Good day to all of you out there in the Lake St. Catherine Community...

We'd like to let you know about a new section we've just added to our website, Links & Downloads. Here, we'll post links to websites that may be of interest to the lake community along with reports and documents.

Today, we've posted links to:

Federation of Vermont Lakes and Ponds (FOVLAP)

Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources

Sea Grant

Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District

We've also posted a PDF version of the Lake St. Catherine - A Historical Scrapbook, and an excellent PDF booklet on plants and planting called Landscape Design For Healthy New England Lakes by FOVLAP.

Finally, you'll see a collection of our annual Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan reports, including our 2017 Annual Report. These reports go back to 2004 - and they detail our yearly surveys and treatments of the lake for Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM).

We hope you'll find this new section useful. You'll see the Links & Downloads section listed in the main navigation bar at the top of our webpage.

We'll let you know when new items are added as we continue to add new content to the site.

The Lake St. Catherine Association is excited to announce a partnership with Vermont Artist Peter Huntoon.

Peter has generously offered to create an orginial painting of Lake St. Catherine to be used as a fundraiser to benefit the LSCA in 2018.

This past Sunday, we headed out onto the Lake with Peter to scout for scenes. He found something that caught his eye - and we can't wait to see how he again captures the beauty of LSC.

LSC has been the subject of some of his previous paintings: Lake St. Catherine, Ice-Out, and his latest painting, Little Lake:

- "Little Lake" by Peter Huntoon, image from peterhuntoon.com

We are still working out the details of how we will make the original painting available (auction / raffle), but we will have prints available for purchase - with all proceeds benefitting the LSCA.

Peter, thank your for your support of the LSCA - we know the LSC community is looking forward to seeing your painting!

You can learn more about Peter and his work on his website.

Good afternoon LSC.

We are happy to report that the Lily Pond channel restoration project has been completed.

Here are some photos Mary Jo took on her paddle through the channel:

We are very happy with the results - and we hope you are too.

We hope you'll see the completion of this project as a worthy effort of the LSCA - and you'll support us as we continue our commitment to the preservation, protection and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine.

As we've mentioned in our previous updates, we are hoping to raise half of the $35,000 need to pay for this project.

Currently, we are aware of - or have received a total of $4,100 in donations and pledges. This is a great start on our way to the $17,500 we hope to raise, but we still have a long way to go.

Please consider making a donation to help us reach our goal.

One very generous LSCA member has pledged to add an additional $100 for every donation of $1,000 or more.

You can visit our donation page by clicking here (click the Add To Cart button to enter your donation amount), or by sending in a check to:

Lake St. Catherine Association
Lily Pond Project
P.O. Box 631
Wells, VT 05774

If you have any questions, or if you'd like to make us aware of a donation on the way, please contact the LSCA at: info@lakestcatherine.org.

Thank you for your support!

Good afternoon Lake St. Catherine.

We'd like to take a moment to clear up some confusion created by a brochure you may have seen recently at local businesses in Wells and Poultney, entitled "Restoring Lake St. Catherine". This brochure was created by the Lake St. Catherine Conservation Fund (LSCCF).

The LSCCF was created in 2008 by property owners on the Little Lake. This organization is not associated with us, the Lake St. Catherine Association (LSCA), which was founded in 1953. The LSCA and the LSCCF are two separate organizations with very different approaches to dealing with lake issues.

First, their brochure contains a saying that many will remember was used for a number of years by the LSCA, "For the sake of the lake." We hope this was unintentional.

In the first paragraph of the brochure, while discussing the Little Lake, they write "Some parts are now un-navigable where this shallow water is also clogged with Eurasian watermilfoil and other nuisance plants." (The "nuisance plants" mentioned include native species to LSC, like Large Leaf Pondweed and Robbins' Pondweed.)

In 2012, the LSCCF asked the LSCA to not treat the Little Lake with herbicide as we had since the initial Sonar treatment in 2004. They had applied for and received a permit to run an experiment using aerators. Each year since 2004, the LSCA has been successfully managing new milfoil growth in the Lake with spot treatments of herbicide - adding in suction harvesting in 2007.

Since the LSCA stopped treating the Little Lake in 2011, the milfoil growth has exploded. Aeration has not been shown to have an effect on milfoil. We encourage you to visit the aeration spots on the Little Lake to see for yourself.

