Message From the President
Spring is here and warmer weather has come. The snow and ice have left our lake. It is always a pleasure to see the changing of the season. The effects of the pandemic are easing, even though it seems to have become the new norm. It is a nice time of the year to see more family and friends return to Loon Lake.
The LLPDA Officers and the Board of Directors have assembled our Summer calendar of events. You can find the list of events in this newsletter. The Board is confident that the proposed events will be held this year. Holding a specific event will be determined by participation and if government agencies allow them, as in the past. You can check the LLPDA web site and our Facebook page to see if a 2022 event will be held as scheduled. Any changes to the calendar will also be sent out via email blast if we have your email address.
The Loon Lake Invasive Remediation Evaluation Program volunteers (for a fourth year) surveyed 254 sites on our lake to determine the amount of invasives that we had at the end of 2021. The data collected has been tabulated by the APIPP and the APA. Each additional year that we collect data allows us to better understand how to move forward with our invasive harvesting program. Based on the four years of data, I am pleased to say that our lake is now in the maintenance phase of the remediation program. Being in the maintenance phase, indicates that we have significantly reduced the amount of Eurasian Milfoil in our Lake. With the present technologies that we are allowed to use within the Adirondack Park we will likely not be able greatly reduce the amount of Eurasian Milfoil that we presently have. Also, the time spent harvesting will stay about the same annually. The Town Boat Launch will be open the same hours as last year. With the efforts of the Stewards at the Town Boat Launch/Wash our hope is to not allow additional invasives into the Lake. If anyone launches vessels from their shore, please be sure that there are no invasives on the vessel or on any gear. We are fortunate that presently we only have Eurasian Milfoil and no other invasives in Loon Lake. We will continue to look for new remediation methods as they become available to improve our results. More on our remediation efforts can be found in our web site and later in this newsletter.
Our existing web site is more than 20 years old. The LLPDA Board during the winter decided that the site needed to be updated and we are in the process of doing so. The new web format will provide easier navigation through the large amounts of information that can be found on our site. We anticipate that the new site will be up and running this summer.
The renovation of the Loon Lake dam is progressing. Much of the engineering and design work has been completed and the Town has applied for grants from NYS and FEMA to help pay for the project. Two years ago, the engineering firm projected the project would cost about $500,000. Formal bids for the project have not been sent out yet so the actual project cost could change. Until all the grant request responses have been received, a date for the renovation has not been determined.
I would again like to extend my appreciation to the officers, the Board of Directors of the LLPDA and the many volunteers for their efforts to keep our lake the special place that it is.
I would also like to recognize Fred Monroe, Fred’s passed away December 17th, 2021. Fred was the Town of Chester Supervisor for 24 years and a strong supporter of Loon Lake and the Adirondacks. He will be missed by all.
I look forward to seeing everyone at our annual meeting which starts at 10 AM on July 10th in the Town Municipal Center.
Best wishes to all, have a safe and enjoyable summer,
John Nick