The Skaneateles Lake Association (SLA) is a voluntary, non profit 501c(3) corporation.   It has a specific mission to do all that it can to keep the waters of Skaneateles Lake clear and pure. The SLA is not a business. It does not sell its services. But, the SLA buys supplies and equipment, contracts for work, hires staff, pays appropriate employment taxes, keeps careful financial records, undergoes a financial audit and files a tax return. Much of this work of these essential activities is done by volunteer board members

For a number of folks Life at the Lake is over after Labor Day, but for the Milfoil Boat Crew, the Lake Stewards and the Board of the Skaneateles Lake Association the LABOR is not over. The work of the SLA is continues.

The Milfoil Boat Crew is very busy rolling up the mats that were laid down early in the summer and returning with a different boat set up to pick up those mats and get them onto a truck and put away for next year.

Recently we received the following question on the SLA Website:   Is it “ok” for people to bathe with soap and shampoo their hair in the lake? The person who asked had understood that it was against the law to do so, but was concerned that there were people who had done so. I spoke with Rich Abbott at the Syracuse Water Department and he related that the “code” basis for not bathing or shampooing in the lake is based in the Onondaga County Sanitary Code. He related that anyone observing such behavior should report it to the Syracuse Water Department and they will go to the site/area where it is happening and educate residents about the code. Unfortunately, all soaps, even biodegradable soaps, can contaminate fresh water sources because soap requires soil for it to breakdown properly.

The Skaneateles Lake Association is pleased to have the cooperation of the Towns of Skaneateles, Spafford and Scott and the owners of the Glen Haven Launch and Seveys Marina in agreeing to a standard sign to be posted at their launch sites reminding those launching to ensure their boats and trailers are free of plant and animal material and mud and that they do not empty bait well, bilge water or fish from any other any other body of water into Skaneateles Lake. It is a simple message that supports the message that our Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards have with boaters. A generous donation from the Columbian Foundation is paying for these signs. This kind of cooperation and support is exactly what the SLA needs to continue and advance its efforts to keep the waters of Skaneateles Lake clear and pure. The Board of the SLA plans to be reaching out to other launch access sites for their cooperation in posting the same sign.

Despite a weather report threatening rain, thunder and lightning, the Skaneateles Lake Association Annual Meeting and Open House began just as the World Cup ended and the weather broke. The meeting/open house was a success and the weather improved.

One hundred-twenty members of the Skaneateles Lake Association gathered at the home of Anne and Charles McElroy to enjoy the incredible view from their home, share lake stories, and obtain updates on the status of Milfoil in the lake from Dr. Bob Werner, the progress of the Milfoil Boat Crew from John Menapace and on the Lake Steward Program from Dr. Buzz Roberts.

The Milfoil Team has been on the bottom of the lake rolling up the benthic matting.  After all the mats are rolled the team brings out a pontoon boat with an electric winch to pick them up.