Finally on the topic of milfoil, we must also take a moment to call your attention to some inflammatory language on the LSCCF's website. One particular page mentions herbicides as "harmful", "unhealthy" or "toxic" 7 times.

The herbicide the LSCA uses each season is called Renovate OTF (on target flakes). The active ingredient is Triclopyr, which is proven safe for humans and wildlife and listed as practically non-toxic by the EPA. Use of this herbicide in LSC has been approved by the State of Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources and its use is strictly regulated by the Vermont DEC. Describing it as harmful, unhealthy or toxic is scaremongering.

On the same page, there are these two paragraphs referring to aeration:

"Asked about the success of this type of remediation, some have observed, 'Eurasian watermilfoil was in several lakes and ponds that we put the system in, and it is not present in any treated lakes or ponds now.'

Eurasian watermilfoil can be controlled using environmental remediation without unhealthy herbicide. With toxic herbicides, the milfoil comes back, usually worse than before and must be poisoned again. With environmental remediation, Eurasian watermilfoil never comes back. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent to control milfoil on Lake St. Catherine with weed harvesters and toxic herbicide, and its growth is now worse than ever."

There are no references or studies cited to show that "Eurasian watermilfoil can be controlled using environmental remediation" or "With environmental remediation, Eurasian watermilfoil never comes back"? Also, who are the "some" who have "observed"?

Since 2004, The LSCA has been controlling milfoil using a combination of spot herbicide treatment and suction harvesting - and year over year, we've been reducing the amount of herbicide used as our suction harvesting continues to increase and improve.

Think about the last line in that paragraph: "Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent to control milfoil on Lake St. Catherine with weed harvesters and toxic herbicide, and its growth is now worse than ever." Knowing the history of milfoil in Lake St. Catherine, how could anyone describe the milfoil in areas that the LSCA is managing as "worse than ever"? This comment is simply untrue. Each year, in the spring and the fall, LSC is surveyed by the LSCA and our contractor SOLitude Lake Management to formulate a treatment plan. Milfoil reports are generated during these surveys and the data clearly shows that the milfoil is not "worse than ever".

This brings us back to similar unsubstantiated claims in the brochure. Some statements begin with "We believe..." or "We concluded..." or claim that the aeration is "working great!". Believing things or drawing conclusions based on those beliefs is certainly not scientific, and they provide no documented evidence that these statements or claims are true. Very important decisions about lake management should not be made based on beliefs.

These are all important things to keep in mind as you read their material. Why do they not provide documented evidence for their claims or beliefs? Why do they knowingly spread false information? Why do they try to scare you with untrue statements?

Now, the LSCCF has purchased a harvesting machine. After running a harvesting program for over 20 years, the LSCA realized that harvesting is like mowing your lawn. After the first cut, you need to keep cutting the weeds as they will grow right back. During the process of cutting and harvesting the milfoil, fragments are created that aren’t captured and removed from the lake. A tiny milfoil fragment can start a new plant . Harvesters are also difficult and expensive to operate and maintain. The LSCA stopped using mechanical harvesters in the early 2000s.

The LSCA would like to once again be involved in the treatment of the Little Lake, including helping to address its unique issues. But, as you've read, we've been shut out. From the LSCA's bylaws, our purpose is to "to utilize (our) income and assets for the preservation, protection and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine." We are stewards of the entire lake - from Lily Pond down to the Little Lake.

Although milfoil treatment is a major focus for the LSCA each season, we do so much more for the Lake. We also promote lake safety with free boating safety courses and by maintaining the cones and buoys. We manage the Greeter program at the boat launch to check boats for invasive species. We continually test the water for E coli, and water clarity. We represent you to state and local governments to protect your rights and the lake in general. We sponsor free workshops on topics like septic systems and shoreline best practices. We also apply for permits to conduct special projects like restoring the Lily Pond channel.

As someone that cares about the Lake, you have the option to support - or not support - either Association. All we can ask is that you do so based on the facts. We hope to earn your support.

Thanks for reading, and we welcome your comments: info@lakestcatherine.org.

The Lily Pond Channel Restoration Project has begun and we'd like to give you an update.

Back in April, the LSCA applied for a permit to “...remove sediment and organic debris from the center of the channel between the Lily Pond and the North Bay of Lake St. Catherine to restore the connectivity, increase water movement, improve water quality, enhance open water habitat and control invasive/nuisance vegetation.”

