Keuka Lake Association June 2025 Newsletter / July 24. 2025
The KLA has several important projects for 2025 aimed at understanding and improving our beautiful lake. Here are the major ones:
- Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) shoreline monitoring volunteer program.
In this program, volunteers monitor a section (e.g., 100 yards) of Keuka shoreline and report to the NYS DEC by cellphone or computer app weekly. Training for this began in late May, but it is recorded and can be viewed any time. Time commitment is modest, roughly 10–15 minutes per week from June through October as your availability allows. We are still looking for more volunteers for this program! - Stream monitoring program.
We are ramping up our stream monitoring program this year, as it’s increasingly clear that these inputs to our lake are the critical drivers for excess nutrients, microbes and other pollutants. Stream sampling will be done second Tuesday mornings of each month, from June to October. We work in concert with the Yates County Soil and Water (YCSW) group and will be monitoring 8 or 9 streams this year. Help with any (or all!) of these sampling dates would be much appreciated. In the past, this work has taken about 2–3 hours. - Open water testing program.
We are also continuing our open water testing program, which has been ongoing for over 30 years now. (We’re excited to review all this data at our annual meeting this July). Our first collecting day was April 22: a little brisk, a bit windy, slightly overcast, but lots of fun. - Invasive species control – water chestnut.
One of the invasive species that has affected our lake is the water chestnut. It’s especially problematic at the outlet in Penn Yan. A mechanical harvester is used to control this weed, but we also need to do actual weed pulls every summer in the areas the harvester cannot get to. There will be 2 pulls this year, one in July and another in August. These half-day affairs involve kayaks (bring your own or we provide), on-site training and support, drinks and snacks, and the opportunity to interact with other like-minded organizations around our lake. For this event, the more volunteers the better. Come join us!
As you can see, there’s a lot to do and we need your help! It’s only through our volunteers that we can accomplish our mission: to preserve and protect this precious resource.
We encourage everyone who loves Keuka Lake to consider joining one of our initiatives or even suggesting new ones where you see a need. Whether you have an hour to spare or a morning to dedicate, your time and effort are invaluable in helping us maintain the health and beauty of our watershed. Together, we can ensure that future generations can enjoy the same pristine waters, diverse wildlife, and peaceful surroundings that we cherish today. Let’s work hand in hand to keep Keuka Lake as vibrant and thriving as ever!
