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Dear Friends of Otsego Lake,

 

As the newly elected President of the Otsego Lake Association (OLA), I would like to encourage all of you to either renew your membership in OLA if you have not already done so or join us for the first time.  We are a very active group of like minded citizens, both lakeside property owners and others, who are very concerned about the present and future health and condition of Otsego Lake.  Our basic mission is to implement “A Plan for the Management of the Otsego Lake Watershed” which was initially adopted in 1998 by the Towns of Otsego, Springfield, and Middlefield plus the Village of Cooperstown which surround Otsego Lake.  The Plan was updated in 2007 by the Otsego County Water Quality Coordinating Committee.  The Plan’s major goals include:  (1) ensuring the quality of drinking water drawn from the lake, (2) preserving the lake’s natural beauty and its viability as a tourist attraction, (3) protecting the lake’s fishery, (4) ensuring the safety of recreational users of the lake, and (5) preserving the lake as a recreational facility.

 

We are primarily concerned with educating the general public and the municipalities surrounding the lake about the various issues that concern Otsego Lake.  This includes sediment and nutrient loadings (mud, road salt, phosphorous, wastewater, etc.) being discharged into the lake, non-native invasive plant and animal species (zebra mussels, water chestnut, etc.), no-wake zones (boat speeds less than 5 miles per hour within 200 feet of the shoreline), and buffer strips along the shoreline (to reduce erosion).

 

OLA started the first phase of the demonstration buffer strip project in the Village of Cooperstown at the lakefront park at the end of Pioneer Street.  OLA worked in cooperation with the Cooperstown Lake and Valley Garden Club, the local BOCES program, the Village of Cooperstown, and other local volunteer groups to complete the second phase of the buffer strip in 2007.  This project, submitted by the Cooperstown Lake and Valley Garden Club, received the Garden Clubs of America’s Top National Award in the spring of 2008 including a $25,000 cash prize.  It also won the New York State Federation of Lake Associations’ top award in 2007.  These same groups are currently working on the final phase of the buffer strip which will be completed during 2008.  Buffer strips help to stop shoreline erosion and reduce sediment in the lake.  Be sure to stop by and see what a great job these groups have done.

 

Please visit the Otsego Lake Festival on Saturday July 12^th between 12:00 noon and 5:00 PM at the lakefront park at the end of Pioneer Street in Cooperstown where OLA and other lake associated groups will celebrate various events highlighting Otsego Lake.

 

Finally, please plan to attend OLA’s Annual Informational Meeting on Saturday August 16^th at SUNY/Oneonta’s Thayer Farm Interpretive Center off State Highway 80 on the northerly end of the lake.  The meeting starts at 9:00 AM and ends by 11:00 AM.  However, please join us at 8:30 AM for coffee, doughnuts, and conversation.  I look forward to meeting you.

                                                                                                                        K. Wayne Bunn

June 23, 2008                                                                                                  President                                 

 

 

 

 To join, CLICK HERE. Fill out the application form, print it, attach your check and mail it or hand it to the treasurer, Carrie Southworth. You will need Adobe Reader version 5 or later to fill it out on line. Adobe Reader is available free of charge at www.adobe.com.