News from the Noteworthy from the Otsego Lake Association
OLA: ‘Commitment, Support and Hard Work’
The Otsego Lake Association is an all-volunteer, 501c3 nonprofit organization, the mission of which is to educate, advocate, and actively participate in protecting the health, beauty, and well-being of Otsego Lake.
OLA members and volunteers work toward this mission by:
- Training boat wash stewards who protect the lake from invasive species.
- Maintaining no-wake buoys.
- Working with and supporting initiatives with the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station.
- Organizing and conducting the annual Lake Clean-up Day.
- Providing books on lake science to local libraries and schools.
- Helping maintain the buffer strip at the end of Pioneer Street.
- Supporting the SUNY Oneonta BFS Volunteer Dive Team.
- Collecting water samples for scientific analysis.
- Educating the public regarding threats to the lake.
- Publishing real-time scientific data on our website, otsegolakeassociation.org.
- Running fun events, such as our Annual July 4th Boat Parade.
- Publishing the award-winning “Our Glimmerglass” journal.
Importantly for OLA, recent threats to our lake—including hazardous algal blooms, or HABs—have focused our work with local and state governmental agencies and civic environmental organizations working to develop a Comprehensive Lake Management Plan. OLA is playing a leading role in that effort.
While we are the only organization solely dedicated to the welfare of Otsego Lake, we are proud to partner with other groups that share our goals. Those organizations include the Watershed Supervisory Committee, the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, the Otsego Lake Watershed Sustainability Fund of the Community Foundation of Otsego County, and the Otsego County Conservation Association. Working together, we have been able to leverage the resources and talents of these organizations for the benefit of our lake.
OLA has always been proactive in its efforts to preserve the quality of our lake. This year we initiated “The Pledge to Keep Otsego Lake Healthy” by stressing individual responsibility and best property and lake management practices.
Some key points include:
The Otsego Lake Association invites all lake property owners to formalize their commitment to sustainable practices, inspire neighbors to do the same, and encourage tangible behavioral changes that further our mission of stewardship for this most prized resource, Otsego Lake. The pledge serves as a shared promise that fosters community engagement, accountability and a unified effort toward a healthier future for all residents. Below is a list of best management practices that help make a lake healthy.
- Keep nitrogen and phosphorus out of the lake: maintain your on-site septic system; minimize fertilizer and dish washer detergent; use only phosphorus-free fertilizer and detergent; and pick up pet waste and dispose of it properly in the trash.
- Friendly lawn care: maintain a buffer of native plants along your shoreline; mow grass no shorter than three inches; avoid or minimize use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
- Protect the lake’s inhabitants: do not flush medications down the toilet; dispose of household hazardous waste properly so it does not end up in the lake; avoid fluid leaks from watercraft or other vehicles; keep plastics out of the lake; and reduce, reuse, recycle.
- Reduce water runoff: reduce impermeable surfaces; install a rain barrel to catch your roof gutter water; and wash your vehicles and watercraft at the car wash, not in your driveway.
- Keep out invasive species: clean, drain, and dry your watercraft and trailers; do not dump unused live bait into the lake.
OLA is fortunate to have a growing, talented, and diverse membership, group of advisors and officers, and Board of Directors—all committed to the maintenance and future of our lake.
Our thanks to all for their commitment, support and hard work.
Jim Howarth is the president of the Otsego Lake Association.
