Update on the planned ProcellaCOR treatment – June 6, 2023

June is here and many of you have been at the lake or are planning to be here soon. The water is warming up, the loons are back, but unfortunately so are the black flies! 

You’ll probably recall from our previous emails and notifications that our plans were to treat the Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) in 2 sections of the lake with the herbicide ProcellaCOR in late May/ early June. This is a critical step in our fight against EWM as it will essentially eliminate the EWM from our two areas of dense growth, the Narrows and the Inlet Bay, where hand harvesting has proven to be ineffective. I want to give all of you an update on the status of those plans.

What is going on with our plans to apply ProcellaCOR?

Unfortunately, due to delays encountered in the review process for one of the three required approvals, we are unable to treat with ProcellaCOR this year but still plan to get the necessary approvals to conduct the treatments in May/June of 2024. 

The PLA needs three approvals for the ProcellaCOR treatment. One is from the NYDEC which we have received. The second approval is from the APA. Our application has been with them for months, and we believe our case for action is sufficient for the APA board members to grant us an approval. However the APA cannot present our application to the APA board until we have received the third approval. The third approval is for a NYDEC Work Plan, which has been under review for a number of months. This Work Plan is a new requirement for herbicide applications in waters above NY state land. Unfortunately, since we are the first lake association to progress this approval (NY State owns the land under the Narrows and parts of the Inlet Bay), we are seeing the delays that come from the NYDEC working through this new process. 

Last week the DEC confirmed that they are still reviewing our Work Plan. We hope their review will be completed soon and they will approve the work plan. Once this is done, the APA staff can finish preparing our application for review with the APA board. We’re hoping for the APA board review to occur at their July meeting. If we are approved, it is expected that the approval will be good for 2023 and 2024 and we will treat with ProcellaCOR in 2024.

What will we do since we cannot treat with ProcellaCOR this year?

It is unfortunate that we have had to delay the ProcellaCOR treatment. The dense areas of growth produce many EWM fragment that are dispersed around the lake by wind driven currents and lead to more plants later this year and next year. 

The PLA has hired Aqualogic again this year and they will be on the lake weekdays between Memorial Day and Aug 19. The Invasives Committee will guide their activity to ensure they are as productive as possible in removing the EWM plants around the lake. 

Our volunteer scouts and divers are already out on the lake identifying plants and harvesting them and they are an important part of our efforts. 

What will the PLA do with your donations?

Many of you have already renewed your PLA membership for 2023 and many have made generous donations. We thank you for these donations and they are critical to our ability to pay for the required EWM work. 

As we’ve communicated, our surge in spending to significantly reduce the EWM population in the lake is a multiyear surge. We originally planned for a high level of spending in 2023 and 2024. With the delay in the ProcellaCOR treatment, the 2023 spend will be reduced by approximately $60,000 but we will need to spend that money in 2024 and we will still have the significant spend for the Aqualogic services this year. 

Surpluses in donations that are collected in 2023 will be held and will be the base for our 2024 work.

What can you do to help?

Unfortunately, the delay in the ProcellaCOR treatment will result in more EWM fragments in the lake and more new plants establishing themselves on the lake bottom. We have a strong core of volunteers who scout and harvest the EWM but it would help if we had more. We welcome anyone who wants to learn how to spot EWM and spend some time surveying the lake shore. We also need more volunteer EWM harvesters who are willing to wade in shallow water or are experienced in snorkeling or scuba diving. 

If you are interested in volunteering, please go to the PLA website to contact us. 

Thank you to everyone who is volunteering and donating to support our fight against the EWM. The delay is unfortunate but we are confident our continued work will still result in the reduction of EWM in Paradox Lake.

Bob Hauserman

President, Paradox Lake Association