Paul Torrisi

The Skaneateles Lake Association, Inc. through its membership and generous donors has been fighting the invasion of Eurasian Milfoil in Skaneateles Lake since 2007. Nine years and over $2,000,000 later the potential environmental, recreational, and economic negative impact it would have created has been at least controlled. Although the invasive weed will never be completely eradicated from the ecosystem we feel with continued annual work (and money) we will be able to maintain the status achieved to date.

Not so with Hydrilla, if it ever enters and establishes a foothold in Skaneateles Lake! This invasive weed, originally from Korea, outcompetes native submerged aquatic vegetation and can quickly fill a pond or lake, growing in deep water up to 20 feet, thus choking off the near shore for swimming, boating, fishing and other recreational uses! It’s been located in the nearby Cayuga Lake inlet where it’s being treated with chemical herbicides the past few years and hopefully being contained. It is next to impossible to permanently remove otherwise. Because the Tubers or roots grow transversely under the lake bottom soil they are very difficult to hand pull by divers and resistant to current methods of benthic matting, such as the SLA is using for Milfoil control. We certainly can’t resort to chemical treatment in our precious water supply!

Hydrilla Matted Over a Lake Water Surface

Hydrilla has been battled for years in Florida and elsewhere where many millions have been spent to eradicate and control, relatively unsuccessfully! It can grow very rapidly, up to a foot a day, and form dense mats under water and on the surface, potentially turning the pristine near shore area of a lake like ours into a smelly swamp with growth and decay of the vegetative matter!

SLA has ramped up its Stewardship Program in three short years, currently employing 8 staff to monitor various launch sites around the lake. Using inspection and educating techniques these dedicated young people are promoting prevention and control. Boaters are learning to CLEAN, DRAIN, and DRY their boats and gear and anything that comes in contact with water!

We need to continue to escalate our Stewardship efforts and to keep Hydrilla and other invasives OUT of Skaneateles Lake. This takes money and lots of it!!

Increasing our annual renewed membership to SLA from about 600 the past two years to over 1,000 would be a terrific step in the right direction so we can continue to increase our support of these vital programs to help keep the lake “clear and pure!”

Go to SkaneatelesLake.org to renew or start your membership and support, immediately!

The SLA thanks the following individuals for their additional donations in support of the Milfoil Boat and the Lake Stewards (names with an asterisk are those whose annual memberships and additional donations or a matching donation were received in the last few months of 2014):

Milfoil Boat Sponsors: July 17 Deborah & Joseph Paduda, Mark Allyn, Goffe Cottage, Mary Jane & Gary Lowery; July 20 John MacAllister & Lauren Moranz; July 21 Heather & David Wheat, Jane & Mason Howard, Demetra Vounas, Carolyn kaye & Donald Babcock; July 22 Christine Larsen & Vincent Dopolis; July 23 Deborah & Richard Hole, Ann Kilian, Jaime Tuozzolo , Joyce & Robin Jowaisas; July 27 Lori & James Ranalli, Patti & Marvin Langley, Lynne Boles & John Priest, Jennifer Sutherland; July 28 Candace & John Marcellus; July 29 Sara & Robert Neumann; July 30 Julie Scuderi, Deborah & James Tifft; July 31 Kathy & Paul Leone.

Steward Sponsors: July 16 Judy and Doug Robertson*; July 17 Mary Anne & John Winfield; July 18 Grace & Dan Labeille; July 19 Anonymous 3; July 20 Jill & Todd Marshall; July 21 – July 29 Jeannie & Henry Slauson.

Source: Skaneateles Press 7/29/15

On Sunday, July 12^th the Skaneateles Lake Association held its 2015 Annual Meeting on the lakefront of the home of Ted and Nancy Norman. Over 130 people were in attendance to visit with old friends while enjoying the beautiful lake view and meeting new folks from the lake community.

SLA President, Paul Torrisi, welcomed everyone to the meeting and shared a bit of history on the growth of the group from a small group of concerned citizens more than 10 years ago to the SLA of today. He emphasized the need for increasing our membership so that funding of our efforts is supported by more and more people via annual membership dues.