This permit was approved in June - and the LSCA board voted to appropriate the funds ($35,000) for the project at our final meeting of the season on August 26th.

SOLitude Lake Management started their work on Monday - the first day of an anticipated 10 day work schedule.

Here are some photos of the work in progress from this morning:

We'd also like to update you on our fundraising efforts.

This project will cost $35,000. The LSCA is hoping to raise half this amount ($17,500) from the lake community to help defray the costs for this expensive undertaking.

We are happy to report that good folks in the LSC community have already started pledging donations!

Currently, we have $2,600 in donations and pledges. So, we are off to a good start, but we still have a long way to go.

We also have an anonymous matching offer to tell you about. A very generous LSCA member has pledged to donate an additional $100 for every donation at or above $1,000.

The LSCA would like to thank this member for their matching pledge. We hope the community will take advantage of the offer to make their own donation a bit more valuable to the project.

If you would like to help by contributing to this project, please consider sending in a donation to the Association. You can visit our donation page by clicking here (click the Add To Cart button to enter your donation amount), or by sending in a check to:

Lake St. Catherine Association
P.O. Box 631
Wells, VT 05774

Of our current donations and pledges, some have pledged their amount based on the project beginning, some based on the project completion. Since we'd like to keep the community up-to-date on our fundraising efforts, we'd ask that if you plan on making a donation, please send us a quick note to: info@lakestcatherine.org to let us know. This will allow us to keep a total of in-hand and pledged donations.

We hope that you will consider donating to help fund this important Lake project. If you have any questions, please contact the LSCA for more information: info@lakestcatherine.org.

Thank you for your support!

On Thursday, August 31st, Lake Champlain Sea Grant (LCSG) hosted a free workshop entitled "Protecting Your Property and Your Lake: Be Storm Ready with Lake Friendly Practices” in the Nature Center of the Lake St. Catherine State Park.

Managing stormwater runoff and erosion is especially challenging along Lake St. Catherine shorelines due to intensive development with limited areas available for vegetative stormwater treatment practices.

Linda Patterson, Water Quality Educator with LCSG gave a PowerPoint presentation that discussed natural and human factors contributing to stormwater runoff and shoreland erosion, and the detrimental effects of these forces on water quality and animal and plant life.

Methods for controlling erosion and runoff were presented: native vegetation, hard armor (sea walls, boulders), bioengineering (a mixture of vegetation and hard armor), and soft armor (coir logs, matting, etc.).

Participants had the opportunity to describe erosion and runoff issues on their properties, and to ask questions regarding designs and resources for addressing these problems.

To learn more about these methods, please click through the presentation, provided by LCSG:

LCSG recommends that natural vegetation, or a combination of vegetation and soft armor are the preferred methods for optimal water quality protection and erosion control.

Amy Picotte, Lakeshore Manager, Vermont Department Of Environmental Conservation, co-leader of the workshop, provided information on the technical aspects of various control methods and the the steps required to obtain permits for certain approaches.

Amy then led the group outside by on a tour of the shoreline, discussing various erosion control methods recently installed along the embankment of the LSC State Park by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps.

We first looked at the buffer zone created by adding a wooden fence and adding some new plants in the area.

Next, we looked at the permeable steps installed on this path. Water will drain down through the stone filled steps.

Finally, we looked at this steep embankment. Plantings were strategically placed to help shore up the soil to prevent further erosion.

Attendees received copies of the Shoreline Stabilization Handbook (click here to download a PDF copy) as well as several other educational fact sheets and flyers. Information on state and local resources was also distributed.

Stormwater runoff is a big issue for LSC. As water runs off properties or through culverts, it carries nitrogen, phosphorus, pet and yard waste into the lake. These are all nutrients for lake weeds. Managing stormwater runoff will help control weed growth.

If you are having erosion or runoff issues on your property, please feel free to reach out to Linda or Amy - they will be able to get you started. You can get in touch with them by clicking on the link attached to their name above.

The LSCA would like to thank LCSG for presenting this workshop to educate new and established property owners about effective management strategies for runoff and erosion control. We hope to have more of these very informative workshops in the future.

Minutes of the Lake St. Catherine Association's fourth and final meeting of the 2017 season.

The Trustees gave their reports on many topics - Click here to see the full meeting agenda. Meeting minutes compiled by Elaine Bagley.

