WATER CHESTNUT HANDPULL POSTPONED TO
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 9am-11am
To help reduce the spread of this aquatic invasive species, a water chestnut hand-pulling event is planned for Saturday, June 29, 9:00 am – 11:00 am SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 9am-11am. We need two dozen volunteers for this event to be successful. Please meet at the north end of the lake with your kayak, canoe, rowboat, raft, or any vessel that can navigate very shallow water. Gloves and perhaps a rake would be helpful, but are not required. A few teams of volunteers may be dispersed to various coves/shorelines around the lake where new water chestnut growth has been identified. Pulled weeds will be transferred to the Eco-Harvester and brought to shore for disposal. In the event of pouring rain or lightning, the ‘pull’ will take place at the same time on Sunday, June 30. Some light refreshments may be available. Please come and be part of the solution.
As in past years, some water chestnuts will be pulled with the Eco-Harvester prior to this event. However, due to the risk of damage to the harvester drum, it cannot be operated in the very shallow water where many of the water chestnuts are growing.
Please note that a second water chestnut hand-pulling event may be needed on Saturday, July 13, 9am to 11am, depending on the success of the June 29 event. Stay tuned and check back here or on Facebook for any potential changes.
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The KLC has submitted a permit application to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to treat up to five acres of Eurasian milfoil with ProcellaCor in June 2023. This is the same herbicide that was used to treat and eradicate over 200 acres of milfoil in 2021. This is a preventative measure to eradicate a few small patches of milfoil identified last summer before they spread and turn into larger weed beds that could interfere with boating and other recreational activities. The cost of the treatment will be covered by your donations to the Weed Management Fund. As required by DEC, ProcellaCor product labels must be posted on our website; see the sidebar Quick Links. Additional information about this summer’s treatment will be posted here later in the spring.
Due to this year’s ProcellaCor treatment that appears to have eradicated most of the Eurasian milfoil in the lake, the EcoHarvester was only used to harvest water chestnuts. Since most of the water chestnuts reside in shallower water at the north end of the lake, the harvester was easily able to pull them out with their roots well before the nutlets had a chance to grow. About 1 acre of water chestnuts was harvested on July 7th in accordance with our DEC permit.
To help reduce the spread of this aquatic invasive species, a water chestnut hand-pulling event is planned for Saturday, June 23, 9:00 am – 11:00 am. We need two dozen volunteers for this event to be successful. As in past years, please meet at the north end of the lake with your kayak, canoe, rowboat, raft, or any vessel that can navigate very shallow water. Don’t forget heavy gloves and perhaps a rake. Pulled weeds will be transferred to the ECO-Harvester and brought to shore for disposal. This year, a few teams of volunteers may be dispersed to various coves around the lake where water chestnut growth has been identified. Light refreshments will be provided. In the event of pouring rain, the ‘pull’ will take place at the same time on Sunday, June 24. Please come and be part of the solution.
Why don’t we pull the water chestnuts with the ECO-Harvester? Two reasons: (1) Our DEC permit does not allow it, and (2) There is a risk of damage to the harvester drum if we run it in the shallow water where most of the water chestnuts are growing.
It’s here …. and just in case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard by now ….
Please come to the KLIA Community Hall on Saturday, June 17, 9:30 am to noon to see what your generous support has brought to Kinderhook Lake. Find out how and why the Eco-Harvester was selected and how it will be used to battle our invasive weed problems. Take a close-up look and learn how it works. The Eurasian Milfoil is already shaking in its stalks! Refreshments will be served.
Weeds! Weeds! Weeds! Do you find yourself trapped by weeds? Weeds wrapped around your propellers? Weeds clogging your jet ski motor? Floating weeds trapped around your dock or shoreline? Unable to get away from your shoreline without passing through weeds? Tangled in weeds while swimming, paddling or sailing? Fishing lines tangled in weeds? Embarrassed to show off your lake to friends? Worried about your property values? Weeds! Weeds! Weeds!
Aquatic weeds are essential to a healthy lake ecology and are important to the spawning and growth of our fish population. Weeds have always grown in Kinderhook Lake. However, due to the recent infestation of aquatic invasive species, along with a warm winter and spring in 2016, the quantity of invasive and native weeds has exploded. Exploded!
During the summer of 2016, over 70 acres of dense invasive aquatic weed beds were mapped in Kinderhook Lake. This includes 65 acres of Eurasian milfoil mixed with curly-leaf pondweed and 5 acres of water chestnuts. In addition, approximately 15 acres of dense nuisance native weeds, water star-grass, were observed but not mapped. Boating and recreational activities in 2016 were virtually impossible in these dense weed beds all around the lake.
So, what’s the answer? After a year of considerable research, the KLC Weed Committee has recommended weed harvesting using an ECO-Harvester.
Different from the common weed harvester, which simply cuts the top of the weeds off like a lawn mower, the ECO-Harvester pulls out the entire weed along with its roots. The Committee’s research has shown this is the best approach to a long-term, effective, environmentally friendly, and sustainable weed management program. Implementing a weed management program with a new ECO-Harvester in the spring of 2017 may avoid a potentially catastrophic summer for boating and recreational activities.
Recent capital improvements at the dam and annual copper sulfate purchases to keep the lake free of blue-green algae have put a considerable strain on KLC’s financial reserves. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of membership gifts and donations. However, to keep this weed invasion manageable, we need to react right away, and once again have to ask for your support.
Our goal is to raise $76,000 to cover the cost of an ECO-Harvester. Our goal can be achieved through donations by everyone who loves and uses Kinderhook Lake and wants to see it thrive in the future.
To reach our goal and help save our lake from being overtaken by weeds, we request your support and donations in one of the following categories.
- Patron: $200-$399
- Golden Patron: $400-$649
- Eagle: $650-$999
- Golden Eagle: $1,000-$1,499
- Diamond: $1,500-$2,400
- Platinum Leader: Over $2,500
Think about it this way, the ECO-Harvester is expected to operate for at least 10 years. If you donate $1,000, your one-time Golden Eagle donation would be equivalent to $100/year. Certainly, you would agree that it’s worth $100/year to save our lake from the destruction that will be caused by the continued expansion of invasive and native weeds. And if you are lucky enough to own property on the lake, you would also agree that it’s worth $100/year to assure your property values continue to rise.
Please help us reach our $76,000 goal to start our weed management program this coming spring.
Simply click this link ECO-Harvester Donations (or the green bar at the top of the page) to easily make your donations online using a credit card or PayPal. Online payments are processed through PayPal for security purposes. If you prefer, you may mail a check in the amount of your donation to the Kinderhook Lake Corporation, PO Box 53, Niverville, NY 12130.
Thank you for helping to preserve Kinderhook Lake.
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