A town of Chautauqua Mobitrac cleans up debris in the Shore Acres Canal. Submitted photo

The Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance has stressed the importance of cooperation for necessary lake maintenance projects, especially near-shore cleanup efforts.

This year appears to be getting off on the right foot for that goal, as the alliance has begun its work with the town of Busti, town of Chautauqua, town of Ellery and the Chautauqua Lake Association.

“Over the past month, municipalities and lake organizations have been collaborating with each other to get an early start on near-shore and shoreline clean-up through the coordinated removal of decaying macrophytes and debris,” according to an alliance news release.

On May 13, crews used a town of Chautauqua Mobitrac amphibious barge to clean debris from Vukote Canal, which was disposed of in 14 truckloads by the town of Busti. On May 28, the alliance executed the Shore Acres Canal clean-up project, coordinating with staff from Chautauqua and Ellery to remove three truckloads of debris from the canal.

That effort “restored navigation, water flow, aesthetics, and fish passage. These two projects are great examples of how unity of effort can produce responsive and effective results.”

In addition to these two specific areas of work, the CLA has been removing debris that can contribute to nutrient loading and general usability of shorelines. In the past week, the CLA has removed eight truckloads of shoreline debris, and the organization will begin working with the town of Chautauqua on shoreline cleanup in July.

Funding for these projects, which is provided by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation and Lenna Foundation, has helped to “not only reduce in-lake nutrient loading by removing macrophytes prior to their decomposition but also promote water movement, improved recreation, and a more aesthetically appealing shoreline environment.”

Don Emhart, Chautauqua town supervisor, has been pleased with the early cleanup efforts, and especially the use of Mobitracs.

“It’s worked well this spring,” Emhart said. “When you have these plugged up canals and things it causes it to stink so it’s best to get it out of there early, and we’ve been pretty successful doing that I think. It’s a nice little machine that is lightweight. It gets in to other places, it’s amphibious so if you touch the bottom it doesn’t get stuck. And it is a one-man operation, so it’s a nice little machine.”