August 26th 2017 Meeting of the Lake St. Catherine Board of Trustees

Lake St. Catherine Country Club, 8:30 AM

Present: Jim Canders, Mary Jo Teetor, Bob Williams, Frank Callahan, Phil Pope, Rand Burgner, Jerremy Jones, John Belnavis, Elaine Bagley, Ed Laird, Ken Abt, Rob Nesbit

Absent: Rob Goldman, Jeff Crandall, Bill McLaughlin

Jim started the meeting with some announcements:

• Expressed appreciation to Bill McLaughlin for his dedication and many years of service to the LSCA

• Discussed new Trustee, Martha Pofit, who was unable to attend today

• Appreciation for Ellen and Martin Greenberg and their dedication to the LSCA. Camp has sold, LSCA paperwork collected, will be sorted and organized.

• Shared positive comments about Annual Meeting, praise for food, organization and presentation.

1. Secretary’s Report, July 22nd, 2017 minutes accepted
2. Treasurer’s Report submitted by Elaine Bagley
3. Annual Meeting: John B. reports that around 70 people attended the annual meeting. 5 or 6 people did not eat, 10 to 12 had the prime rib. The bar did well. Facility fee used to tip the staff. Discussed coordinating the prime rib better with a more visible ticket.
4. Milfoil Committee Report - Jeff C. unable to attend, Jim gave his report. This season, we have accomplished our goal of using less herbicide and more suction harvesting. Report is in, will be shared with the board. Need to know Beck and Owen’s availability for next year. They do a much better job than previous contractors. State has a director talking to lakes about not using herbicide. We started in 2004 with Sonar and have been spot treating each year since. Lake Hortonia wants to get a permit based on our program - wondering how to word it for the state to approve. Our permit is up this fall - need to write a new permit. Other discussion included, concern of continuing to cut back on herbicide, confusion of some on the lake between milfoil and native weeds, complaint about noise from suction harvester, LSCCF’s new confusing brochure & state funding - Mary Jo will start a LSCA response. Jim will contact Perry Thomas. The survey from SOLitude Lake Management is being written now, ask Marc Bellaud to join us for a meeting with the State and Perry Thomas. Lots of milfoil fragments in the channel and Little Lake - not captured by the harvester? Boat Launch Monitoring: Rand reports that the State feels our program is a model. All 3 greeters will return in 2018. Rand will be retiring next year, John B stepped up to take over. Greeters will work 4 days over Labor Day Weekend, Friday through Monday.
5. Water Quality - Mary Jo reports no e-coli testing, other tests weekly. Big problem is funding for channel into Lily Pond - permit was approved. $35k total with SOLitude Lake Management. Would start September 18th for 10 days. July storm made a mess. Motion to fund the project. Healthy discussion about using funds in reserve without first collecting additional funds. Suggestions to reach out to Lily Pond property owners, coordinating a gathering of property owners, reaching out to membership. Vote called, 10-2 in favor of proceeding with project, motion passed.
6. Publicity - Jerremy handed out newsletters, mentioned spring edition, will need content. Newsletters delivered to local businesses. 180+ views of online edition. Suggested creating a LSCA brochure for local businesses, boat launch greeters, cost approximately 50 cents per copy. Mentioned Poultney chili cookoff, having a LSCA booth. Discussed business memberships for next year - would give businesses a logo on our Sponsors page, an ad in the newsletter, a mention on our blog, posting their events on our calendar. Board decided on $250 for this membership level. Will solicit businesses in the fall and winter.
7. Lake Safety - Frank mentioned that Hall’s Bay buoy missing - may have been tampered with. Sunken island cones found and replaced. Buoys will be picked up after Labor Day. Frank and Mike collected LSCA paperwork from Ellen and Mart’s Camp, Jerremy will sort and organize.
8. Nominating Committee - Bob reports that we are still looking for a Recording Secretary Trustee, Rand is retiring, Elaine & John staying on, will be looking for new potential Trustees.
9. Membership - Rob was not at the meeting
10. Government Relations - Phil reports that Phil Donaldson has been very cooperative, and they have straightened out most of the paperwork. Phil will remind Paul about the 38k.
11. Old business: Boat parade well advertised and featured online and in the newsletter. Wells Day - was so-so, Poultney Day, lots of folks stopped by. Discussed a new Lake map with updated camp locations and 911 addresses.
12. New business: Discussed a welcome packet for new lake property owners that local realtors can hand out. Ed discussed cyber liability insurance. Jerremy will set up a call with StarChapter. Board voted to purchase insurance if needed.

