The Winter 2021 KLC News is now available HERE and on our NEWSLETTERS page.
Articles include: Expanding Our Weed Management Program, 2020 Summary of Harvesting Operations, Annual Notice of Copper Sulfate Treatment, A Quick Look Back, Membership and Merchandise Days, Parking at the Launch, Dates to Remember
Ice conditions permitting, the KLC will hold a Northern Pike Ice Fishing Contest on Saturday, February 20, 2021. The contest will be free to the public between 7:00am and 2:00pm. From 2:00pm to 4:00pm, Northern Pike will be accepted for disposal at the large metal building at 9 Old West Shore Drive in Valatie. Only fish caught within the legal size and bag limit per person will be accepted. See Statewide Angling Regulations at https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31421.html. KLC merchandise prizes will be awarded to those individuals with the longest fish and most fish. Membership applications, member window placards, boat launch keys, trailer stickers, and merchandise will be available for sale.
Although this Contest will be open to the public and no entry fee is required, anglers who are not lake-front property owners will require permission from a Kinderhook Lake property owner to access the lake. Please respect private property.
Contact Bio_mikef@yahoo.com
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As most lake users are aware, 2020 was a rough year for management of aquatic invasive species (weeds) on Kinderhook Lake. Dense beds of Eurasian Watermilfoil prevented boating and other recreational activities from taking place in large areas of the lake. We were not alone, as similar instances of expansive weed growth in 2020 were reported in many other lakes throughout the region.
Back in 2016, close to 75-acres of aquatic invasive species, primarily Eurasian Watermilfoil, were mapped in the lake. That process led to the purchase of the Eco-Harvester in 2017, which has been efficiently removing milfoil each summer in the main boating channels as allowed by our DEC permit. Since then, the invasive weed beds have expanded, almost doubling in size and density by 2020. Contributing factors to the unprecedented increase in weed growth include (1) recent warmer winters not allowing sediment to freeze deep enough to kill or stun weeds in areas exposed by the annual drawdown; (2) unusually good water clarity consistently 6- to 7-feet deep for the last few years, allowing the sun to reach deeper and help spur weed growth; (3) the natural cycle of aquatic plant decay contributing to rich nutrients helping to fuel weed growth; (4) constant fragmentation of weeds from boat propellers traveling through the milfoil beds (milfoil easily propagates by fragmentation); and (5) natural reseeding and root expansion from large milfoil beds left unharvested due to limitations of our DEC harvesting permit.
While the Eco-Harvester removed a record 118 harvester-loads of invasive weeds this past summer (volume equivalent to ~413 cubic yards or ~34 dump truck loads), it could not keep up with the thick and speedy regrowth of milfoil. Evaluation throughout the summer and fall led the KLC Weed Committee to determine that it was time to expand our weed management program to include new options to combat aquatic invasive species in addition to using our Eco-Harvester.
After extensive research, the Weed Committee identified a relatively new aquatic herbicide called ProcellaCor. It has been used in many states for several years with remarkable results but was only approved for use in New York State waterbodies in 2019. Weed Committee members visited two local lakes in Fall 2020 to observe the results of their ProcellaCor treatments. Areas of milfoil treated with ProcellaCor at Crooked Lake in Fall 2019 and Burden Lake in Spring 2020 were completely free of milfoil. Committee members talked with several other lake associations that used ProcellaCor in recent years and the results were equally as impressive—no regrowth of milfoil. Committee members also consulted with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and several lake management firms licensed to apply ProcellaCor to evaluate the most optimal methods of treatment for Kinderhook Lake.
According to research, ProcellaCor has many important advantages over other widely used herbicides: (1) it is highly effective at extremely low dosages and dissipates quickly after use; (2) it specifically targets Eurasian Watermilfoil and a few other invasive species; (3) it does not harm native vegetation or wildlife; (4) it has minimal water use restrictions (primarily irrigation related); and (5) it reportedly lasts for three years before retreatment may be necessary (other herbicides require annual treatments). ProcellaCor treatments appear to be our best option to provide extended control of milfoil for several years.
Based on recommendations by the Weed Committee, the KLC Board of Directors approved the treatment of all milfoil in the lake with ProcellaCor in 2021 based on available funding. The KLC has since accepted proposals from three lake management firms and selected Burden Aquatics, Inc., a local firm from Averill Park, to prepare and submit DEC permit applications and treat the lake’s milfoil beds with ProcellaCor in June of 2021. The estimated cost to treat up to 160 acres is $70,000. The final cost will be determined by a survey in the spring to verify the exact size of all the milfoil beds.
Once the milfoil is treated with ProcellaCor, other weed species may eventually grow in its place. New growth could be native or invasive. For instance, curly-leaf pondweed already grows within many of the milfoil beds and will not be affected by the ProcellaCor treatments. It is possible that curly-leaf pondweed will thrive once the milfoil is treated. Fortunately, curly-leaf pondweed prefers cooler water and dies back on its own once the lake warms up by early-July and, until then, the Eco-Harvester will keep main boating channels clear as allowed by our DEC harvesting permit.
