As we begin our 5th year under the name of the Skaneateles Lake Association, we continue with our specific efforts to our goal of protecting the water quality of Skaneateles Lake. Over these 5 years, our board has expanded our actions and upgraded our technologies in order to achieve this goal. We have acquired a system that enables us to more accurately “map” the areas of the lake that need attention in regard to milfoil removal and control. We have initiated the use of expansive matting as an efficient milfoil control mechanism, We have introduced and expanded the use of Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards at busy launch sites to both educate the public who bring watercraft to the lake and actively assist in ensuring that watercraft are clean, drained and dried before entering the lake.
The work we are able to do is organized and supported by the efforts of our volunteer Board of Directors and carried out this year by two great teams. Our long term milfoil team is made up of Keith Marsden, Jason Hole and Liam Wilson who have each been doing this work for 6 years under the direction of John Menapace. The Invasive Steward Monitoring Stewards this summer include returning Stewards Tom Halstead who just graduated from Allegheny College; Will Thomas, a student at Cayuga Community College; Ginny Hamlin, a student at the University of Vermont; Mia Mason, a senior at Skaneateles High who will go to RIT in the fall; Robert Frank who just graduated from Paul Smith. Our new stewards are Kim Case, a student at ESF; Sophie Hearn, a student at Cornell; and Elyse Dubois who will be a senior at Skaneateles High School.
Every bit of the work we do is only possible because of our members. The additional generous donations of many of our members, in effect, cover for many lakefront and lakerights owners who do not join annually or who have never joined. Our efforts can only continue with the support of all lakefront and lakerights owners, all businesses that thrive because of our beautiful lake and all those who use the lake for recreation or just love the lake. Our 548 current annual members (as of June 5, 2015), including 244 who joined in 2015 and 304 who joined between June and December 2014, are listed on our website at SkaneatelesLake.org (membership/support tab -> current members) You can also find this article and the list of current members at skaneatelespress.com.