CAZENOVIA — The Cazenovia Lake Association (CLA) has partnered with Madison County to purchase a new, custom-built electrofishing boat for use on Cazenovia Lake and other lakes within the county.
The boat, which was delivered in July, will be used for research purposes and function as a “floating classroom.”
An electrofishing boat uses an electric field to temporarily stun fish that can then be collected with long-handled dip nets for identification. Data collected from electrofishing can be used to determine the abundance, density, species composition, and health of fish populations.
The CLA is a group of residents, homeowners, business owners, and elected officials that strives to protect the environmental and recreational sustainability of Cazenovia Lake.
“[We have] been sampling the lake in order to understand the ecosystem from the sediment in the bottom all the way up to the fish populations,” said CLA President Dave Miller. “We are looking at the invertebrates in the sediment, the algae in the water, the zooplankton in the water, and the plant life. The missing piece is a good understanding of the fish population and proper tracking of the fish population. Over time if we notice a change in the fish population, [that] is an indicator that something is changing in the lake that we need to be aware of.”
In addition to facilitating annual fish surveys, the new boat will serve several other purposes.
For example, the vessel will be used for water quality testing multiple times a year, for Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program water sampling, and occasionally for CLA community outreach meetings.
According to Miller, the county is reforming the Madison County Federation of Lake Associations, and the new boat will also be utilized for floating meetings and boat tours with other lake associations.
Additionally, the CLA and county are partnering with SUNY Morrisville and SUNY ESF to allow students to get out on the water for educational and data-collection purposes.
Miller said that enabling the students to conduct additional research on the lake will help the CLA better understand how to keep the lake healthy.
Use of the boat on Cazenovia Lake and other Madison County lakes will be supervised and coordinated by the CLA and Dr. Thad Yorks, a senior planner with the Madison County Planning Department and an adjunct professor at SUNY Morrisville. Yorks previously served as a professor and the program director of biology and environmental biology at Cazenovia College.
Prior to the closing of Cazenovia College, the CLA partnered with the institution to purchase the electrofishing boat.
The college received a commitment for a New York State grant that would have covered approximately 90 percent of the cost of the boat, and the CLA was planning to contribute 10 percent, according to Miller.
Once the college closed, however, it could no longer receive the grant and no longer contribute towards the purchase of the boat.
The CLA instead teamed up with Madison County to cover the $88,667 purchase and move forward with the acquisition of the boat.
The CLA contributed $63,667 with money from its long-term projects fund, which is held by the Central New York Community Foundation, plus individual contributions directed specifically towards the purchase.
The county stepped up to secure a $25,000 grant from the Finger Lakes – Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance (FLLOWPA) on behalf of the CLA.
“FLLOWPA has grant money from the state that can be used at their discretion for water-related projects,” said Miller. “The county can request money from FLLOWPA if they determine that there is a valuable project. The county determined that this was a good use of the money because it helps multiple constituents in the region and has a strong educational component.”
According to Miller, the county will take ownership of the boat for insurance and maintenance purposes, but there is an agreement that the boat will be utilized on Cazenovia Lake and other Madison County lakes.
“To have worked so hard for so long, only to have this all fall apart, would have been salt in the wound,” said Yorks, who was actively involved in the initial partnership between the college and CLA to purchase the boat. “Fortunately, leadership at both the county and CLA came at this with a ‘let’s figure this out’ mentality and not a ‘let’s throw in the towel’ mindset. And now, with some outstanding colleagues at Morrisville, we’ll still be able to do everything originally intended while educating undergrads.”
According to Miller, another individual who was instrumental in acquiring the boat was Cazenovia Town Councilor Jimmy Golub, who serves on the CLA board and the Cazenovia Lake Watershed Council.
“[Jimmy] took a very active role and helped move this along,” Miller said. “He investigated different potential options with the town for potentially purchasing the boat, [but] there was not enough time. However, his motivation to help us secure this asset was very important during the entire process.”
Built per the CLA’s specifications by Midwest Lake Management, Inc., the boat accommodates roughly 10 people and is designed for educational purposes.
“I worked hard on getting this boat for our community,” said Golub. “We will be working with other learning institutions. It’s the biggest and best boat of its kind in the state. It could be used for lots of research other than electrofishing.”
The vessel has been out on Cazenovia Lake one time so far since its arrival.
“[It went out] when the manufacturer delivered the boat and trained people from the CLA, Madison County, and SUNY Morrisville,” said Miller. “We are finalizing a contract with the county in order to get the boat titled and registered.”
Miller also said the boat will be stored by Madison County when it is not in use.
“However, we are working with Willow Bank Yacht Club and another entity to store it there during the summer for easy access,” he added.
For more information on the electrofishing boat, contact Miller at [email protected] or Yorks at [email protected].
To learn more about the CLA, visit cazlake.org.
