December 16th, 2017.
From Dive Master Paul Lord. “The light snow yesterday did not deter our divers and tenders. Springfield Landing and Lake Front no-wake zone buoys have been replaced, for the winter, with spar buoys. Alex Sessions (SUNY Oneonta undergrad & Advanced Diver) and Lord did the diving at Springfield Landing with OLA Director Wayne Bunn providing solicitous tending. Lee Ferrara (Master Diver) supervised Krista Ransier (graduate student & dive instructor) and Sarah Coney (recent SUNY Oneonta graduate & Advanced Diver) in their dive at Lake Front with Colleen Parker (SUNY Oneonta grad student & certified diver) tending.” A short video from today’s dive can be found here.
Photo credit: Wayne Bunn
Additional pictures can be found here.
November 15th, 2017.
Find out what’s been happening in and around Otsego Lake this year in “Our Glimmerglass” newsletter. Read the latest version here. Additional information about Studying Lakes in Winter
Kiyoko Yokota, Ph.D., CLM, OLA
- Lac Le Jeune, British Columbia, Canada, as studied by students from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. https://youtu.be/eNTRyzXYXqI or search for “FWR Winter Limnology” on Youtube.com.
- Lammi Biological Field Station, University of Helsinki, Finland – Lake Paajarvi is one of our “sister lakes” in the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON, gleon.org) that has a similar buoy-based data collection program as in Otsego Lake. https://youtu.be/7iRDYS_P04s or search for “Lammi winter limnology” on Youtube.com.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology, USA. They host young students at their Trout Lake Station for the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project’s “Schoolyard,” program. https://youtu.be/DbloXdW81ho or search for “LTER schoolyard” on Youtube.com.
- A UW-Madison researcher explaining the vertically elongated ice crystals that form when lake ice is melting. https://youtu.be/KpzkQ2zxXn0 or search for “lake ice candles” on Youtube.com. Therefore, it is especially risky to walk on melting lake ice!
October 16th, 2017.
Glimmerglass Film Days, a showcase for powerful films reflecting humanity’s complex relationships with the natural world, will take place November 9-13, 2017 in Cooperstown, New York. The festival features screenings of several award-winning films, as well as encounters and collaborations with internationally known artists, activists and aficionados in a 5-day series enlivened by local food tastings, and optional trail hikes and bike tours, all designed to celebrate the natural and historic resources of the Cooperstown region. OLA is proud to sponsor “LOUISE EN HIVER”. this year. For more information visit Glimmerglass Film Days.
October 15th, 2017.
Quote from Paul Donnelly ” Volunteers heading out to retrieve buoys at season’s end. Another year of making Otsego Lake a safer place for recreational boating. Bravo!”
September 5th, 2017.
Conservationist of the Year
Today we received a special announcement from the director of OCCA. Congratulations to Bob Sutherland.
Hello OCCA Family,
In 1989, OCCA established the Conservationist of the Year award to honor an individual, organization, business, or governmental body that has made a positive difference in environmental protection, preservation or education in Otsego County. I am pleased to announce that Bob Sutherland of The Clark Foundation – Mohican Farm has been named OCCA’s 2017 Conservationist of the Year. We will honor Bob at our first-ever Annual Picnic on Sunday, September 10 at Gilbert Lake State Park.
As manager of Mohican Farm, Bob is a leader in The Clark Foundation’s sustainability efforts and promotes good conservation practices within the organization and the community. He established a composting operation at the farm that recycles thousands of pounds of food scraps and green waste each year, works to control invasive species with minimal pesticide use, and encourages the use of Mohican Farm as an educational resource. In addition, Bob serves on the Otsego Lake Association Board of Directors, volunteers with Growing Community, supports the Cooperstown Elementary School Kid Garden, and is a key member of the committee seeking to establish a county-wide composting facility in Oneonta.
Bob’s active participation in so many different facets of natural resource conservation in Otsego County makes him an outstanding awardee as we enter our 50th year. We hope you will join us as we celebrate Bob’s accomplishments. We’ve moved our annual event outside this year to enjoy the places that we’re all working to protect. You can still buy your tickets online at: https://occainfo.networkforgood.com/events/2944-occa-2017-annual-picnic
Come join us and help celebrate Bob Sutherland.
Hope to see you there!
Leslie Orzetti
Photo credit: Unknown
August 13th, 2017.
Annual Meeting
We had a great meeting yesterday, thank you to Glimmerglass Festival and everyone who attended.
Paul Donnelly a local photographer said the following about yesterday’s meeting “This year’s annual meeting was quite a special occasion. Willard N. “Bill” Harman Professor and Director of the BFS talked about the 50-year journey of this remarkable institution. He captured the significant progress which has been made in improving the quality of the lake water. Today, it is by far the best it’s been in the last fifty years. He noted that the Otsego bass as well are now making a comeback. Later in the program, he was given the Lake Citizen Award – 2017 for his many efforts and genuine interest to ensure the future of Otsego Lake. Those attending gave him a well-deserved round of standing applause. Also speaking at this meeting was Bob Sutherland Mohican Farm Director. He talked about Springfield’s Swanswick’s and Duke’s Oak Theaters history and their respective impacts being a part of Otsego Lake’s historical past. Nicely done and most interesting.”
Photo credit: Paul Donnelly
August 1st, 2017.
Annual Meeting
Please consider joining us for our annual meeting on Saturday August 12th at the Glimmerglass Festival (Opera) from 8:30am-11:00am. Free coffee, donuts and other goodies will be available. For more details visit our events page here.
