Owasco Watershed Lake Association
“Speak on behalf of the lake for she cannot speak for herself.”
The members of the Owasco Watershed Lake Association have continued to meet during this time of isolation due to the threat of the Covid 19 virus, gathering virtually from our homes. Plans for summer projects to reduce sediment and nutrient flow into the lake are in the works, as well as plans for public outreach and education about what we can all do to preserve and protect Owasco Lake. Please join us.
Owasco Lake is essential to our community character and our economic future. The Owasco Watershed Lake Association, as the voice of the lake, recognizes this and has joined together to draw attention to the value and importance of Owasco Lake.
OWLA commits itself to facilitating the strategies and activities that are designed to restore our watershed and improve water quality for both drinking and full recreational use of Owasco Lake and its watershed.
YOU CAN BE PART OF THE SOLUTION BY JOINING OWLA TODAY!!
The Sediment Reduction Task Force
Scientists estimate that more than 20% of the sediment and nutrients reaching the lake came from eroding roadside ditches. This can be easily fixed by hydroseeding exposed soil and using rock on steep ditch surfaces. OWLA and partners have created a The Sediment Reduction Task Force to reduce soil and nutrient erosion into the lake.
The Be Watershed Aware Campaign
Owasco Lake is the collection point for all of the water used in the 208 square mile watershed.
Do you know that Owasco Lake provides drinking water for more than 44,000 people in our community? The lake offers year-round recreation, attracts tourists from far and wide, and continues to be a crown jewel of central New York! In turn, because Owasco Lake’s health is in jeopardy, all of us need to assist in its restoration, maintenance and preservation.
The Be Watershed Aware Campaign is a critical component in the long-term strategy to minimize the occurrence and severity of HABs in Owasco Lake. It is based on creating an informed population of landowners, businesses, and recreational users of the Lake and the surrounding Watershed.
HABs Reporting in Owasco Lake
The OWLA HABs Program Volunteers monitor their assigned shoreline zones once a week from July through early October.
Learn More about HAB reporting:
NEWS
Scroll through for current OWLA and area news:
Please take a moment to read this important information from Gilda Brower!
OWLA: How to be lake-friendly and watershed-aware
If you find erosion or pollution along Owasco Lake’s shoreline or within its streams, look for a nearby sign to help pinpoint the location. About four years ago, the lake’sMark your calendars - The October 7, OWLA monthly meeting will feature Caroline (Carri) Marshner of the New York State Hemlock Initiative (NYSHI) as our special speaker. She will describe the problems with the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA), how it is attacking our Hemlock trees (important to watershed health), and efforts to control it.
See the Events page for all the information to join this Zoom meeting!
auburnpub.com/lifestyles/hall-habs-haw-and-progress-in-the-owasco-flats/article_4163721d-e144-567...
Hall: HABs, HAW and progress in the Owasco flats
You probably all know the acronym HABs (harmful algal blooms) by now, but maybe not HWA. HWA stands for hemlock woolly adelgid. HWA are tiny pests moving north, killing hemlockFriends:
On the evening of September 2, the Owasco Watershed Lake Association (OWLA) will welcome a presentation by behavioral science company, Evidn. Founded in Brisbane, Australia, Evidn specializes in the application of behavioral science to create evidence-based solutions for delivering behavioral change at scale; especially in the context of sustainability and agri-environmental challenges. Said simply, Evidn works with groups to bring about change at scale. Evidn's flagship project was the Cane Changer project, one of Australia’s largest environmental behavior change initiatives working to improve water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef. The project contributed to a 440% increase in the uptake of best management practices among sugar cane farmers along the coast of Queensland.
Evidn is beginning to work with farmers in the Owasco Lake Watershed in consultation with The Nature Conservancy, a not-for-profit working throughout New York to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends (nature.org). The Our Owasco project is working to increase the percentage of farmland in the Owasco Watershed implementing soil health best management practices (BMP). Adopting soil health BMPs can benefit the profitability and productivity of farms by reducing inputs, building crop resilience to weather extremes, and improving overall crop health. Building healthy soils can also produce significant positive environmental outcomes including less erosion and runoff, improved downstream water quality, and sequestration of carbon. Please join this meeting by clicking on the join zoom meeting link below shortly before 7 pm on September 2. Your questions and discussion will be welcomed.
A great article from OWLA Board member, Julie Lockhart!
auburnpub.com/lifestyles/lockhart-with-change-in-command-owla-continues-work-protecting-owasco-la...
Lockhart: With change in command, OWLA continues work protecting Owasco Lake
Presidents come, and presidents go. As you read this, the leadership of the Owasco Watershed Lake Association, a citizens’ action group, will have transitioned from me to Dana Hall. Our
fingerlakesinvasives.org/lake-fact-sheets-are-here/
Lake Fact Sheets are HERE! : Finger Lakes PRISM
To celebrate NY Invasive Species Awareness Week, the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges launched a Finger Lakes Fact Sheet project to honor the 11 Finger Lakes in the region. We created fact cards for each of the lakes with special information about each of the lakes with ph...Attention OWLA Members and Concerned Citizens:
OWLA Members and Concerned Citizens: To continue to do our part to protect everyone's health and safety we will be holding the OWLA meeting set for Wednesday, June 3, 2020 by Zoom teleconference.
Special Presentation: We are excited to welcome Olivia Green, Finger Lakes Water Quality Specialist from the Nature Conservancy who will provide a brief presentation: "Our Lakes, Our Future, Working Together in the Finger Lakes"
Time to Vote! This meeting is also the annual Elections meeting. We will have elections for Executive Officers and Board Members during the meeting via Zoom Poll. As all of the candidates are running unopposed we will be voting for two slates, one for the Executive Officers and one for the Board of Directors.
The slates are as follows:
Officers: Dana Hall, President; Ann Robson; Secretary; Sue Gatto, Treasurer. There are no candidates for President Elect.
Board of Directors: Gilda Brower; Ken Kudla; Rick Nelson; Peter Rogers; Meg Vanek; and Eileen Berry.
David Carr is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Follow link below to register and join the meeting:
Topic: OWLA Monthly Meeting, June 3, 2020
Time: Jun 3, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcqdO-rrTssGdbQD0QjYH5NJkOZibSJr6di
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
EVENTS and MEETINGS
Bob Brower Scientific Symposium in “Plain English”
“THIS CAN’T BE THE NEW NORMAL”
What’s happening to our lakes?
On Saturday, March 7, at the Auburn Public Theater, the Owasco Watershed Lake Association hosted the annual Bob Brower Scientific Symposium delivered in “plain English.”
Events Calendar
Check Out The Calendar For Area Events
News
OWLA presents important news and information from our area!
OWLA Monthly Meetings:
OWLA Monthly Meeting
Robert N. Brower
Memorial Honorarium
In 2018 we lost our friend and advocate for the lake and the environment, Bob Brower. OWLA has established an Honorarium in Bob’s name to help fund projects that were dear to him.
Please consider contributing to OWLA to honor Bob’s memory.
All donations are tax deductible.
What can you do to HELP?
Protecting Owasco Lake is essential to the maintenance of our community character and the improvement of our economic future. We encourage everyone to help the Owasco Watershed Lake Association personally and/or financially. By this commitment you will help keep Owasco Lake clean and safe.