Fran Fish introduced our Onondaga County Legislator, Michael Plochocki. She shared with the assembled group that an article in the Neighbors West section of the newspaper indicated that the county legislature had funds available to support efforts that promoted tourism. Believing that there was nothing like the clear, pure water of Skaneateles Lake to promote tourists, the SLA submitted an application for the funds. It turned out the original source of funding that the SLA thought to exist, in fact, did not exist. However, Mr. Plochocki and the County Legislature Chairman, J. Ryan McMahon, III determined there was another source for the funding. Mr. Plochocki, who noted he had spent much of his youth at his family’ camp “just down the road”, presented the SLA Treasure, Robert Werner, with a check for $7,500 for the motor purchase.

Those attending heard reports on all of the efforts of the SLA aimed at keeping the water of Skaneateles Lake clear and pure. Dr. Robert Werner discussed several lake issues of concern recently, particularly the algae that people have been noticing in the near shore area in recent years. He noted that this was not unusual for other lakes and that the algae involved are not usually considered a problem. It is not the toxic blue-green algae that we have been hearing about in neighboring lakes. It may, however, reflect increased nutrient loading to the lake and if so should be watched.

Dr. William Dean summarized the activities of a “foam work group” organized by SLA to look into the causes and impact of foam on the lake. Bill pointed out that some foam was natural, but that we have been having what one would call excessive levels of foam in recent years. The fundamental reason for this is an increased presence of surfactants (organic compounds that facilitate the development of foam). The question yet to be resolved is what surfactants are we dealing with here and what is their source? Preliminary results suggest that the surfactants are not synthetic, man-made material, but instead naturally produced organic compounds.

John Menapace updated those attending on the status of this summer’s milfoil removal and control efforts noting that 5 acres of matting had been put down over large areas of milfoil growth and that hand harvesting of milfoil would not be started by the diving team.

Buzz Roberts introduced our Lake Stewards and explained their role in the prevention of introduction of other invasive species into the lake.

Fran Fish reported on the SLA membership noting that our total number of members at this point is a little behind where we were at this time last year. She asked those in attendance to go to our website, review the current member list and note anyone not on the list who should be. She noted that if each person in attendance was able to get one more person to join, the SLA membership would be well ahead of where it was at this time last year.

The SLA Board of Directors is appreciative to the following community members who made this meeting possible: the Norman’s for the use of their waterfront; Ann Kilian and the Greenfields for providing parking areas; the Mandana Inn and the Village Bottle Shop for generous consideration in pricing and Heather and Tim Carroll for the use of the Mandana Barn in the event of rain.

You can join the SLA easily at SkaneatelesLake.org. You can enhance your annual membership fee by paying it by check thus saving us the fee we would have to pay to PayPal for a credit card or PayPal account payment. If you do not have access to the internet call 315-685-9106 and I will send you a 2015 Registration Form and a return envelope.

Source:  Skaneateles Press

Annual Meeting on the waterfront of the home of Ted and Nancy Norman on Sunday, One hundred thirty members of the Skaneateles Lake Association gathered for its 2015 July 15^th. After far too much rain on too many days, the event was held with not even a threat of rain.

Those attending had the opportunity to enjoy the view of the lake, meet old and new lovers of the lake, partake of refreshments and hear updates on the work of the SLA. SLA President, Paul Torrisi, welcomed all of the members noting that over 10 years ago a small group of citizens who were concerned about the lake water started a swell of concerned citizens that has resulted in the SLA of today.

Fran Fish introduced our Onondaga County Legislator, Michael Plochocki. She shared with the assembled group that an article in the Neighbors West section of the newspaper indicated that the county legislature had funds available to support efforts that promoted tourism. Believing that there was nothing like the clear, pure water of Skaneateles Lake to promote tourists, the SLA submitted an application for the funds. It turned out the original source of funding that the SLA thought to exist, in fact, did not exist. However, Mr. Plochocki and the County Legislature Chairman, J. Ryan McMahon, III determined there was another source for the funding. Mr. Plochocki, who noted he had spent much of his youth at his family’ camp “just down the road”, presented the SLA Treasure, Robert Werner, with a check for $7,500 for the motor purchase.

