Who We Are, What We Do, Why Join Us





Who is the Findley Lake Watershed Foundation?

The members of the Findley Lake Watershed Foundation are the “Stewards of the Lake”, and our mission is to deliver projects and programs that will result in the long-term improvement and preservation of the lake water quality, environment and wildlife areas and enhance the community’s use and enjoyment of the lake.

The foundation is comprised solely of volunteers who love this lake and who give many hours to improving it for the benefit of all who enjoy it.

What Does the FLWF Do Exactly?
Do you truly know what the many responsibilities are of the Findley Lake Watershed Foundation? At first, you might think it’s just a group of people who hold yearly meetings with all its members and nothing else, but it is so much more than that. Here is what you might not know:

Water Quality:
The FLWF, along with the DEC, are responsible for keeping the quality of the water usable for anyone who wants to use it.

1. Because water quality is the most important issue, the FLWF will publish a Strategic Management Plan in early 2024 with updated comprehensive management practices aimed at improving the water quality and usability of Findley Lake for generations to come. We are including control measures for both internal and external sources of nutrients and turbidity and are addressing other water quality concerns such as aquatic weeds, harmful algae blooms, and dissolved oxygen.

2. The FLWF manages the weed harvester which is a significant investment. Harvester costs include operator labor costs, maintenance, fuel, and hauling/disposal costs. The harvester has GPS tracking on it, recording where it goes each day and once a week, we post the daily maps on the FLWF Facebook page so you can see exactly where weeds were harvested. In partnership with Penn State University, we are currently investigating ways to be more strategic and effective with our harvesting.

3. The FLWF is part of the DEC’s Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP) – a long term water quality monitoring program that helps to identify water quality issues, detect seasonal and long-term patterns, results from controls that are implemented and inform the community about conditions in the lake. For this, FLWF trained volunteers go out 8 times a summer and take shallow and deep-water samples, put them into bottles and ship them to a lab for analysis.

4. The FLWF hopes to treat a portion of the lake’s weed beds in the north portion of the lake with an environmentally safe herbicide specific to Eurasian water milfoil in the spring of 2024. In preparation of our application to the DEC for approval to treat using a herbicide, we recently commissioned a Findley Lake Aquatic Invasive Species Survey which was completed by Adirondack Research this past fall (available on our website). This weed map is a required part of our application to the DEC.


Grounds Upkeep:
The FLWF owns and maintains a lot of property in downtown Findley Lake. We bet you didn’t know that. They own and maintain:
  • The dam
  • The waterwheel building (including the public bathrooms, the deck on the back and the bridge)
  • The gazebo and land surrounding it
  • The boat launch and the surrounding property
  • The lake-side land that houses the marina’s gas pump (which is rented by the marina)
  • The 3 docks along the wall that people use to park and enjoy town

This takes thousands of dollars for insurance, electricity, maintenance, supplies, etc.

Education:
The FLWF provides educational material and resources for the community to participate in enhancing the lake’s water quality.

We also published a set of boating guidelines for Findley Lake called “Objectives and Guidelines for Courteous and Safe Boating” to promote boating and lake safety.

Why Does the FLWF Need Your Help?
We really hope this has given you a better idea of all we do and take care of around the lake. We know that the lake is important to all of you and water quality is of the upmost importance. We are in the same boat and are spending a lot of time filing for grants, conducting studies, and talking to other lakes to come up with a comprehensive plan on how to make it better…. but all of this comes at a cost.

Costs needed for 2024:

  • Grounds Upkeep - $24,000
  • Weed Harvester - $45,000
  • Water Quality Improvements - $60,000

You can help with this by becoming a member or renewing your membership. Any additional donations would of course also be appreciated. Your dues and donations directly relate to a cleaner, healthier, and more enjoyable Findley Lake for us all to share and for years to come!


Who is the Findley Lake Watershed Foundation?

The members of the Findley Lake Watershed Foundation are the “Stewards of the Lake”, and our mission is to deliver projects and programs that will result in the long-term improvement and preservation of the lake water quality, environment and wildlife areas and enhance the community’s use and enjoyment of the lake.

The foundation is comprised solely of volunteers who love this lake and who give many hours to improving it for the benefit of all who enjoy it.

What Does the FLWF Do Exactly?
Do you truly know what the many responsibilities are of the Findley Lake Watershed Foundation? At first, you might think it’s just a group of people who hold yearly meetings with all its members and nothing else, but it is so much more than that. Here is what you might not know:

Water Quality:
The FLWF, along with the DEC, are responsible for keeping the quality of the water usable for anyone who wants to use it.

1. Because water quality is the most important issue, the FLWF has published a Strategic Management Planwith updated comprehensive management practices aimed at improving the water quality and usability of Findley Lake for generations to come. We included control measures for both internal and external sources of nutrients and turbidity and are addressing other water quality concerns such as aquatic weeds, harmful algae blooms, and dissolved oxygen.

2. The FLWF manages the weed harvester which is a significant investment. Harvester costs include operator labor costs, maintenance, fuel, and hauling/disposal costs. The harvester has GPS tracking on it, recording where it goes each day and once a week, we post the daily maps on the FLWF Facebook page so you can see exactly where weeds were harvested. In partnership with Penn State University, we are currently investigating ways to be more strategic and effective with our harvesting.

3. The FLWF is part of the DEC’s Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP) – a long term water quality monitoring program that helps to identify water quality issues, detect seasonal and long-term patterns, results from controls that are implemented and inform the community about conditions in the lake. For this, FLWF trained volunteers go out 8 times a summer and take shallow and deep-water samples, put them into bottles and ship them to a lab for analysis.

4. The FLWF hopes to treat a portion of the lake’s weed beds in the north portion of the lake with an environmentally safe herbicide specific to Eurasian water milfoil in the spring of 2024. In preparation of our application to the DEC for approval to treat using a herbicide, we recently commissioned a Findley Lake Aquatic Invasive Species Survey which was completed by Adirondack Research this past fall (available on our website). This weed map is a required part of our application to the DEC.


Grounds Upkeep:
The FLWF owns and maintains a lot of property in downtown Findley Lake. We bet you didn’t know that. They own and maintain:
  • The dam
  • The waterwheel building (including the public bathrooms, the deck on the back and the bridge)
  • The gazebo and land surrounding it
  • The boat launch and the surrounding property
  • The lake-side land that houses the marina’s gas pump (which is rented by the marina)
  • The 3 docks along the wall that people use to park and enjoy town

This takes thousands of dollars for insurance, electricity, maintenance, supplies, etc.

Education:
The FLWF provides educational material and resources for the community to participate in enhancing the lake’s water quality.

We also published a set of boating guidelines for Findley Lake called “Objectives and Guidelines for Courteous and Safe Boating” to promote boating and lake safety.

Why Does the FLWF Need Your Help?
We really hope this has given you a better idea of all we do and take care of around the lake. We know that the lake is important to all of you and water quality is of the upmost importance. We are in the same boat and are spending a lot of time filing for grants, conducting studies, and talking to other lakes to come up with a comprehensive plan on how to make it better…. but all of this comes at a cost.

Costs needed for 2024:

  • Grounds Upkeep - $24,000
  • Weed Harvester - $45,000
  • Water Quality Improvements - $60,000

You can help with this by becoming a member or renewing your membership. Any additional donations would of course also be appreciated. Your dues and donations directly relate to a cleaner, healthier, and more enjoyable Findley Lake for us all to share and for years to come!