Lake Protection Plan Moving Forward

By JOSHUA YOUNGQUIST
SPRINGFIELD

This is an economic engine, but it also is the core and the heart of our community.”

With those words, Dr. Bertine McKenna, chair of the Otsego Lake Watershed Supervisory Committee, opened a September 15 public meeting on the future of Otsego Lake, setting the tone for an evening focused on protecting the region’s most important natural resource through science, collaboration and long-term planning.

“We have to make sure that we keep it that way,” she told attendees gathered to hear updates on a comprehensive watershed management effort designed to safeguard the lake for future generations.

Scientists, municipal leaders, environmental organizations and residents gathered for the meeting, hosted by the Watershed Supervisory Committee, to review progress on a federally recognized Nine Element Watershed Management Plan. The science-based framework is intended to guide water quality protection efforts, prioritize future projects and funding opportunities, and strengthen cooperation among communities throughout the watershed.

For Dr. Jacob Gillette, the watershed coordinator helping to oversee the effort, success is measured not by dramatic change but by preservation.

“If we were all to come back in 20 years and we had basically the same lake we have now, that would be an overwhelming success,” Gillette said. He later emphasized that the plan is intended to remain a living document.

“The main thing I want everybody to understand is that this is very much an adaptive management plan,” Gillette said. “We do not plan for this to be something we finish a year from now, pat ourselves on the back and put it up on a shelf somewhere.”

McKenna credited a broad coalition of partners for advancing the project, including local governments, the Otsego Lake Association, the Otsego County Conservation Association, the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, state agencies, consultants and volunteers. She also highlighted the Village of Cooperstown’s financial commitment to the planning process.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since where we were at the meeting a year ago,” McKenna said.

Among the accomplishments highlighted were completion of the first three major sections of the 9E plan, including watershed characterization, establishment of community goals and priorities, and an assessment of environmental regulations across municipalities in the watershed. Presenters said the review identified opportunities for greater consistency among local governments managing shared water resources, including the Village of Cooperstown and the towns of Otsego, Middlefield, and Springfield.

The evening’s technical presentation was delivered by consultants Dr. Wendy Melnyk and Radyha Adityavarman of Anchor QEA, who explained that the 9E planning process has relied heavily on both scientific analysis and public engagement.

“We tried to really hear from a diverse representation of the community,” Melnyk said. “What are your concerns? What are your values? What are the things that you want to see in the lake and watershed?”

Drawing on decades of monitoring data, some dating back to the 1960s, researchers developed models to evaluate how climate change and management decisions could affect the watershed in coming decades. According to the modeling presented at the meeting, climate change alone could increase nitrogen loading by about 2 percent, phosphorus by roughly 5 percent and sediment by approximately 20 percent if no additional actions are taken.

The analysis also suggested that targeted conservation efforts could offset many of those increases. Agricultural best management practices resulted in projected reductions in nutrient loading that exceeded anticipated climate-driven increases, though sediment remains a continuing challenge.

Researchers reported that phosphorus entering the watershed comes from several sources. Approximately 49 percent originates from natural sources such as forests, wetlands, streambanks, and streambeds, while agriculture contributes about 40 percent and developed land about 11 percent. Scientists noted that streambank erosion is among the largest individual contributors of phosphorus and sediment entering the lake.

Despite future concerns, consultants reported that Otsego Lake remains in strong condition today. Measurements of phosphorus and chlorophyll remain below recreational guidance levels, while water clarity remains high. Data presented during the meeting showed average Secchi disk readings of roughly 21 feet, indicating clean, clear water with low nutrient pollution.

“The understanding is that these trends become important as we look into the future and then try to ensure that things don’t get worse than they are and we retain the conditions that we have,” Melnyk said.

The presentation also highlighted emerging concerns, among them harmful algal blooms, invasive species and increasing chloride concentrations associated with road salt use. Consultants explained that multiple factors, including nutrient levels, warming temperatures and invasive mussel populations, influence harmful algal blooms. Meanwhile, invasive species prevention efforts continue to focus on monitoring, education and boat decontamination programs.

Road salt generated significant discussion among attendees. Presenters reported that chloride levels in the watershed are trending upward, though concentrations remain below thresholds considered immediately concerning. Municipal projects such as covered salt storage facilities and improved application technologies were highlighted as methods for reducing impacts while maintaining road safety.

The meeting concluded with a review of 27 proposed best management practices covering such focus areas as agriculture, shoreline protection, septic systems, stream restoration, invasive species management, scientific monitoring and public education. Residents were invited to provide feedback on which practices should receive the highest priority moving forward.

As the 9E project enters its next phase, consultants said the focus has shifted from identifying challenges to developing a path forward.

“So where we’re at now is this fourth step, which is, ‘How do we get there?’ So how do we create the roadmap to get to where we want to be?” Melnyk said.

Implementing that roadmap will require continued participation from across the watershed.

“Those collaborations, that’s how we get things done, right?” Melnyk said. “We need all of you active and engaged or participating to really achieve the vision that you all set.”

McKenna agreed, noting both the challenges and opportunities ahead.

“Money is important, for some stuff, it turns out,” she joked while discussing grant administration and project implementation.

Later, reflecting on the cooperation that has emerged among watershed communities and organizations, McKenna added, “We’re turning into a team.”

That spirit of collaboration ultimately emerged as the meeting’s central message, perhaps best captured by a saying McKenna shared with attendees:

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”