Cody Englander
Staff Writer
The 2025 Chautauqua Lake Conference was held last Saturday at the Chautauqua Golf Club with various presentations about research and information about Chautauqua Lake.
Kevin Rose, of The Jefferson Project at Chautauqua Lake, gave the first presentation, taking assessment of water quality issues with Chautauqua Lake that are the result of excess nutrient enrichment. Gaining an understanding of spatial and temporal heterogeneity and understanding causes of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) are both end goals for The Jefferson Project at Chautauqua Lake. Catch management and biosecurity are important factors in maintaining and improving Chautauqua Lake. According to Rose, an important part of the project is the recognition of overall goals for the lake. For example, it won’t be a swimming pool.
As of now, more water is going to be tested to gain a greater understanding to move toward improved lake health. This will allow for a better understanding of high nutrients in the water, and better forecasting for HABs.
Courtney Wigdahl-Perry, from SUNY Fredonia, presented the Thin Ice Project. The project completed a year of monthly sampling and gathered comprehensive data about the lake. This testing takes place near the Miller Bell Tower, where a temperature sensor and miniDOT oxygen sensor are implemented.
After a short break, Colleen Bradley and Ryan Bell from the New York State Department of Health gave a presentation about a Drinking Water Source Protection Plan for Chautauqua County. Drinking water can be contaminated by fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, HABs and other contaminant sources. Chautauqua Lake is a source water area and a Critical Environmental Area (CEA).
The next presentation came from Twan Leenders from the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. This presentation covered how inland wetlands can prevent floods and filter water naturally. The focus of Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is to identify and protect areas of “greatest ecological and hydrological value” through the Chautauqua region’s watersheds.
Randall Perry from Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance was the penultimate presentation, covering water quality issues and solutions to flooding. The presentation focused on maintaining and improving a solid ecological environment around Chautauqua Lake.
The final presentation came from Betsy Burgeson, the Chautauqua Institution supervisor of gardens and landscapes, who shared how her team works across the grounds to filter the water that makes it way to the lake through Chautauqua’s gardens.
