An estimated 7,792 tons or 15,584,000 pounds of nuisance plant material was removed from Chautauqua Lake this past summer by crews employed by the Chautauqua Lake Association.
“This is a tremendous feat and our crews and volunteers should be commended for an outstanding job this summer,” CLA President Chris Yates said. “Thanks to the public’s response in the fund drive we were able to meet a county mandate to raise $20,000 in order to obtain $80,000 in special county funding. This allowed us to launch a much needed third crew mid-summer and to operate our other two crews for extended hours work days.”
Yates added that volunteers from Cummins Engine and workers from the county’s Welfare-to-Work program also contributed to work efforts. “Our lake maintenance needs were met in 2012 and our fund drive is continuing in order to fund necessary off-season equipment maintenance needs so that we’ll be ready for 2013,” Yates said.