“Working Together” is the Goal of the Chautauqua Lake Association

Annual Meeting Highlights Collaboration of All Lake Organizations

July 2, 2008

Lakewood, N.Y Chautauqua Lake Association President, Edward (Tad) Wright, told more than 135 members that collaboration among all lake organizations must be the wave of the future at the 2008 annual meeting on Tuesday, June 30 at the Lakewood Rod and Gun Club.

“We need to continue to work with all of those who think our lake is an important asset to our community and economy.” Wright said. “Organizations like the Chautauqua Lake Management Commission will help strengthen our efforts to maintain support for the preservation of a primary resource for tourism and quality of life in Chautauqua County. We need the collaboration and cooperation of all of the lake organizations, the community and the government to meet the goals set forth to make our lake one of the best in New York State.”

CLA members, directors, volunteers and political dignitaries met to review what the organization accomplished in the past year and to hear about its future goals. Congressman Brian Higgins (D-NY 27th) was in attendance and spoke to the group. “We need to create a human infrastructure to preserve the extraordinary resource we have in the lake,” Higgins said. “There is always strength in numbers when facing any public policy issue.”

The Congressman elaborated on the value of community while focusing on the life of NBC’s political analyst Tim Russert who recently passed away. “Tim’s love for his family and his community showed us all what a blue-collar boy from Buffalo can do to make a positive change in the world.”

Higgins told of local resident and CLA member, Rudy Mueller, who has been a “primary influence” in prompting early legislation to ban phosphates from detergents. “We need to learn from Rudy’s example and prove that solutions to big government problems do not always come from the top but start with the people who share a common agenda towards making real progress.”

Representatives from the offices of Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), State Senator, Catherine Young (R-Olean) and William Parment (D-North Harmony) were also present.

Robert L. Johnson, manager of Cornell University's Research Pond Facility, spoke about the “drastic changes and delays in plant growth” the lake has been experiencing this season. “We continue to monitor both native and non-native species of vegetation in the lake through continuous scientific studies,” he said. “By maintaining these studies we will be able to better predict future outcomes of vegetation and their cycles of growth.”

Art Webster of the Watershed Conservancy supported the CLA’s position on collaboration to meet common goals. “We need to cooperate and magnify each others works. The key is to work together,” he said.

Keynote speaker, Craig Robbins, promotion director for the Chautauqua County Sports. Fishing and Hunting Authority gave a presentation on “Past, Present and Future Fishing on Chautauqua Lake.” He said that the lake is much like a “successful business with peaks and valleys.” He also cited the fact that Chautauqua Lake is one of the top five fisheries in New York State for an inland body of water. “This fact is a tremendous boon to our community and our economy,” he said. “Just one tournament on the lake with about 40 to 50 anglers who stay an average of two days and spend approximately $120 a day has a $24,000 direct economic impact on our community.” He fielded a variety of questions from the audience about the types of fish in the lake and why some of them have multiplied while others have slightly diminished. He concluded, “Overall fishing has never been better in Chautauqua Lake.”

President Tad Wright said the CLA now has more than 1,600 members and friends. He shared the fact the CLA is thriving only through “the generous contributions of the community, private foundations and county government.” He added, “The financial support we received in 2007 has allowed us to run a second shift, buy new equipment and extend the life of the existing fleet. Paul Swanson, CLA general manager, has worked diligently to keep things running on a very efficient basis.”

The Chautauqua Lake Association is a non-profit organization that promotes and facilitates the study of Chautauqua Lake, participates in and cooperates with local and state agencies and educates the community about the lake’s ecosystem and environmental lake management practices.