Dr. Robert Werner discussed several lake issues of concern recently, particularly the algae that people have been noticing in the near shore area in recent years. He noted that this was not unusual for other lakes and that the algae involved are not usually considered a problem. It is not the toxic blue-green algae that we have been hearing about in neighboring lakes. It may, however, reflect increased nutrient loading to the lake and if so should be watched. Dr. William Dean summarized the activities of a “foam work group” organized by SLA to look into the causes and impact of foam on the lake. Bill pointed out that some foam was natural, but that we have been having what one would call excessive levels of foam in recent years. The fundamental reason for this is an increased presence of surfactants (organic compounds that facilitate the development of foam). The question yet to be resolved is what surfactants are we dealing with here and what is their source? Preliminary results suggest that the surfactants are not synthetic, man-made material, but instead naturally produced organic compounds.   Following Bill & Bob’s report, John Menapace, Milfoil Project Coordinator, shared with those attending that the Milfoil Team had put down 5 acres of matting over large milfoil patches identified by Bob Werner in the lake survey done last fall. John noted that the team would now start hand harvesting around the matting and in other areas that cannot be matted. SLA Board Vice President, Buzz Roberts, introduced the members of the Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards Team and shared the launches covered by the team and their schedules. Fran Fish gave a report on the current SLA membership and asked all present to please check the current member listing on the website and reach out to someone who was not listed, but who should be a member. Following these reports there were questions from those in attendance about lake issues including the apparent increase in foam and its potential causes, lake level, and erosion.

The SLA Board of Directors is appreciative to the following community members who made this meeting possible: the Norman’s for the use of their waterfront; Ann Kilian and the Greenfields for providing parking areas; the Mandana Inn and the Village Bottle Shop for generous consideration in pricing and Heather and Tim Carroll for the use of the Mandana Barn in the event of rain.

Source:  Skaneateles Journal

This past week I started to prepare another mailing requesting people to join the SLA. I spent some time extracting from our database a list of people who are lakefront owners or owners with lake rights from the Towns of Skaneateles and Spafford who had either never joined the SLA and those who have not been a member of the SLA for several years.  It was discouraging.  The list came out to be over 600 property owners.  Just as I finished determining that number, my telephone rang and I had a call that gave me the words I needed for my letter to those 600 people.

The young woman who called stated that she had recently moved to Skaneateles and had tried to join online but was having some difficulty.  She wanted me to register her over the phone.  After we worked through the process I had to ask…”why is someone who lives in the village and not on the waterfront or on a property with lake rights calling to join the SLA?”  Her response was absolutely emphatic….”I moved here recently from Connecticut near Candlewood Lake.  You have no idea how awful that lake water is.  This community is so lucky to have Skaneateles Lake.  I swim in it every day and it is such a pleasure.  We all have to do everything we can to keep it that way for the future.  Everyone who lives here has to be a part of the future of this lake.”

Our website includes a list of those who are current members which means they joined and paid annual membership dues within the past year.  Please go to that list and if you name is not on it, it means that your annual membership is due to be renewed or you need to join for the first time.  If you have any questions about your membership you can contact us via our website, SkaneatelesLake.org, just click on the “contact us” tab or you can call me at 315-685-9106.  It is always possibly that your membership payment and our membership list update do not coincide so please call if you think you have updated your membership and your name is not on the current membership list.

You can join the SLA easily at SkaneatelesLake.org. You can enhance your annual membership fee by paying it by check thus saving us the fee we would have to pay to PayPal for a credit card or PayPal account payment.  If you do not have access to the internet call 315-685-9106 and I will send you a 2015 Registration Form and a return envelope.

The SLA thanks the following individuals and organizations for their additional donations in support of the Milfoil Boat and the Lake Stewards (names with an asterisk are those whose annual memberships and additional donations or a matching donation were received in the last few months of 2014):

Milfoil Boat Sponsors:  June 29 & 30 The Kaufman Foundation*; July 1 Bill Rosenthal & Jerry Gebo*, July 2 Bill Rosenthal & Jerry Gebo, July 6 Elizabeth and John McKinnell*; July 7 Beth & Bob Filiczkowski*, Karen & Chris Kreidler*, Chris & Wayne Mandel*; Dawn & John Altmeyer*; July 8 Victoria & Richard Meyer*; July 9  Linda & Dan Roche*, Mary Marshall; July 10 Kelly & Gregory Weaver*; July 13 Karen & Paul Black*; July 14 Peg Bisgrove*, Debra Hurley & Ira Goldman*; July 15 Margaret & Angelo Scopelianos*; July 16 Members of the Winding Way Association*. July 16 Robin & Joseph Steencken*.

