Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association members have been making the rounds of town and village board meetings in the past month or so asking for support of a Chautauqua Lake management plan drafted by researchers from North Carolina State University.

The plan was funded by the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance in 2023 at the request of the Chautauqua Lake Partnership and completed in July 2024 Since then, it has gained little traction here. As we noted in this space recently, there has been familiar opposition to the plan along familiar old lines. We hope area foundations are paying attention to this discussion – because if things continue on the path we’re on they’re the ones that paid to draft a plan that is starting to look like it will just gather dust on a shelf.

That would be a shame. North Carolina State University’s Aquatic Plant Management program is one of the largest programs in the world focused on aquatic plant biology and management, conducting research across the country, including on Chautauqua Lake. The head of the program, Dr. Rob Richardson, is a Past President of the Aquatic Plant Management Society, the North Carolina Vegetation Management Association, the South Carolina Aquatic Plant Management Society, and the Weed Science Society of North Carolina. He currently serves as an Aquatic Plant Management subject matter expert to the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs. He’s not exactly a rube when it comes to aquatic plant management.

It makes little sense to contract with North Carolina State University and then disregard its recommendations – and the CLP’s request was approved by the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management alliance, which in our opinion means the alliance should publicly lead a process to adopt the plan. Input should be welcomed, but endless public hearings that end up being a stall tactic aren’t needed. Richardson’s plan is meant to be a starting point that can be tweaked over time as conditions on Chautauqua Lake change – but it’s roadmap is of vital importance.

CLP officials say the DEC requested this type of plan. We have heard the same thing in meetings with the DEC. There’s a lot of study happening on Chautauqua Lake, but only one group has gotten down to brass tacks and created a science-based plan for lake management. It’s time to end the wild west method of lake management and shift toward an orderly yearly plan of lake management led by a lake manager. That is the essence of the North Carolina State University plan that is generating so much debate. It’s really not controversial, when you think about it. This plan deserves more careful consideration than it is getting. And, if it does sit on the shelf, we hope funders are paying attention, because not adopting this plan is foundation money wasted.