Labor Day Weekend Rally - September 1, 2017 Welcome/Recognition - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Rally 090118 Labor Day Weekend Rally - September 1, 2017 Welcome/Recognition Organization and Projects Project Update: Fall 2017 - Summer 2018 Project Plans: Fall 2018 - Summer 2019 Panel: Audience Questions and Answers Closing/Thank You “Gaining Ground on Effective Lake Management” [Note: Charts will be available on the CLP website]

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Organization • Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Inc (CLP), a 501c3 non-profit corporation - Mission: improvement in Chautauqua Lake water quality and enjoyment - >500 members/growing with over $500k raised ($140k from individuals/businesses) • Governance (* Board Member) – all volunteer - Dr. Jim Cirbus* , President - Jim Wehrfritz* , Vice President - Mike Latone* , Treasurer - Rebecca Haines*, Secretary - Science Advisors: Dr. Tom Erlandson* (Biology) and Dr. Doug Neckers (Chemistry) - Regulatory Advisors: JoDee Johnson* and Frank Nicotra* - Others: Paul Johnson: Projects, Sara DeMink: Fundraising, Craig Butler: Advisor • Contact information - E-Mail: clp@chqlake.org - USPS: PO Box 337, Bemus Point, NY 14712 - Website: www.chqlake.org

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Organization/Projects Advisors Officers Board Of Directors Dr. Tom Erlandson Dr. Doug Neckers Dr. Jim Cirbus , President Dr. Jim Cirbus Frank Nicotra Biology Chemistry Jim Wehrfritz , Vice President Jim Wehrfritz Dr. Tom Erlandson JoDee Johnson Frank Nicotra Mike Latone , Treasurer Mike Latone JoDee Johnson Regulatory Regulatory Rebecca Haines , Secretary Rebecca Haines Paul Johnson Sara DeMink Projects Fundraising Project Coordination Bemus Bay 1986 Decree Supplemental Community Lake Bottom Weed Cutting Shoreline Nutrient SUNYAB Regional 85% landlocked Reversal EIS Outreach Remediation Mitigation Cleanup Reduction Institute Project Support Scientific/ External Procurement & Budget/ Legal Administrative Funding Membership Technical Relations Contracting Accounting • Partnership projects “cover the waterfront” on Chautauqua Lake • Legal and regulatory 1986 Decree Reversal, Supplemental EIS and Weed Cutting Mitigation - • Invasive weeds and cyanobacteria Supplemental EIS/herbicides, Weed Cutting Mitigation and Nutrient Reduction - • Regional and community involvement Community Outreach and SUNY Buffalo Regional Institute - • Lake remediation/restoration Lake Bottom Remediation, Weed Cutting Mitigation, Nutrient Reduction - • Shoreline and nearshore prevention and cleanup Weed cutting mitigation, Shoreline Cleanup, Nutrient Reduction -

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Fall 2017 to Summer 2018 • Targeted/environmental impact-mitigated herbicide treatments • Shoreline and near shore cleanup of weed fragments • Weed cutting environmental impact mitigation Bemus Bay 85% landlocked • Reduction in nutrients as a source for cyanobacteria/toxins • Lake bottom remediation and restoration of natural ecosystem • Chautauqua Lake Water Quality/Economic Development Study

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Targeted Herbicide Use • Targeted/environmental impact-mitigated herbicide treatments – Objective: add herbicides to Chautauqua Lake weed management toolkit – Fall 2017 Weed Type/Density Surveys Bemus Bay + 625 acres surveyed in 8 lake locations, completed October 2017 85% landlocked – Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (Town of Ellery as Lead Agency) + October 2017 to April 2018: 1700 page $250k document updates County’s 1990 SEIS – State Environmental Quality Review Act (Town of Ellery as Lead Agency) + October 2017 to April 2018: NYS-mandated regulatory review process w/hearings – 2018 Herbicide Treatment Permitting + March 2017 to May 2018: 9 applications from 4 Towns and 1 Village � Ellery (Bemus Point), Ellicott, Celoron, Busti (Lakewood) and North Harmony + 989 acres proposed and 191 acres granted (45% shoreline, distance/fisheries limitations) – 2018 Herbicide Treatments + June 11, 2018: 81 (of 191 permitted) acres in 5 locations, limited by funding

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Preparation and Treatment

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Bemus Bay

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Permitting/Treatment

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Fragment Cleanup • Shoreline/near shore cleanup of weed fragments – Sources + Unrecovered fragments from weed cutting/harvesting + Fragments from propeller-cut native and invasive weeds Bemus Bay – 2017 versus 2018 Bemus Bay experience 85% landlocked + Herbicides reduced/eliminated invasives: Curly Leaf Pondweed and Eurasian Water Milfoil + No weed cutting in Bemus Bay since June, 2017 (14mos) + Fragment sources: fragments floating into Bay and propeller-cut native weeds + No significant shoreline/near shore accumulations or floating weed mats + >90% reduction in shoreline fragments requiring cleanup – Objectives + Minimize fragments: eliminate invasive weeds/unrecovered weed cutting fragments � Expanded herbicide treatments/elimination of weed cutting fragments + Replace manual (teens with rakes in water)/health risk with mechanized cleanup � Purchase/operate “MobiTrac” amphibious/tracked vehicles

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – Fall 2017 to Summer 2018 • Weed cutting environmental impact mitigation – Weed cutting currently unregulated in Chautauqua Lake – Documented negative environmental impacts require mitigation Bemus Bay + DEC documents 85% landlocked + Florida study (1980) [Loss of 32% of fish – 160,000 fish lost/acre harvested, $15,000/acre] + Local studies: Benchmark, Report to DEC, SUNY Fredonia MS Theses (1970s & 1980s) + Unrecovered fragment and fish-kill videos (this summer) − Herbicide SEIS/permitting experience requires attention to weed cutting impacts + Requesting formal environmental review by NYS DEC + Potential violation of law prohibiting propagation of invasive species + Require permitting of weed cutting (as in Adirondack Park and at least 7 states) − Facilitates optimal weed management: targeted impact-mitigated weed harvesting and herbicide treatments

Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Chautauqua Lake Partnership – 2018 Plan: Weed Cutting • Education and mitigation of negative weed cutting impacts – Public largely unaware of DEC-documented negative environmental impacts – Fragment propagation and non-selective cutting favors invasives – Resulting “weed farming“ contributes to on -bottom decomposing mass – MMS: “All harvested material to be collected and removed from lake” – Costs don’t but must included multiple passes and fragment recovery – DEC is unaware of any prior DEC environmental review

Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP) Excerpts (in quotation marks) are from various sources, including: NYSDEC Division of Water A Primer on Aquatic Plant Management in New York State (April, 2005 Draft) New York State Federation of Lake Associations, Inc. in cooperation with The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Diet for a Small Lake, The Expanded Guide to New York State Lake and Watershed Management (Second Edition, 2009) Chautauqua County Chautauqua Lake Macrophyte Management Strategy (2015) 12

Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP) •Chautauqua County’s recently completed Macrophyte Management Strategy (MMS) requirement “ All harvested plant material must be collected and removed from the lake” not being met • Weed cutting is “…non - selective…(cannot) selectively remove target plant species within diverse beds, particularly near the lake shoreline…cutting nearly all of the plants contacting the cutting bar” 13

Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP) “Fragments of cut plants that are not picked up and removed can move from the treatment area by wind or currents, spreading the plant to other portions of the lake or to downstream water bodies. This can result in enhanced propagation of those plants that spread primarily from fragmentation, such as milfoil. Harvesters can spread invasive weeds to places not yet colonized and create problems where none previously existed.” 14

Chautauqua Lake, A Great Lake Seeking a Greater Future Rally 090118 Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP) “The most significant side effect (of weed cutting) …is fragmentation…” 15