Chautauqua Lake Association harvesters make their way onto the lake recently.

Those interested in learning more about the Chautauqua Lake Partnership’s research project on Chautauqua Lake this summer can do so in a couple of weeks.

The CLP’s annual rally will be held on Saturday, June 27, at The Village Casino starting at 9 a.m. Speakers will be Glenn Sullivan of Ready Scout Lake Management to address 2026 permitting and herbicide treatments, Dr Rob Richardson from North Carolina State University to address the Long-term Lake Management Plan and the Invasive Species Grant Study; and Alita Giuda, the Chautauqua Lake Partnership’s lawyer, to discuss the CLP’s lawsuit that resulted in the annulment of the Freshwater Wetlands Act Part 664 regulations.

The CLP’s work isn’t the only lake-related activity taking place.

Chautauqua Lake Association crews are about six weeks into the 2026 season, removing debris from the north and south basins of the lake. As of June 5, 33 truckloads of vegetation totaling 330 tons have been removed from the lake.

The CLA is launching the rest of its equipment and is moving into full harvesting operations, working areas of need from the south end to the north basin. CLA crews are active Monday through Friday as conditions allow all season. Weekly work plans and progress reports are posted to the CLA’s website and shared on social media throughout the season.

The Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association hosted public meetings May 23-24. CLPOA officials said it can take between one and three years, or longer, for the state DEC to complete a State Environmental Quality Review of new wetlands regulations that were annulled earlier by a state Supreme Court justice. CLPOA officials said they are well-positioned to represent the public’s interest in the process because the group isn’t reliant on state or county funding, doesn’t need to get permits from the state DEC and has familiarity with the Environmental Impact Statement process through board members’ work on herbicide permits in the past.

The CLPOA has appealed the April 8 court decision annulling the Part 664 Freshwater Wetlands Act regulations, with the appeal focused on the 2022 amendment approved by the state Legislature. The CLPOA has six months to perfect the appeal.

CLPOA officials also continued calls for a formal government entity, centralized lake authority or lake district, citing a 2003 piece of legislation introduced in the state Legislature by former Sen. Pat McGee and former Assemblyman Bill Parment that would have created a Chautauqua Lake Protection and Improvement District.