![Boat inspections to be enforced at Salisbury lakes amid hydrilla threat](https://lakevillejournal.com/media-library/although-the-lakeville-lake-boat-launch-remains-closed-to-boaters-lake-officials-are-exploring-the-possibility-of-allowing-acce.jpg?id=51522985&width=1200&height=900)
Although the Lakeville Lake boat launch remains closed to boaters, lake officials are exploring the possibility of allowing access to car-top watercraft such as canoes, kayaks and paddleboards.
Debra A. Aleksinas
Although the Lakeville Lake boat launch remains closed to boaters, lake officials are exploring the possibility of allowing access to car-top watercraft such as canoes, kayaks and paddleboards.
SALISBURY — The discovery of invasive hydrilla in East Twin Lake last summer has prompted the Twin Lakes Association (TLA) to make sweeping changes in how it plans to safeguard water quality and prevent further infestation in 2024 and beyond.
Plans include blocking off passage under the Isola Bella Bridge on East Twin and reverting the state boat launch to its initial mandate of providing access only to nonmotorized car-top watercraft.
TLA President Grant Bogle said the goal is to have all trailered boats and jet skis access the lake via the privately owned O’Hara’s Landing Marina, where negotiations are underway to establish a monitoring and education station.
“We are not trying to limit access. What we are trying to do is establish a method of inspecting boats that come in and off the lake,” said Bogle.
“The reason is, we are virtually sure hydrilla came in from a boat that had been on the Connecticut River and brought fragments into East Twin Lake. What we don’t want is boats bringing any more in or cutting hydrilla that’s there and taking it out of the lake.”
Meanwhile, at Lakeville Lake, also known as Lake Wononscopomuc, although water testing last fall for the highly disruptive hydrilla, also known as water thyme, turned up negative, the lake association closed its launch as a precaution.
“The launch will remain closed. We are waiting for the state [Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)] to come up with a plan,” said Bill Littauer, president of the Lake Wononscopomuc Association.
“It is possible we may allow car-top watercraft such as paddleboards and kayaks. The theory is they would be dry by at the time they went into the water.”
Littauer said he has also had discussions with the town about purchasing six to 12 electric powered boats suitable for fishing to be made available at a modest rental at the Town Grove.
“So far no one seems to know how to eradicate this weed, so the feeling now is that it’s best not to allow it into the lake in the first place,” he noted.
Hydrilla has invaded five more lakes
On the first day of summer last year, a routine monitoring of some waters in East Twin Lake by the TLA’s limnologist found hydrilla fragments in the shallow waters north of the state boat launch, making it the first lake in the state to confirm the presence of hydrilla, first noted in the Connecticut River in 2016.
Since then, said Bogle, the highly invasive Connecticut River variant has found its way to at least five other Connecticut lakes, and the highly disruptive plant has become a key focus for the TLA and the stewards of other lakes in the state, all of which are taking remedial steps.
Through the Connecticut Federation of Lakes and other working groups, the TLA has assembled a coalition of state and local officials, scientists and aquatic specialists to share information and gain a stronger, unified voice in Hartford.
Boat ban sought at state launch on East Twin
TLA officials noted that its board is working with the state and town to revert the state boat launch to its original mandate, which was to provide access only to car-top watercraft.
“It was never meant to be creating a significant volume of traffic,” said Bogle. From 1991 to 2020, he noted, it was a very isolated ramp, with huge boulders in place to keep trailers from backing down into the water.
“They were removed by the state in 2020, and what we’re asking is that they are put back in place,” said Bogle. “We are pushing for a decision” from the state.
Bogle noted that the state boat launch is not listed as ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible on its website, “and it shows the boulders in place.” He said nearby O’Hara’s Landing has accessible docks for those who require assistance.
To prevent further spread of hydrilla, the TLA also plans to have a barrier installed blocking passage under the Isola Bella Bridge, which joins the northern parts of East Twin.
“It’s been recommended that we close that bridge,” said Bogle, who noted that the area is a valued connector used frequently by canoeists, kayakers and waterboarders.
With hydrilla possibly pervasive north of the state boat launch, the TLA cannot risk the plant spreading via the natural current to the vulnerable cove east of the bridge, according to officials.
In addition, about 25 acres of water up to 4 feet deep north of the state boat launch will be restricted and set apart with buoys, beginning in April, to prevent propellers from chopping hydrilla plants and having fragments float away and root elsewhere.