Steward Sponsors: June 16 Elan & Anne Salzhauer*; June 17 John Szczech*; June 18 Elizabth Killian*; June 19 nancy Peck*; June 20 Patricia & William McAvoy*; June 21 Judy & John Varney; June 22 Contributions to the Hardy Fund; June 23 Lorraine /Rapp & Jeffrey Kirshner; June 24 Helen & Keith Simonelli; June 25 & 26 Contributions to the Hardy Fund; June 27 Robert Sheer*; June 28 – 30 Contributions to the Hardy Fund; July 1 – July 15 Jeannie & Henry Slauson*

Source:  Skaneateles Journal

Our 2015 Annual Meeting is Scheduled

The Skaneateles Lake Association 2015 Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, July 12^th from 5 – 7 pm at Brooklawn on Fire Lane 43 in Mandana.  We look forward to seeing all of our members at the meeting.  Membership registrations for 2015 will be accepted at the door.  Please hold the date and go to our website, SkaneatelesLake.org, (Events) for complete information on the event and information on how to RSVP.

Skaneateles Lake Association Receives Grant from Onondaga County Legislature

In April of this year, the SLA made a request to the Onondaga County Legislature for funding to purchase a replacement motor for the pontoon boat that carries the benthic matting out to the lake for placement and picks it up after about 6 weeks.  The matting is heavy when dry as it has metal rods sewn into every 6 feet or so to keep it in position on the lake bottom.  It is even heavier when wet when it is picked up late in the summer.  The motor we had on the boat was not really powerful enough to move the load efficiently and it was frequently breaking down.  Our request to our local legislator, Michael Plochocki, with a copy to the Chairperson of the County Legislature, J. Ryan McMahon III, was posted on our website and sent out to our members by email with a request for calls, emails or letters in support of our request.

The SLA Board is pleased to be able to report that our members came through with many supporting communications to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon.  This week we received calls from them to advise us that the grant we requested had been approved.  The SLA Board extends our thanks to our members for their communications supporting our request and to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon for the approval.  In many of our requests for membership we have spoken to the fact that the volume of our voice (number of members) is important when we deal with government entities for support of our efforts. This funding approval is a reflection of just how important the voice of membership is.

You can join the Skaneateles Lake Association and become a part of the volume of our voice by going to SkaneatelesLake.org to complete your registration and pay your annual dues.  If you do not have access to the Internet and would like a registration form mailed to you please call 315-685-9106 and leave a message with your name and mailing address.

The SLA thanks the following individuals and organizations for their additional donations in support of the Milfoil Boat and the Lake Stewards:

Milfoil Boat Sponsors:  6/19/15 Marjorie & Kenneth Blanchard; 6/22/15 Lynne & David Curtin, Gwen & William Birchenough, Louise & Robert Ganley, Anna Marie & Carl Gerst; 6/23/15 Barbara & Jed Delmonico, Cookie & Jack Helmer; 6/24/15 Ann Hinchcliff, Deborah & Gary Hind, Hobbitt Hollow Farm, Donna & Raymond Kurlak; 6/25/15 Lynn Lenihan; 6/26/15 Libby & Arnold Rubenstein

Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards: 6/12/15 Allison & Andrew Hider; 6/13/15 Lake Farms LLC; 6/14/15 Mary 7 Patrick Dooley; 6/15/15 Jill & Todd Marshall

Source:  Skaneateles Journal

The best part of my role in the Skaneateles Lake Association as the Membership Chairperson is that I have the opportunity to have conversations with many people from our lake community about the lake, their love of the lake and their hope for it to remain the beautiful lake and lake community that it is.   When we get a membership from someone who has not previously joined the SLA it is always interesting to find out why.