July 28th, 2017.
Automated Lake Monitoring Buoy
The monitoring buoy was installed Tuesday on the surface in the middle, over the deepest part of the lake, off 5-mile point. It officially went online and started recording data late last night. The buoy will help in our understanding of the lakes physical and chemical status throughout the year.
July 12th, 2017.
Annual “We Love Our Lake” Boat Parade
Special thanks go to the 40 boats and a countless number of shoreline observers who participated in this year’s boat parade. The pictures can be viewed here.
The following boats and families received a special prize for being voted one of the best of show.
with honorable mention going to
Take me out to Otsego Lake – Woodhouse
July 4th, 2017.
SUNY Oneonta Buoy has gone missing.
If anyone finds the SUNY Oneonta Water Buoy floating around Otsego Lake or on shore, please contact us at info@otsegolakeassociation.org. The buoy is similar to the 200-foot No-Wake Buoys but has “SUNY Oneonta Water Buoy” written on it.
June 15th, 2017.
Automated Lake Monitoring Buoy
The SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station and Otsego Lake Association are enthusiastic to announce that Otsego Lake has joined the 21st century in lake monitoring. The monitoring buoy will take a multitude of parameters from multiple depths at pre- set intervals and will be placed on the surface in the middle, over the deepest part of the lake, off 5-mile point. There are only a handful of these devices spread around New York State, mainly in some of the finger lakes and NYC reservoirs. The buoy will help in our understanding of the lakes physical and chemical status throughout the year.
June 9th, 2017.
BOAT PARADE
We hope you can join us for our 4th annual “We Love Our Lake” Boat Parade on Monday July 3rd, 2017 3:00pm at 3-Mile point.
May 12th, 2017.
BOAT WASH DEDICATION
Over 50 folks attended the Carl B. Good boat wash dedication today. Carl B. Good was an instrumental part of the boat inspection program, he served on the OLA BoD and several committees to preserve the village and its environment. WKTV, Channel 2 of Utica also attended and put together a nice clip of the event, that was aired on tonight’s 11:00pm news. Click on the image below for the video and click here for the news article.
May 8th, 2017.
EVENT REMINDER: BOAT WASH DEDICATION – Please join us on Friday May 12th 5:00pm at the new Carl B. Good boat wash station located on Fish Road next to Lakefront Park. Carl B. Good was an instrumental part of the boat inspection program, he served on the OLA BoD and several committees to preserve the village and its environment.
April 24th, 2017.
Help protect Otsego Lake. HOW? Attend the FREE CRISP (Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership) Watershed Steward Training! Saturday April 29th, 2017 from 9 am to 4:30 pm SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station Boathouse 7016 State Highway 80, Springfield, NY 13333 ~ 7 Miles North of Cooperstown Learn about:
• Plants & animals that can change your water.
• Laws used to protect against invasions.
• Where these invaders hide & how to sniff em’ out.
Any questions contact Paul at Paul.Lord@oneonta.edu or 607-435-4989, this class will also be available on Friday May 26th, 2017 from 9 am to 4:30 pm SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station Boathouse 7016 State Highway 80, Springfield, NY 13333 ~ 7 Miles North of Cooperstown
See the full flyer here.
April 17th, 2017.
Otsego Land Trust – The Otsego Land Trust is looking for volunteers to help with their annual Brookwood Point spring cleanup event on Sunday May 7th 1pm-4pm located at 6000 State Route 80, Cooperstown, NY. Tools and refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP to info@otsegolandtrust.org. Additionally, their grand Brookwood Point reopening event will be Saturday May 20th 12pm-5pm with food, music, programs and much more.
March 19th, 2017.
BOAT WASH DEDICATION
Please mark your calendars and join us on Friday May 12th 5:00pm at the new Carl B. Good boat wash station located on Fish Road next to Lakefront Park. Carl B. Good was an instrumental part of the boat inspection program, he served on the OLA BoD and several committees to preserve the village and its environment.
February 28th, 2017.
Announcement from NYSFOLA.
Greetings NYSFOLA Members! The DRAFT agenda for the 34th annual NYSFOLA Conference “Lake Ecology and Human Impacts” is now on our website at www.nysfola.org. The conference will be held May 5-6, 2017 at White Eagle Conference Center in Hamilton, NY. We have changed the format this year so that the annual banquet will take place on the evening of Friday May 5th, and we will end the conference Saturday afternoon – with an optional Saturday evening lodging package for those who may need it. Topics this year, as always, cover a variety of lake related topics including onsite wastewater inspection programs, dam safety, invasive species, lake and watershed management, citizen science, and more!!! We want to draw special attention to Friday’s session designed to help lake associations navigate the rules for not-for-profit organizations. We think that many of our members will benefit from this important discussion. NYSFOLA Welcomes Carrie Pollack, Esq. from Hancock and Estabrook, LLP to discuss the somewhat confusing rules for NY Not-for-Profits including Lake Associations. We are still working on the details of the session, but here’s what we anticipate: Corporate Characteristics of Nonprofits – State Perspective Tax Exempt Status – Federal Perspective Regulating Agencies – Who They Are & What They Care About Board Responsibilities – Record keeping responsibilities, Fiduciary duties, What is an officer? What is a director? What is proper role? Committees, Board member orientations Changes in the Law – Conflicts of interest, Audit requirements. We look forward to seeing you all once again at our annual gathering. Don’t forget to bring something for the Silent Auction!