The area will be controlled with a system of “floating limnocorrals” and light-suppressing mats to prevent growth at the insistence of the state, which must approve the plan as part of the association’s herbicide permit.
“We know that there is hydrilla there. We know there were some escapees from the marina even further than we treated last year,” Bogle explained.
“Is it an inconvenience? Yes. We recognize that, but we feel it’s the right thing to do. We are trying to get ahead of this to the extent we can,” explained Bogle.
Lake management budget soaring
To that end, the TLA board has spent the off-season establishing three sub-groups focusing on fundraising, lake management and boat launch access.
Bogle noted that the cost of lake management has skyrocketed.
The board estimates the TLA will spend about $250,000 in 2024 on lake management, and similar amounts in future years to control invasives and eradicate hydrilla. The association’s new budget dwarfs any previous TLA budget, and it far exceeds estimates of only months ago, said officials.
The good news, according to the TLA newsletter, is that the organization has the funds to get through 2024 due to generous donations and a campaign that raised $101,600 in December when all members were asked to consider contributing $500 to $1,000.
The campaign garnered 86 individual donations and an anonymous matching contribution of $30,000. Those funds complement an expected $75,000 from the Town of Salisbury and a $75,000 state grant that is expected to be confirmed by early spring.
“We are thrilled with the response from our fundraising request. It speaks volumes as to the commitment of our members and the community,” said Bogle.
Because fundraising on the needed scale is beyond its volunteer board’s current ability, the TLA has hired Deko Design, a local tech systems and support consultant to organize and integrate the TLA website, dues collection, newsletter, membership rolls, fundraising campaigns and accounting.
According to officials, the board has authorized up to $2,500 for this work this year, and an anonymous benefactor is footing the bill.
Despite the challenges that lie ahead this coming year and beyond, Bogle said he is optimistic “that we are in a much better position than we were last year.”
Abstract art display in Wassaic for Upstate Art Weekend, July 18-21.
WASSAIC — Art enthusiasts from all over the country flocked to the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley to participate in Upstate Art Weekend, which ran from July 18 to July 21.
The event, which “celebrates the cultural vibrancy of Upstate New York”, included 145 different locations where visitors could enjoy and interact with art.
On Saturday, July 20, The Wassaic Project hosted numerous community events. Will Hutnick, the director of artistic programming, said “We’ve been a part of it since the beginning, this is the fifth year of UPAW.”
Most of the action was based at Maxon Mills, the seven-floor grain mill located in the heart of Wassaic. On exhibit was work from 30 artists, 18 of whom were past residents of The Wassaic Project. “Artists can come and do a residency here, meaning they live and work with one another for a couple months at a time,” Hutnick stated.
The first floor held work by Petra Szilagyi, who uses dirt and linseed oil to construct images of paranormal concepts, most of which include bats. They reflected that a recent trip to a fifth sense competition in Vietnam was the influence behind the exhibit.
Across the floor was Tiffany Smith’s interactive installation which incorporated plants and wicker chairs, all of which were objects associated with her Carribean upbringing. “The room being filled with plants is symbolic of hurricane prep which often included bringing the plants from outside into the house,” Smith said.
As visitors made their way up the narrow wooden stairs, music could be heard from behind the walls. The echoing music was Daniel Shieh’s installation, entitled Mother’s Anthem, which played a recording of the American Anthem in 30 languages. The languages ranged from Spanish and Italian to Navajo and Bengali.
Each floor was filled with artwork of all mediums, including painting, fibers, collage and photography. Rachel Bussières, who switched her concentration after watching the 2017 solar eclipse, uses varying light sources to produce lumen prints. During the wildfires, she recounted that she “made a new exposure each day to capture the changing air quality”.
Luciana Abait also incorporates the natural world into her pieces, instead using maps. An environmental activist originally from Argentina, Abait’s work highlights “environmental fragility, specifically the impacts it has on immigrants.” Her installation that is currently on display at Maxon Mills, takes the form of a mountain range built solely from maps of the US and Argentina.
Throughout the day, visitors could “Arm Wrestle 4 A Popsicle”. Winners had the choice of 3 playfully flavored trout-inspired popsicles - Nightcrawler, Power Bait, and Salmon Roe. Artist Katie Peck, who spent the day in costume as a rainbow trout, encouraged guests to step up and try their hand at an arm wrestle.