Recent capital improvements at the dam ($68,000 in 2019-2020) and annual copper sulfate purchases to help control blue-green algae (~$15,000/year) have put a considerable strain on the KLC’s financial reserves. However, this could not have been accomplished without your membership gifts and generous donations.
Your help is now needed to expand our weed management program. The goal is to raise $70,000 to treat up to 160 acres of Eurasian Watermilfoil with ProcellaCor during the summer of 2021. This goal can only be achieved through donations by everyone who loves and uses Kinderhook Lake and wants to see it thrive in the future.
To reach this goal, help save our lake from being overtaken by weeds, and expand our weed management program this coming spring, your support and donations in one of the following seven categories is requested:
| Silver | $50 – $199 | Eagle | $750 – $999 |
| Patron | $200 – $499 | Golden Eagle | $1,000 – $1,499 |
| Golden Patron | $500 – $749 | Diamond | $1,500 – $2,499 |
| Platinum Leader | Over $2,500 |
Donations can easily be made securely online here on our website or by sending a check to the KLC at PO Box 53, Niverville, NY 12130. Please see this pledge form for other donation options.
Think about it this way, ProcellaCor treatments are reported to last at least three years. If you donate $750, your one-time Eagle donation would be equivalent to $250/year. Certainly, you would agree that it is worth $250/year to save our lake from the destruction that will be caused by the continued expansion of Eurasian Watermilfoil. And, if you are lucky enough to own property on the lake, you would also agree that it’s worth $250/year to assure your property values continue to rise.
Thank you for your continued support and help to preserve Kinderhook Lake! Together, we can address this issue.
The KLC will be holding a Black Friday event at the Rt 28 boat launch on Friday, November, 27, from 11am to 1pm. The new 2021 KLC Calendars will be available as well as other KLC merchandise – some great holiday gifts. All proceeds are used to support the many programs that maintain and improve the lake. Cash or check only, please.
Here’s a preview of the winning calendar photos:
Thanks to all of you who submitted photos for the 2021 Calendar Contest. We were thrilled with the overwhelming response and quality of the submissions. Of course, we could only select 12 photos for the calendar and we congratulate the winners.
Michael Attebury, Natalie Buchanan, Victor Bujanow, Vaughn Clark,You can reserve the new 2021 KLC Calendar by contacting any board member (http://kinderhooklakecorp.org/board/) or by sending a message to klphotocontest@gmail.com – $20 each or two (2) for $36. Funds raised through the sale of calendars will be used to support many of the KLC’s programs to manage and improve Kinderhook Lake. Thanks for your support.
2020 has been a rough year for management of aquatic invasive species on Kinderhook Lake, especially Eurasian milfoil. Nobody can be sure if this is due to recent warmer winters not allowing sediment to freeze deep enough to kill or stun weeds in areas exposed by the drawdown, the unusually good water clarity consistently 6- to 7-feet deep for two years, the constant fragmentation of weeds from boat propellors traveling through the milfoil beds, or perhaps all of these combined. What we can be sure of is that we need to address this issue with new tools in addition to using our Eco-Harvester. While our harvester collected a record amount of milfoil this year, it was unable to keep up with this summer’s explosive weed growth in the areas that harvesting is permitted by our DEC permit.
For the past several months, the KLC weed committee has been hard at work researching new options to enhance our weed management program. Committee members have had numerous discussions with DEC, three lake management firms, and several local lake associations dealing with similar issues. Through this research we have found a relatively new herbicide that specifically targets Eurasian milfoil and has been used in many lakes throughout the country for the past few years. This herbicide does not appear to harm native weeds and comes with far fewer restrictions than any other herbicide in use today. Results of these treatments have been highly successful, showing no milfoil growth the second year after use. Committee members made site visits to two local lakes that have used this herbicide in 2019 and 2020 and personally observed the positive results; in one case, native weeds have already started to emerge where milfoil used to grow.
You will be hearing more over the winter about the upcoming changes to our weed management program as we continue to research and evaluate this new option. In the meantime, if you can’t wait for further updates, feel free to Google “ProcellaCor”.
On October 15th, in accordance with our DEC drawdown permit, we will begin to lower the lake to winter level. Winter level is approximately 52-inches lower than the average summer level and depending on weather conditions could take a few weeks to attain. Please be sure to complete any shoreline projects this fall while the lake is low, as springtime water levels are often difficult to control due to snowmelt and rain. As always, please remember not to rake leaves, twigs, and branches into the lake in the fall. If you can, please remove fallen leaves from the lake bed. Rotting leaves provide nutrients for aquatic invasive species and branches and twigs end up clogging the dam sluice gate.
We have been lucky to have some warm and sunny days this fall. Please enjoy the next week on the lake and remember to have your boats out by October 15th. If you have any questions, feel free to contact your area board member.
See the FAQ page for information and warnings
about Copper Sulfate treatment for algae control
Due to the overabundance of Northern Pike in Kinderhook Lake, we will be holding a Northern Pike Fishing Derby on Saturday, September 5, 2020, 6:00am – 12:00pm. No registration is required. Please bring your catch to the Rt 28 launch site at 12:00 noon, where KLC merchandise will be awarded to the anglers with the longest pike and most pike caught. Have fun and please remember to wear a mask and practice social distancing when at the launch. Good luck.
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