methods includes spot treatments with the herbicide ProcellaCOR EC.
5. Water quality improvement programs. Although not directly related to Milfoil Control, the LSCA's work on Lake Wise on LSC, the LSC Stormwater Master Plan, and the LSC Watershed Action Plan all help to limit phosphorus and other nutrients from entering the lake which can contribute to excessive plant growth, and improves overall water quality.
These efforts have resulted in the lowest percentage of milfoil cover and frequency of occurrence in the lake since the mid-2000s. Also, and just as importantly, we have seen many species of our native aquatic plants that have been suppressed by milfoil growth like Water stargrass, Tape grass, Thin-leaf pondweed, Illinois pondweed, Common waterweed, and Robbins’ pondweed have all increased in frequency of occurrence. These results are exactly what we want to see!
Lake St. Catherine has over 30 native aquatic plants which are important and necessary to sustain a healthy lake ecology. Our efforts are focused on reducing the amount of milfoil in the lake so that these native aquatic plants can grow as they normally would. Keeping milfoil under control is helping to return the aquatic plant environment to conditions before milfoil was introduced in the 1970s. Because of our milfoil control efforts, we again have a complex and diverse native aquatic plant community.
What can you do to help?
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!
Keep in mind that native aquatic plants are important and necessary to sustain a healthy lake ecology. Please focus on removing milfoil plants only. It's up to all of us to stop the spread of milfoil.
We’re also working to schedule our yearly Milfoil Control Meeting - which we’ll announce soon. All are welcome to attend to learn about our milfoil control plans for the season, and ask questions. Also, as we have done the past several years, a drop-off float is located in the Channel where you can deposit detached milfoil and other plants - and we’ll remove them from the lake.
As you may be aware, there has been a lot of recent misinformation about milfoil, ProcellaCOR, the permitting process, and Lake St. Catherine in general. We encourage everyone to visit our newly updated Milfoil Control Program page to read more about this important topic.
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.
Thank you.
The Wells Village Library and the Lake St. Catherine Association (LSCA) are excited to host the Rutland County Audubon Society (RCAS) at the Wells Lakeside Park on Little Lake, 1268 North Street in Wells, on Saturday, May 25th at 11 AM.
Kathleen Guinness, Co-Vice President & Secretary of RCAS will talk about many of the birds you'll see at Lake St. Catherine.
We’ll also discuss the new loon nesting platform recently installed on the lake, and all attendees will have a chance to win a framed loon photo taken and donated by Lake St. Catherine photographer extraordinaire Karen Velsor. Also, the first 20 families to arrive will receive an event themed kit of on-topic surprises.
Libraries Love Lakes is an outreach project which pairs school and public libraries with lake scientists to provide collaborative programming emphasizing the importance of lakes in our everyday lives. This will be the second event of four that are planned for the Libraries Love Lakes Program for 2024. We’re planning two more seasonally themed events for summer and fall.
This and future Libraries Love Lakes events are made possible by a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) and NEIWPCC.
Bobolink Photo: Doug Gimler / Vermont Audubon
The LSCA would like to acknowledge Rick Dupont and his neighbors for their extensive work in clearing debris at the mouth of the Lily Pond.
Additionally, we'd also like to acknowledge the good work of Ferncliff residents who pulled debris out of the entrance to the Lily Pond channel.
Back in 2017, the LSCA conducted a hydroraking project to remove sediment and debris from the middle of the Lily Pond channel to make it more navigable and to increase water flow.
That project was successful, but great efforts like those of Rick and the residents in that area are needed, possibly multiple times a year, to maintain ongoing connectivity of Lily Pond to North Bay.
These efforts are excellent example of lake neighbors organizing and working together to address an issue - thank you all for your continued efforts!
Saturday, May 4th is Green Up Vermont Day!
Green Up Vermont is a state-wide volunteer cleanup day of Vermont's roads and waterways.
As Green Up Vermont's website says:
"We know it isn’t your litter but Vermont needs our help to be beautiful!"
We had a FANTASTIC turnout last year, with volunteers signing up to cover just about every road around the lake, and additional roads in Wells & Poultney - and we're looking to do it again this year. You can check out a quick recap, and see lots of photos from our volunteers of our 2023 Green UP Vermont Day here.
