East Shore Schroon Lake Association: In Action

From Jane Smith, President of ESSLA:

Communicating with our members is our highest priority.  Communicating with yet to be members is also important.  That is why we have introduced a new electronic messaging device we have named the "Mini-Pearl".  Our main communication newsletter, with its in-depth articles, will continue at a publication rate of once or twice per year.  Our new electronic Mini-Pearl (this our first issue) will be more frequent and issued at key times, determined by important breaking news for our members and the community at large.  We hope all of you, with e-mail capability, will find this publication informative and valuable.  We encourage those who receive it to forward their Mini-Pearl to their friends and relatives, who may not yet be members of ESSLA, and encourage them to join us in our important environmental work---"Protecting and Preserving the Schroon Lake and River Natural Resource for Present and Future Generations".  --- Thank you, ESSLA Editorial Board.

 Dan Kelting, PhD

Talk about buying local.  Paul Smith's is in our own backyard and we will be doing our water quality testing on Schroon Lake with them through ALAP.  The East Shore Schroon Lake Association was formed in 1968 because of questionable water practices, specifically less than desirable discharge into the lake.  The original testing was done by ESSLA alone and was then taken up by the Schroon Lake Association and ESSLA through the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP).
 
At the expense of sounding a bit snobbish, but proud of it, we feel that our lakes within the Blue Line are just a cut above the rest.  With that in mind we researched the Adirondack Lake Assessment Program (ALAP).  ALAP has the same high standards of water testing as CSLAP, but the testing is specific to the Adirondack waterways. 

We had two concerns about switching from CSLAP to ALAP.  First, would we lose the continuity of precious long-term data?  That concern was laid to rest because the directors of both programs work together and long term data would be included with future findings.  Secondly, we were concerned with the AWI lab certification and facility.  We visited the lab at Paul Smith’s to find a state of the art, certified lab with far more capability than we require, but it’s there should we need it.  No problem.  Homerun!
 
ESSLA has a longstanding and close working relationship with Paul Smith’s College.  Among our friends there is Dan Kelting, PhD, who is an Associate Professor and the Executive Director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI).  Under Dan’s leadership, the AWI has developed the largest water quality monitoring and aquatic invasive species programs in the Adirondacks. 

Dan was the speaker at our July membership meeting.  The consensus from those in attendance....phenomenal!!  His presentation was loaded with facts as they are related to our lake and river.  Those I will share in another article.  One outstanding "ah ha" moment was a visual explanation of our watershed.

The simple words “thank you” are inadequate for all that Dan, Eric, Corey, Liz and Kathleen do for and with ESSLA.  We treasure our relationship with Paul Smith’s.

 There’s more to come about that relationship....the Stewardship Program, the Floating Classroom, eDNA testing, studies of road salting within the Adirondacks along with articles about the folks at PS’s that are super at doing these programs.  

Stewardship through your ESSLA membership is vital to our Schroon Lake and River Region and we thank you.  Please encourage your family, friends and neighbors who have not joined us as yet to become members.  Our dues year is from January 1 through December 31 of each year at a cost of $25 per family or $15 per individual.

Contact Joanne McGhie, Membership Chairman at jmcghie@nycap.rr.com
Do you have as little as two hours during the entire summer to give a helping hand where needed?  You can do so by becoming an ESSLA Ambassador. Contact Sally Paland at spaland36@gmail.com