May 08, 2008 10:41 am
—
By JIM AUSTIN
Cooperstown Crier
The Otsego Lake Association is hoping
some photographic evidence will help them
demonstrate to local officials the threat mud
flows pose to the lake.
Association president Paul Lord said last
week that he has been authorized by the
board of directors to pay a bounty of $250
each for up to three good quality color aerial
photographs of mud plumes in Otsego Lake
taken during 2008.
Lord said the association is aware, from
member reports, that mud continues to flow
into Otsego Lake from upland portions of
the Village of Cooperstown, and the Towns
of Otsego, Middlefield, and Springfield.
Each year one million pounds of mud
flows into Otsego Lake and people don’t
seem to pay much attention, he said.
The silt entering the lake settles on the
bottom and can interrupt the breeding of
lake trout, Lord explained. It also can choke
out native plants and create an environment
that stimulates the growth of milfoil,
an invasive aquatic weed that has caused
problems in the lake.
Matt Albright, of the Biological Field
Station, said last week that those are very
valid concerns with sediment loading in the
lake. Some of the problems come from farming
activities, but also from development as
people encroach on stream banks.
Albright said it’s sometimes tricky to get
good photos of mud flows because during
and after a rain, conditions for flying and
photography are not always
good. But the flows are easy
to spot where streams enter
the lake, he said.
Lord said one source the
association is concerned
about is the sediment basin
for Willow Brook above the
village along Glen Avenue.
``The sediment basin is
full and not doing its job,’’ he
said.
Albright agreed that the
basin is nearing its capacity,
and will need to be excavated
to remove the mud and silt it
has trapped, but the fact it is
full is an indication it has
been working.
He said sediment loading
is a problem that is being addressed
gradually through
programs like the Farm Service
Agency’s Conservation
Reserve Program.
The cost share program
will help establish best management
practices on agricultural
lands, including
stream crossings and planting
buffer strips.
Tony Capraro, of the
NRCS, which works on the
Conservation Reserve Program
with the Farm Service
Agency, said those buffer
strips take up nutrients and
block sediment that would
otherwise find its way downstream
to the lake.
He said the Otsego Lake
watershed is eligible for the
enhanced program, which
means a 90 percent cost
share as opposed to the normal
50 percent. More information
about the program is
available from Bill Gibson at
the Farm Service Agency at
547-8131.
To obtain additional information
about mud flow
photos, or to collect a bounty,
Lord may be contacted at
(607) 435-4989 or at
lordp@usa.net.
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