Meeting schedule for 2018:

May 26th, 2018

June 23rd, 2018

July 21st, 2018

August 25th, 2018

Meeting adjourned.

The Lake St. Catherine Association is happy to report that the board has voted to approve the Lily Pond channel restoration project.

In April, the LSCA applied for a permit to “...remove sediment and organic debris from the center of the channel between the Lily Pond and the North Bay of Lake St. Catherine to restore the connectivity, increase water movement, improve water quality, enhance open water habitat and control invasive/nuisance vegetation.”

From the permit, the LSCA requested: “approval for the use of a hydro-rake (paddle-wheel driven floating backhoe). Sediment and organic debris will be placed on a floating barge that will be pushed to the designated shoreline off-loading location on the northwest shoreline of Lily Pond. Collected material will be removed from the barge with an excavator and will be placed on shore temporarily to dewater. Once it is dewatered, the material will be loaded and trucked to a nearby composting operation, located within the public waters of Lake St. Catherine in Poultney, VT.”

This project will cost $35,000. The LSCA is hoping to raise half this amount ($17,500) from the lake community to help defray the costs for this expensive undertaking.

If you would like to help by contributing to this project, please consider sending in a donation to the Association. You can visit our donation page by clicking here (click the Add To Cart button to enter your donation amount), or by sending in a check to:

Lake St. Catherine Association
P.O. Box 631
Wells, VT 05774

Please add a note that your donation is for the Lily Pond Project.

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on our fundraising progress - and on the progress of this project which will begin on September 18th, 2017.

Our LSCA Vice President Mary Jo Teetor coordinated this project, and she provided these additional comments:

“The Lake St. Catherine Association has agreed to move forward with the channel project this fall as proposed.

We will be working to encourage all members and non members that will benefit from this work to help us recover the costs of performing this project.

We are hopeful that our efforts will enhance understanding of what it is we have worked hard for in maintaining all parts of the lake for respectful use of residents and visitors alike since the early '70s.

The focus on the Lily Pond over time has been to keep the navigation open as best as possible with harvesting (deemed counterproductive over the long term), herbicide for milfoil only (some success although needed every couple of years), hydro-raking (for individual homeowners around dock areas) as well as hand pulling and diligent efforts to successfully eradicate water chestnut.

It was recognized after a major storm several years ago that when a stand of large mature red pines shading the channel were lost, that the growth would intensify with the sunlight. This has been a priority topic with The State of Vermont’s Agency Of Natural Resources since that time - anticipating the problem we have today.

Understanding that the Lily Pond is true to its name, the expectation that it will be restored to anything but the incubator system that it has been since the turn of the previous century is not realistic. However we do believe that maintaining access and the natural flow will not only help the health of the pond but also the nature of the lake as a whole.

Thank you in advance for any support you can contribute.”

We hope that you will consider donating to help fund this important Lake project. If you have any questions, please contact the LSCA for more information: info@lakestcatherine.org.

Thank you for your support!

Proposed hydro-rake area.

In April of 2014, a "wall of water" came down a forested hill on West Lake Road in Wells, damaging property and sending debris and sediment into Lake St. Catherine.

Today, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources announced that Ruby Construction, Inc. and Royal Harrison were jointly held responsible in a court ruling.

They have been ordered to "pay a penalty of $9,000 and apply for a permit from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Lakes and Ponds Management and Protection Program to appropriately remove the sediment from the Lake by next fall."

For more information about this ruling, please see this official ANR press release.

Hello Lake St. Catherine.

It's been a while since we've published a newsletter... Today, we are publishing our Fall 2017 edition. Going forward, we plan on creating two newsletters per season - a Spring and a Fall edition.

In an effort to save on printing and mailing costs, we've decided to only print a short run of copies and distribute them to local businesses around the Lake. If you'd like a printed copy, please take a look for one when you are out and about in Wells or Poultney.

However, our Fall newsletter is now available here online via our website, click here to view the Fall 2017 Newsletter, or click on the image below. You will be able to read through the newsletter and/or save a copy to your computer.

We hope you'll enjoy this brief summary of the 2017 season!

We welcome your comments: info@lakestcatherine.org.

Thank you for your support.