Author: Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium

The Department of Environmental Conservation has launched a Chautauqua Watershed website so you can keep up to date with the latest news and information regarding lake science, permitting, and regulation.

                                                                                              An 1878 photograph of Chautauqua Lake reveals a shoreline that is very different from the one we recognize today. The boating options have certainly changed.  This view from Bemus Point over to Long Point records a shoreline of growing vegetation, even out into the deeper water. No one can turn back the hands of time and humans have, undeniably, changed …

Applications for the widespread use of herbicides in April or May in Chautauqua Lake in Western New York have been filed. The requested herbicide is toxic to mammals and kills more than just the invasive plant. The Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium in association with FreshWater Future have prepared this simple form for you to submit a comment letter to the New York State Department of Conservation …

 When possibly the oldest life form on Planet Earth has had about 2.7 billion years to perfect its survival skills, showing up in unexpected places should come as no surprise. Cyanobacteria is that survivor.  Algal blooms are a familiar, summer sight on the South Basin of Chautauqua Lake. “Algal” leads us to believe we are referring to algae, the biological …

It’s not news that Chautauqua Lake and other regional bodies of water struggle with abundant plant growth that interferes with recreation for some. Voices have been raised to eliminate these nuisance, invasive plants. But is it possible, or even advisable, to attempt to remove all invasive plants in a lake?   Yes, if it is a newly-introduced invasive.  However, If the plants have …

It’s been a busy year. Click here to see the Consortium’s work in 2023 by the numbers.

Each of our regional lakes –Findley, Cassadaga, Bear, and Chautauqua — is part of a system of connected environments, often referred to as an ecosystem. Human activities within these ecosystems can have positive or negative impacts on their delicate balance. Nutrients in lakes, such as Chautauqua, come from different sources including runoff from land, leaking septic systems, release from lake …

As authorized by permits issued a week earlier, 125.6 acres of Chautauqua Lake were treated with the herbicide Aquathol-K on May 25 for the purpose of combating Curly-leaf Pondweed. These treatments took place in the Town of Ellery, the Village of Bemus Point, the Town of Ellicott, and the Town of Busti. The permits state: “Warning/notification signs must be posted …

Conewango Creek Watershed Association (CCWA) and the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium (CCC) held their Annual Gala and Member Meeting on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at the Audubon Community Nature Center. The Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Ruth Wahl, a leader of the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium.  Ruth retired after 30 years as a high-school science education teacher and she has also …

A national study, “Unprecedented Analysis Reveals PFAS Contamination in U.S. Waterways Shows Shocking Levels of Contamination” was released on October 18, 2022, by the Waterkeeper Alliance. They are the largest and fastest-growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water, dedicated to preserving and protecting water via local Waterkeeper groups worldwide. The Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium is the Waterkeeper Alliance Affiliate responsible for the …