Lake Garfield Working Group October Meeting

Due to other events scheduled in both the town hall and the community center, the Lake Garfield Working Group (LGWG) held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 15, in the United Church of Christ basement. Member Dennis Lynch gave a report on the recent activity of New England Aquatic Services who were contracted by the town to continue work begun in the fall of 2018 to remove eurasian milfoil from Lake Garfield. The work was done, beginning on September 29, over the course of nine days, by diver-assisted suction harvesting (DASH), with two scuba divers who removed the weeds by the roots and sent them to the surface via four-inch suction hoses, to be bagged and drained before transporting them to Gould Farm to be composted. The focus was on the 3.35-acre patch of milfoil which runs across northwest corner of the “big bowl” of the lake. It was noted that even though the density of milfoil was considerable, the progress was evident in the lower concentration of weeds in the affected area.

In other news, member Michael Germain reported on the October 5 conference of the Lakes and Ponds Association of Western New England (LAPA) which took place in Pittsfield. Among the topics presented and discussed were this summer’s research on cyanobacteria monitoring in Lake Garfield, Lake Buel, and Pontoosuc Lake; the formation of a task force through the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation to coordinate the efforts of diverse agencies involved with lakes and ponds; a Department of Fish and Wildlife report on lake bottom topography, including high resolution mapping of Lake Garfield; and a report of a University of Massachusetts doctoral candidate on the effects of lake drawdowns in Massachusetts. It was noted that on numerous counts the natural characteristics of Lake Garfield, including its varied shallow and deep terrain, as well as relatively constant water flow, contributed to its health.

The next meeting of the Lake Garfield Working Group will be at the town hall, on Monday, November 18, at 7 p.m. All interested persons are encouraged to attend. — Steve Snyder Chair, Lake Garfield Working Group