• Dear Members, Neighbors, and Lake Lovers: 

  While the summer season has come to a close, and cooler temps prevail, there is plenty going on around the Lake.  Here are the highlights:

  Lake Hosts to the Rescue, Another Save:  Our ever-diligent Lake Host team identified a suspicious specimen in August.  It was entangled around the brake line of an incoming boat trailer and was later confirmed as milfoil.  

  The boat itself was clean.  The boater told the Lake Host inspector that ‘not a blade of grass would be found.’  (Thank you boater for having done a pre-inspection.  Many do not.)  The Host asked to do another inspection. The boater agreed.  Milfoil was found on the trailer under the boat, which had last been in Lake Lunenburg, MA.  Following procedure, the specimen was submitted to NH LAKES for confirmation.   

  This is the second ‘save’ in 2 years, with a third and fourth specimen now at the lab awaiting analysis.

  The Lake Hosts are often pulling grasses off arriving trailer frames.  In dry conditions with low water, trailers become even more likely to have hitchhikers, whether milfoil or not.  Boaters, please pay as much or more, attention to your trailers as you do to your boats. Clean both well…all the nooks and crannies, including the boat lines.

  Lake Hosts are also checking for shellfish such as snails and clams and inspecting fishing gear for signs of spiney water flees (see the August 24 Gazette) that attach themselves to gear, especially fishing and boat lines. 

  Lake Lovers make a trip to the boat ramp to shake the hand of a Lake Host.  They are on duty from 6 am to 6 pm until mid-October.  Our Lake is all the healthier, and milfoil-free, because of their superb work.  

  THANK YOU, Lake Hosts.

  Lake Water Level:  Restrict Water Use and Watch out for Rocks.  Mother Nature seems determined not to provide us with much measurable rain.  How about a group rain dance?   That said, the Town continues to monitor the dam, recently flushing it to reduce the ‘beaver work’ (They continue to leave debris, sometimes lots.) and hopefully help to decrease odor in the area.

  The Lake level, now 7 inches below summer level, is measured every 7-10 days and posted to our Lake Water Level page.   According to NH DES, Chesire County is in a moderate drought condition.  Do your part to lessen the impact by:

• restricting all outdoor water use 
• take steps now to reduce indoor water use too. 

More information is available on NHDES Drought webpage.

The low water level is also makes navigating the Lake a bit tricky.  Pay attention to markers indicating rock outcroppings.  What used to be well submerged may now be just below the surface and present a hazard.  Boats departing for the season from the ramp, please use extra caution.  

Board Meeting Rescheduled:  Be aware that the Board of Directors meeting originally set for October 13 has been rescheduled for Thursday, October 28 at Camp Spofford.  The Zoom coordinates can be found on our Board Meetingspage. 

Cyanobacteria:  Just a reminder, if you suspect a cyanaobacteria bloom, please contact both the SLA and the State.  Visit our cyanobacteria page for email contacts.  

Why contact the SLA?  The SLA has small team well versed in cyanobacteria and particularly the type most common to our lake, i.e., benthic mats.  Working with the homeowner, we can respond quickly to send the sample for analysis.  Depending on our assessment, in addition to sending it to the State, we might also send (and have sent) samples to a lab in Florida specializing in cyanobacteria.  This yields much quicker results than we can get from the over-burdened State lab.

The Brattleboro Reformer recently posted a short article outlining the important and positive beginnings of cyanobacteria and the current negative impacts.  It’s a quick and interesting read. 

Want to learn more about NH’s fight against cyanobacteria?  NH LAKES will host Amy Smagula of NH DES on October 15 at 7:00 pm.  To register for this free online meeting, go to NH LAKES.

No Fish in the Lake?: We’ve heard it said that the number of fish in Spofford is declining.  Indeed, that is true, especially for the species that like abundant oxygen and cooler water.  Trout are less plentiful, and the State stocks 50% fewer each Spring.  But some seemingly pre-historic monsters still make Spofford home.  This one was caught during the Keene High School JV Bass Tournament on September 7. 

Annual Meeting:  Spofford Yacht Club has welcomed the SLA to host its annual meeting on its premises for many years.  As a thank you, the SLA has gifted the SYC a framed map of the Lake from 1898.  Thank you SYC and enjoy.

Our In Box:  We’ve recently had an email from a young visitor to Spofford Lake, who found some useful information on our website for her summer school project.  As a thank you, she passed along an article on lake friendly living tips that she thought our members and readers might find useful.  Thank you, Harley.

Signs of autumn are starting to show. Enjoy, 🍁

The Spofford Lake Association