Last year we received a membership from a couple who were not lakefront property owners and did not have property with lake rights.  They were not people on my huge list of potential members who had received a letter asking them to join and it appeared that they were not friends of any of our board members who might have encouraged them to join.  I sent them an email and thank them for joining and asked them how it was they came to join.  Their answer was:

“Your flyer was in our welcome to Skaneateles package we received from the Chamber of Commerce.  I honestly have been in love with this town since visiting it in college. Am proud to say it has been my work home for most of the last 8 years, and am now ecstatic to call Skaneateles my home home too. And to be living in such a lovely town, it only made sense to support the effort in trying to keep our lake looking its best!” (Note: a letter to new residents from the SLA, a current SLA Newsletter and an SLA Membership Registration Form is included in the new resident packets sent out by the Chamber of Commerce).

Recently I spoke with another person who joined for the first time this year.  He is, as I have termed it, “a child of the lake”.  He grew up spending a lot of his youth in and on the lake.  He now works in Washington, D C, but still gets back to the lake every time that he can.   Getting out of Washington, D C for a week end is an exercise in patience with a lot of time spent just sitting in traffic.  But he noted that he spends that sitting time visualizing the lake and the beautiful water of Skaneateles Lake.  He joined because he wants to be a part of keeping it that way.  His job involves developing political strategies and his quote to me about why he is a member is a quote to remember….”the strength of the wolf pack is in the leader and the strength of the leader is in the pack.”  Bob knows the SLA Board needs a committed pack for its strength and he became of member of the pack.

You can join the Skaneateles Lake Association by going to SkaneatelesLake.org to complete your registration and pay your annual dues.  If you do not have access to the Internet and would like a registration form mailed to you please call 315-685-9106 and leave a message with your name and mailing address.

Other important news…..Our 2015 Annual Meeting is Scheduled

The Skaneateles Lake Association 2015 Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, July 12^th from 5 – 7 pm at Brooklawn on Fire Lane 43 in Mandana.  We look forward to seeing all of our members at the meeting.  Membership registrations for 2015 will be accepted at the door.  Please hold the date and go to our website, SkaneatelesLake.org, (Events) for complete information on the event and information on how to RSVP.

Skaneateles Lake Association Receives Grant from Onondaga County Legislature

In April of this year, the SLA made a request to the Onondaga County Legislature for funding to purchase a replacement motor for the pontoon boat that carries the benthic matting out to the lake for placement and picks it up after about 6 weeks.  The matting is heavy when dry as it has metal rods sewn into every 6 feet or so to keep it in position on the lake bottom.  It is even heavier when wet when it is picked up late in the summer.  The motor we had on the boat was not really powerful enough to move the load efficiently and it was frequently breaking down.  Our request to our local legislator, Michael Plochocki, with a copy to the Chairperson of the County Legislature, J. Ryan McMahon III, was posted on our website and sent out to our members by email with a request for calls, emails or letters in support of our request.

The SLA Board is pleased to be able to report that our members came through with many supporting communications to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon.  This week we received calls from them to advise us that the grant we requested had been approved.  The SLA Board extends our thanks to our members for their communications supporting our request and to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon for the approval.  In many of our requests for membership we have spoken to the fact that the volume of our voice (number of members) is important when we deal with government entities for support of our efforts. This funding approval is a reflection of just how important the voice of membership is.

The SLA thanks the following individuals and organizations for their additional donations in support of the Milfoil Boat and the Lake Stewards:

Milfoil Boat Sponsors:  6/19/15 Marjorie & Kenneth Blanchard; 6/22/15 Lynne & David Curtin, Gwen & William Birchenough, Louise & Robert Ganley, Anna Marie & Carl Gerst; 6/23/15 Barbara & Jed Delmonico, Cookie & Jack Helmer; 6/24/15 Ann Hinchcliff, Deborah & Gary Hind, Hobbitt Hollow Farm, Donna & Raymond Kurlak; 6/25/15 Lynn Lenihan; 6/26/15 Libby & Arnold Rubenstein

Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards: 6/12/15 Allison & Andrew Hider; 6/13/15 Lake Farms LLC; 6/14/15 Mary 7 Patrick Dooley; 6/15/15 Jill & Todd Marshall

Source:  Skaneateles Press