Letter from Chip Northrup

Hats Off to Rhonda, Doug

When the presence of harmful algae blooms was first detected in Lake Otsego, many of the locals, myself included, did their best impersonations of headless chickens in a one-act play, titled “The Sky Is Falling.” No one seemed to know how to respond. Not so Rhonda and Doug Willies. They contacted one of the leading experts on lake science, Kiyoko Yokota, who happens to be a biology professor at SUNY Oneonta, and they, at their own expense and initiative, began collecting samples of suspected “blooms” to send to a certified lab to be tested. When the results came back positive, the Willies came up with a plan of action: to gather the various lake groups and organizations together to devise a state approved and funded plan to address the increasing threat of HABs to the lake’s ecosystem, to wildlife, pets and humans. Including humans that swim in the lake or occasionally fall out of rowing shells.