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Chautauqua Lake has seen its share of potential invasive species over the past couple of decades.
We had a close scare with the water chestnut, an aggressive aquatic plant that was most primarily concentrated in the Chadakoin River outlet and nearby waterways like the Audubon Community Nature Center’s big pond. Chautauqua Lake was largely spared the worst. Hydrilla has been found in nearby water bodies, but not in Chautauqua Lake so far despite warnings dating back to at least 2013 that the invasive plant is spreading.
Luck hasn’t been quite as good with starry stonewort, though not for a lack of effort. Lake groups and lakefront municipalities have been aggressively seeking state funding to remove starry stonewort through diver assisted suction and volunteers are being vigilant looking for the invasive species to track its possible spread.
We’re interested in a recommendation discussed recently by the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance to create a starry stonewort plan, including a technical advisory group made up of experts, to manage the invasive species. A.J. Reyes, Chautauqua Lake project lead from GEI Consultants, said he has been in contact with stakeholders in Keuka Lake who have used diver assisted harvesting and algaecide treatment while the consultant said he is hoping to involve experts from Minnesota in the local technical advisory group as well.
We spend so much time trying to solve Chautauqua Lake's existing problems with eurasian watermilfoil, curly leaf pondweed and algal blooms that it would be easy for invasive species to fly under the radar until it's too late. That hasn't been the case in Chautauqua Lake in the past, and that's a credit to the lake groups and conservationists who have worked hard to keep these species at bay.
The proposed approach with starry stonewort is different. Reyes is proposing a reasoned, scientific approach that should result in a Chautauqua Lake-specific method of treating what has proven to be a particularly stubborn plant in other lakes around the country. Those who are concerned with algal blooms and navigation channels in the south basin should be concerned about starry stonewort trying to take hold in Ashville Bay and Prendergast Point – and with the way the alliance is trying to deal with it.
We've heard a lot about how changes at the alliance board level and the hiring of GEI Consultants is going to change lake maintenance. We think the work on starry stonewort is one example of the change we've been promised.