The Raquette Lake Property Owners Association, Inc. (RLPOA) recently secured a grant from the Nature Conservancy in Keene Valley, NY to install a launch ramp monitoring system at the Village Boat Launch Site in Raquette Lake.
The system, installed over the Fourth of July weekend, is the first of its kind to be installed in the Adirondack Park, as well as the first in New York State.
Developed in 2006 by the Minnesota Company Environmental Sentry Protection, I-LIDS or Internet Landing Installed Device Sensors has had great success in monitoring boats for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
This tamper-proof technology offers an unmanned, stand-alone system that will continuously monitor boat launch activities through the use of a solar powered, wireless internet video camera that transmits the images to a local access point for review by enforcement officials.
According to Pat Deyle, Chairman of the Raquette Lake Property Owners Association, I-LIDS will go to work any time the launch is not staffed by a steward.
He explained that any time a vehicle backs down the ramp, I-LIDS will turn on and in addition to visible signage, a taped recording will ask boaters to please stop, inspect, and remove any plant life or green matter that might be attached to the boat, trailer, or gear.
While this self-inspection is taking place, the camera will capture video of the boat, trailer and tow vehicle, including registration information and license plate numbers.
By capturing boater clean-off activities in Raquette Lake, I-LIDS will not only ensure the compliance with the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) laws, but will also help to educate the boating public on the importance of washing their boats and trailers,
Draining bilges and cleaning bait wells upon leaving a body of water is also important so that lakes can be protected from the extensive and often irreversible impact of AIS such as Eurasian Water Milfoil, Variable Leaf Milfoil Water Chestnuts, and Zebra Mussels.
Raquette Lake has a surface area of approximately 5,263 acres, a watershed of 80,691 acres with a shoreline of over 90 miles.
If steps are not taken to prevent species like Milfoil, and Zebra Mussels from hitchhiking into Raquette Lake and the surrounding watershed, it could not only be devastating to the ecosystem of the area, but also to area recreation.
Raquette Lake is a critical component of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Lake Trout Fisheries Program, and was, at one time, the only lake in the Adirondacks with fertile Lake Trout due to the use of DDT in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
Over the years, the DEC has taken enormous steps to insure the safety and health of the Trout populations by harvesting thousands of Lake Trout eggs yearly that supply the state hatcheries with fry that is to be stocked in various lakes throughout the state.
However, if preventative steps are not taken, this fish hatchery could be lost.
Over the past five years in Wisconsin, the I-LIDS have increased not only the awareness of the importance of AIS clean-off, but have also helped to change people’s habits when it comes to loading and unloading their boats with an increased clean-off rate of about 30% between 2007 and 2008.
The spread of Aquatic Invasive Species is not inevitable. It is preventable.
By monitoring resources that will influence new behaviors among lake users, residents are able to prevent spending hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in the battle to manage invasives, and are thereby better able to enjoy the lakes the way nature intended.