Would you like to volunteer for Green Up Vermont Day?
We are working to organize volunteers in Wells & Poultney, and around the lake, to pitch in for Green Up Day and help to clean up our roadways - and we're off to a great start!
If so, email us at info@lakestcatherine.org, or contact us on Facebook, and let us know the roads (or sections of roads) you'd like to work on, and we'll add you to our volunteer map: Green Up 2024 Map.
You can also visit the Wells or Poultney Town Halls to pick up bags, and let them know where you'll work.
Roads highlighted in blue on the map indicate that the road (or section of road) is being covered by a volunteer. We'll do our best to coordinate the efforts so we all know what areas are covered, and which areas need volunteers.
Also, as we did last year, in coordination with the Town of Wells, we will be hosting a brief kickoff to the day at the Wells Lakeside Park on Little Lake at 8 AM that morning. Please stop in to pick up Green Up bags, fuel up on coffee and muffins from the Wells Country Store to get energized for the day, and meet your fellow volunteers! Please let us know if you'll be joining us so we can get a count.
So, let us know if you'd like to participate and where you'll do your clean up, and we'll add your area to the map. We'll keep the map up-to-date here, and on our website Calendar, on the May 4th Green Up Vermont Day event. You can view that here: 2024 Green Up Vermont Day Event.
Let's all pitch in to get Lake St. Catherine, and Wells & Poultney ready for a great Summer!
It was a great day on the water with Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) loon biologist Eric Hanson!
Last spring, Channel resident Dawn Smith-Pliner observed and recorded loons appearing to perform nesting activities. Eric confirmed this was the case, and came down to Lake St. Catherine with 'Loon Nesting Area' signs. But, after visiting the site, he could tell that they would not be successful in building a nest - so we did not place the signs at that time.
However, because of this activity, Eric believes that these loons are now a 'Territorial Pair', and will return this spring, to the same spot, to attempt to nest again.
Today, Eric came down to Lake St. Catherine to build and place a nesting platform for these loons in the area they attempted to nest last year.
After meeting Eric at the boat launch, we loaded up his canoe with all the supplies, and paddled over to Dawn & Joel's dock which we used as a staging area. THANK YOU to Dawn and Joel!
As we were getting ready, we met Linda Paquette, and she took this photo of us right before we headed out:
Thanks for the photo Linda!
After arriving at the dock, we unloaded and started building the platform:
Next, a mesh flooring is placed and secured on top of the timbers:
Then, the platform is placed into the water, and floats are added in the cavity to create additional buoyancy for the organic matter used to create the nesting area:
Here is the completed platform:
The shrubs are placed on the side that will face the open water to provide some cover for the loons, and a nesting bowl was set up in the middle of the platform. You'll notice that some open areas were left in the 2 front corners which allows some space for the loons to hop up onto the platform.
Finally, we loaded the attached cinder blocks into the canoe and paddled over to the place where the loons attempted to nest last year, and got it in place:
Eric said that loons should be arriving soon to Lake St. Catherine, and we're hopeful that they will find the nest.
Eric explained that just because we have provided a great place for the loons to nest does not mean that they will use it, and it may take a few years - but we can still be hopeful!
If we do observe loon activity, we'll then place loon nesting signs to give them the space they need to be successful. Please do what you can to avoid going close to, or lingering near the platform. Let's all do everything we can to give them the best shot possible.
Here's our goal:
Photo: From VCE website, by Jeff Nadler
After arriving back to at boat launch, we checked the collection tube that we installed last year as part of the VCE program to ask anglers to check their tackle boxes for old lead tackle and fishing line - which are deadly to loons. You can read more about that program here. As you can see, there was a good amount of lead and line that was added to the tube, which Eric took to be properly destroyed:
We'd like to once again thank Eric for his fantastic work, and Dawn & Joel for the use of their property to make this happen.
One final note: Eric's work is funded by grants and donations. If you'd like to support Eric and his work for loons with VCE, please consider making a donation to them, which you can do here. There's a spot on the form where you can type in that your donation is in support of Eric's work at Lake St. Catherine.
We'll keep you up-to-date throughout the season - keep those fingers crossed!
Search lakestcatherine.org:
Follow us on:
