Archive for May, 2008

Lake Fairlee to Host a Workshop at NEC-NALMS

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

This year the annual conference of the New England Chapter of the North American Lake Management Society (NEC-NALMS) will be held at the Lake Morey Inn on our neighboring lake on June 13-14. This event is co-sponsored by the Federation of Vermont Lakes and Ponds, the Lakes and Ponds Section of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and the New England Extension Water Program. Attendees will hear presentations about diverse topics, including: Invasive Species; Shoreland and Watershed Management; and Involving the Public.

The main sessions take place on Saturday, the 14th, but a number of workshops will be offered on Friday. The Lake Fairlee Association’s Milfoil Program has been invited to present one of these, showing off our program’s methods and equipment.

PONTOON BOAT SET UP WITH SUCTION HARVESTER AND TRASH RACK

The Conference Registration and Agenda can be downloaded HERE (in pdf format). It describes our offering as follows:

Workshop 3: A Vermont Eurasian Watermilfoil Management Primer: Come learn about the details and challenges of one lake group’s unique use of benthic barriers, handpulling and suction harvesting for watermilfoil control. Lake Fairlee Association. Note: this workshop may include a boat tour; must bring own PFD!

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Pontoon Boat Launch – Photos

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Getting everything ready at the beginning of the season took several days. Finally on Tuesday morning the last boat in our fleet was ready. It was cool and breezy, but sunny. I was passing by the boat ramp as the divers were preparing to launch, and snapped a bunch of pictures. If you are interested, look below.

BACKING THE PONTOON BOAT TOWARDS THE RAMP

LAST MINUTE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE MOTOR

READY TO LAUNCH

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Two New Faces

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

This year we welcome two new members to the dive crew.

Zach Lihatsh will be taking the place of Dan Rippe. Zach lives in Arizona in the winter, but grew up in the upper valley and is well known and trusted by the other divers. In addition to his dive experience Zach is an accomplished welder, a skill that has already proved useful this season.

Replacing Harper Bokum-Fauth as “boat-person” will be his twin brother Toby. Toby attends the College of Wooster, in Ohio. No, he and Harper are fraternal, not identical, twins.

They join returning divers “A.J.” Beard, Ben Rippe, and crew chief Ira Nelson Bokum. Please give them all a warm welcome when you see them on the lake!

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The Divers arrive – Getting Ready for the Season

Monday, May 19th, 2008

The ice went out late this Year on Lake Fairlee — it disappeared sometime in the last week of April. And the divers returned early this year, arriving on May the 13th. For the first few days they were busy getting equipment ready for the season. The boats were removed from the barn where are stored over the winter. They invariably need patching and repairs. This year the pontoon boat we use for suction harvesting and laying bottom barriers received some modifications and a new deck. We are fortunate that our crew are able to do most of the maintenance and repairs themselves.

The outboard motors get oil changes and lubrication, and occasionally minor repairs. Likewise the motor for the hydraulic pump on the trash rack, and the suction harvester pump. The air tanks have to be reinspected and all of the dive gear checked and brought up to safe working condition.

Our boats spend the winter in a barn donated by a generous lake resident. While the divers were working to get them ready a neighbor who lives not far from the lake stopped by and explained that he had an aluminum boat in his field that hadn’t been used in a decade. He would be glad to donate it and an outboard of similar vintage to our milfoil effort. We wrested it from the grasp of grasses and weeds and you can see it in use on the lake. Thank you Bruce!

We also found a used boat trailer on craigslist to replace one that finally broke for the last time last year. When the divers are handpicking they haul boatloads of wet milfoil up the boat ramp, requiring a very heavy duty trailer. We retrieved this from near Rutland.

All this takes several days, but it must be done before the real work can begin. We are excited to be getting going.

The divers at the barn

THE DIVERS ON DRY LAND

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Invasive Species Training Offered

Monday, May 5th, 2008

The Water Quality Division of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has a program to engage the help of citizens in monitoring the spread of invasive exotic plants and animals in the State’s waterbodies. An effective response to the spread of milfoil and other nuisances requires the efforts of more trained observers than the few on the State’s payroll. They are offering training workshops, and Lake Fairlee will be hosting one.

You are invited to attend. Our training will be on Sunday afternoon, June 29th. Click here to register online.

Below is the State’s description of the program. Their VIP web page can be read here.

Be a VIP: Vermont Invasive Patroller!

Early detection is vital to protecting Vermont’s waterbodies from harmful invasive plants and animals. Vermont Invasive Patrollers (VIPs) monitor a local waterbody for new introductions of invasive species while also learning about native aquatic plants and animals and their habitats.

What it takes to be a VIP:

Participate in at least one basic VIP training workshop (optional advanced workshops may also be available based on interest)

  • Sign a Statement of Commitment promising to document survey results in accordance with standardized procedures and report them to Vermont DEC
  • Conduct and submit at least two surveys during the summer for the presence of invasive plants or animals in your lake or pond (or a specific section thereof)
  • Submit suspicious samples to DEC staff for positive identification

If you’re interested in becoming a VIP, please email Leslie Matthews: leslie.matthews@state.vt.us or call 802-241-3798

VIP Training Workshops

A basic VIP training workshop takes about 4 hours and consists of:

  • a two-hour indoor session consisting of a powerpoint slide presentation and an introduction to native and invasive plant and animal identification
  • a two-hour field session on the water, during which participants will learn how to conduct surveys of native and invasive species in their natural habitats

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