Shibori Indigo dyeing, group meditation, and dance workshops were open for community members of all ages as well.
While the daytime activities fostered appreciation of fixed art, a dance party until midnight at The Lantern Inn offered guests a space for performative art.
When describing the environment of The Wassaic Project, Smith emphasized, “It’s all community, it’s all love.”
A serene scene from the Amenia garden tour.
AMENIA — The much-anticipated annual Amenia Garden Tour drew a steady stream of visitors to admire five local gardens on Saturday, July 13, each one demonstrative of what a green thumb can do. An added advantage was the sense of community as neighbors and friends met along the way.
Each garden selected for the tour presented a different garden vibe. Phantom’s Rock, the garden of Wendy Goidel, offered a rocky terrain and a deep rock pool offering peaceful seclusion and anytime swims. Goidel graciously welcomed visitors and answered questions about the breathtaking setting.
Amenia Finance Director Charlie Miller welcomed visitors to his Bog Hollow Road garden in Wassaic, a manicured expansive yard with well-placed garden beds framing a far-reaching view. He said he plans carefully each winter for the next spring’s improvement.
The organic, environmentally responsible Maitri Farm was next, a lesson in coordinating agriculture with natural balance. The farm stand and a walk among the greenhouses brought visitors together.
Near the center of Amenia was the garden of Polly Pitts-Garvin, offering a chance to visit a robust vegetable garden with raised beds to be envious of and a remarkable absence of any insects or usual vegetable garden problems.
At Chez Cheese, the vast garden acreage surrounding the 1850s historic home of Joan Feeney and Bruce Phillips in Millerton, visitors could begin at refreshment stations where walking tour maps of the 15-acre property were available. There were streams and ponds with docks, and a dozen bridges arranged around the landscape. In the 19th-century, the property had been the home of the Wilson Cheese Factory, inspiring the name of the estate.
The Amenia Garden Tour was supported this year by Paley’s Garden Center in Sharon.
Gary Dodson working a tricky pool on the Schoharie Creek, hoping to lure something other than a rock bass from the depths.
PRATTSVILLE, N.Y. — The Schoharie Creek, a fabled Catskill trout stream, has suffered mightily in recent decades.
Between pressure from human development around the busy and popular Hunter Mountain ski area, serious flooding, and the fact that the stream’s east-west configuration means it gets the maximum amount of sunlight, the cool water required for trout habitat is simply not as available as in the old days.
This is not a new phenomenon. It does seem to be getting worse, though.
Gary Dodson and I convened where the creek makes its final run into the Schoharie reservoir, part of the New York City water supply system, on a semi-broiling Thursday afternoon, July 11.
The goal was simple. Catch smallmouth bass, which abound in the lower section of the river.
This was hot stuff — as in an 80-degree water temperature.
The air temperature was actually slightly less at 77.
After negotiating the intensely slippery rocks, festooned with treacherous algae, the first major pool presented several difficulties, with a back eddy competing with a main flow and several large trees draped about the whole thing.
I hit on the simplest strategy, which was to flip a weighted attractor fly called a Tequilley into the start of the eddy so it would proceed slowly but steadily into the maelstrom, sinking all the while.
This worked. A proper adult smallmouth, with bronze coloring and vertical stripes, took the thing.
The point-and-shoot camera finally died, however, and I was not going to try to fumble my phone out for a nice but routine fish photo.
Why not?
Because I guarantee the fish would have made a sudden, last-moment bolt for freedom, causing me to drop the device into the drink.
Gary moved downstream while I continued trying to annoy the residents of the pool, succeeding a couple of times with different colored Wooly Buggers.
Then we all got bored and I moved off, where Gary was catching rock bass and cussing them out for not being something else.
I have to admit, they are not the most compelling critters. Something about the red eyes.
This latest trip was dominated by extremely tedious and distasteful Harry Homeowner activities, but on both Wednesday and Thursday mornings I prowled Woodland Valley Creek. By “morning” I mean “dawn,” because that was when the water temps were down to a barely acceptable 64.
I made the acquaintance of several stocked browns and of a handful of their wild cousins. The wild fish are smaller and nimbler.
The successful ploy was an Adams wet fly, size 16, drifted behind something big, like a Parachute Adams or Stimulator.