Date: 1/9/21 5:00 pm From: Deb Grantham <dgg3...> Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Dryden Conservation Board Resolution Recommending Preservation of Dryden Lake Dam
That’s a nutrient loading issue, I’m sure.
Deb
From: <bounce-125276770-83565122...> <bounce-125276770-83565122...> On Behalf Of Nancy Cusumano
Sent: Saturday, January 9, 2021 6:39 PM
To: Regi Teasley <rltcayuga...>
Cc: Marie P. Read <mpr5...>; Bard Prentiss <bvanwoert13...>; CAYUGABIRDS-L <CAYUGABIRDS-L...>
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Dryden Conservation Board Resolution Recommending Preservation of Dryden Lake Dam
This may be a separate issue, but I would hope the high levels of harmful algae that Dryden lake is prone to every year might be addressed somehow in this process. I am a rare visitor to the lake during the summer, but I have to say, I would not dare to put even my kayak in that water. The color. The smell! The runoff of it downstream and all that that affects. I know that algae is difficult to eradicate...but maybe dredging or somehow increasing the circulation of that body of water could help?
As I say, maybe a separate issue but one that surely needs to be addressed as well.
Thank you for listening.
On Sat, Jan 9, 2021 at 3:05 PM Regi Teasley <rltcayuga...><mailto:<rltcayuga...>> wrote:
I would love to see birders, as birders, taking an active role in supporting local environmental protection.
Regi
____________
“The future of the world is nuts.” Philip Rutter, founder of the American Chestnut Foundation
On Jan 9, 2021, at 2:32 PM, Marie P. Read <mpr5...><mailto:<mpr5...>> wrote:
...or maybe I should have said “...help support financially.”
Good news...losing Dryden Lake would be a tragedy for wildlife and humans alike. If/when the expected grumbling about finding the needed funds and how that would affect local taxes comes up, this should be a project that the local birding community could support financially?
Dryden Conservation Board Resolution Recommending Preservation of Dryden Lake Dam
Whereas there has been a dam at Dryden Lake Dryden, NY since circa 1801; and
Whereas the body of water known as Dryden Lake, created by the building of the dam, has provided numerous benefits to the citizens of the Town of Dryden and surrounding areas for over two hundred years, with its benefits changing and expanding over two plus centuries; and
Whereas the lake originally provided power for a sawmill and ice harvesting, it created additional waterfowl and wildlife habitat that has made the lake today a birding “hot spot” with 228 species observed, providing migratory bird rest areas and nesting and foraging habitat (Canada geese, ducks, loons, herons, Bald Eagles) as well as habitat for numerous mammals, amphibians, turtles, etc; and
Whereas Dryden Lake and its surrounding areas provides many forms of year round recreation for town and surrounding area residents, such as fishing, ice fishing, hiking, jogging, dog walking, biking, cross country skiing, snow shoeing (on the Jim Schug trail), kayaking, canoeing, ice skating, hunting, trapping, bird watching, picnicking, etc; and
Whereas Dryden Lake and its surrounding natural areas are an important educational resource, being used both for formal classes in ecology and natural resources (Cornell University) and informal education of everyone from young children to lifelong education participants; and
Whereas the Town of Dryden currently provides a community park at the Lake under an agreement with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; and
Whereas the Dryden Lake park is a popular location for many community events with the lake being the center piece for those events; and
Whereas the lake has a rich historical and cultural value to the citizens of the town; and
Whereas the NYS DEC is considering the removal of the dam and the elimination of Dryden Lake in the form it has existed for over two hundred years; and
Whereas the Dryden Town Board has requested a recommendation from the Conservation Board on the future of the Dryden Lake dam and ultimately Dryden Lake itself.
