By: DarlaY
03/02/2023 2:42 pm
Letter from Jim Howarth
A recent article in “The Freeman’s Journal” asked, “Do Blooms Also Like It Cold?’’ and comments questioned what is being done to address our harmful algal blooms—HABs. The answer is, a lot.
We consider Otsego Lake to be unique—and in many ways it is. But one of the ways it is not unique is its susceptibility to HABs. Hundreds of bodies of water in the Northeast have experienced HABs recently. The causes of HABs are under study, but we do know there is no one driver or any party to affix blame to.
The Otsego Lake Association and its members have taken the lead in studying and dealing with HABs.
By: Staff
12/23/2022 11:00 am
Letter from Chip Northrup
Glimmerglass Lake (aka Otsego) faces its biggest ecological challenge since the last Ice Age in the form of harmful algae blooms, “HABs,” which can make lake water not only unpotable, but un-swimmable, un-skiable, un-rowable and unpopular. Fortunately, we have the A-Team on the job: The new incoming president of the North American Lake Management Society, none other than our own Dr. Kiyoko Yokota of SUNY Oneonta, and Mr. Doug Willies, who is going to lead the effort to get a DEC-approved HAB mitigation and remediation plan in place in order to organize and formalize the response. Kiyoko is a brilliant scientist whose specialty is quagga mussels, the little culprits that may be exacerbating the HABs, and Doug is a can-do organizer and a canny Scot who can pinch the life out of a penny or a quagga mussel. We couldn’t have a better team leaders to address the challenges of keeping Glimmerglass Lake from turning into Pea Soup Pond.
Chip Northrup
Cooperstown
Editor’s Note: The Harmful Algal Bloom Action Team—a collaboration of water professionals, researchers, and educators from the national network of Water Resources Research Institutes, the North Central Region Water Network, and Cooperative Extensions from the 12 states in the North Central Region of the United States—is holding its third annual Harmful Algal Bloom Research Symposium on January 5 and 6, 2023. This virtual symposium is free. Visit the North Central Region Water Network’s website for more information. The symposium will include discussions about the latest harmful algal bloom research, examples of effective bloom management, and the latest technologies being used to tackle this global issue.
