Lake group says Keuka in 'good health'

KEUKA LAKE--The Keuka Lake Association held their annual meeting Saturday, July 8 at Keuka College.
More than 100 people attended and marked the 61st year for the organization with the mission, "to preserve and protect Keuka Lake."
Dr. Timothy Sellers, professor of biology and environmental science and director of the Center for Aquatic Research at Keuka College, prepared a short slide presentation to highlight key parts of his "State of the Lake" report.
Sellers stated Keuka Lake has "improving trends" with several important water qualities including clarity and algae levels. Sellers said cyanobacteria levels continue to be low but are present. Sellers also said invasive species continue to be a threat to the lake. The Starry Stonewort macroalgae has infested the Keuka Lake Outlet and some additional areas of the lake nearby. The organism forms a dense bed that can block sunlight and fouls motors. Even though eradication is not possible at this time, options to manage the invasive species include chemical, scuba hand-pulling and mechanical harvesting of the plants.
Sellers' presentation also stated changes in the fish population may correlate with water quality parameters, but added a careful approach is necessary to address this issue.
The Department of Environmental Conservation recently (June 12, 2017) announced their results from monitoring Keuka Lake fishing for the past three years. In that report the DEC said Keuka is declining in productivity for fishing and will not be able to support the same level of fish that it previously did. Saturday at the KLA meeting, a member of the audience challenged Sellers about water quality and said he and others who fish Keuka Lake certainly want clean water, but also want to look at the steps necessary to improve the fishing production for the lake. Sellers agreed a careful approach will be important to address the fishing production problem and the long term chemistry and health of the lake.
At the annual meeting Saturday, KLA members elected five new directors and reelected five people to serve on the board of the 1,600-member lake association. The elected directors include Maria Hudson, Tim Cutler, Bob Young, Sam Pennise, Nancy Feinstein, Ira Goldman, Candy Dietrich, Meg Cole, Chip Murphy and Michele Rowcliffe.