Chautauqua County’s status as the focal point of opposition statewide against the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Regulations can overshadow good things happening on the lake.

It shouldn’t.

Quietly, the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance have taken steps that we think could help Chautauqua Lake and its watershed.

For all the issues that face Chautauqua Lake – and don’t get us wrong, that list is long – there are some good things happening on the lake. There is increased cooperation amongst various lake agencies. Local groups will always have disagreements about some aspects of management tactics on Chautauqua Lake, but the tenor seems more cooperative in recent years. But two recent developments should be cause for celebration even though neither the alliance nor its members have chosen to trumpet them.

We’ll do it for them.

First is the hiring of a lake consultant. While it’s not the lake manager that we have called for over the past several years, the hiring of GEI Consultants Inc. is a promising development. We’ve long thought an outside set of eyes with the ability to make independent recommendations would be beneficial for Chautauqua Lake. We don’t yet know just how independent GEI Consultants will be, or how much funding will be directed to the activities GEI Consultants identifies. But, at the very least, hiring the consultant could bring some additional coordination to lake activities.

Just as important, in our view, is a notion that is in its very early stages. County Executive PJ Wendel, during the alliance’s April work session, indicated his support for reevaluating the structure of the Alliance board so that the lakeside municipalities are more fully represented. There’s a long way to go before that happens – bylaws would need to be changed, a process that is never quick. But board members have asked Randall Perry, alliance executive director, to get feedback from an attorney regarding possible changes to the alliance’s bylaws and board structure.

We’ve long been in favor of giving lakefront towns and villages a seat at the table. It makes sense. Given the closed nature of alliance meetings, it’s town and village officials who are often dealing with local residents’ questions about the lake. Creating formal seats on the alliance board for those who are directly elected by the public is a good step. Currently two of the alliance’s nine board positions are held by town or village officials who aren’t affiliated with either a lake organization or other member organization. We still feel more town and village representation is needed.

Lawsuits speak loudly. But the quieter steps taken by the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance could pay bigger dividends.