More News

 There have been some questions since the report on the search for invasive plant species in Joe's Pond was released earlier. I'm posting that again and then our EWM Coordinator, Barry Cahoon's response to the question about signage:

 Arrowwood Environmental has completed an aquatic vegetation survey of the Joe's Pond littoral zone.  

 In summary, the only Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) found on the Third Pond was a few small plants in very shallow water up in the inlet cove.  These plants were removed during the survey.

 Several scattered plants were found in the Second Pond which were marked with buoys and a significantly larger number in the First Pond.

 The takeaways from this survey, from the JPA perspective, are as follows:

 The survey must not be considered a 100% definitive confirmation of the locations of all EWM in Joe's Pond.  The report only documents those plants that were found from a visual surface survey and limited underwater searching at the time of the survey.  Water visibility was not ideal at the time of the survey.

• It is not surprising that the only plants found on the Third Pond were upstream of the 2025 herbicide treatment area.
• The inlet cove discovery emphasizes that intense vigilance of this area of lakeshore sections G & H must be maintained.  Please  note the AE cautionary statement about the presence of a rare native milfoil (alternate-flowered milfoil) in this area.
• The close proximity of the inlet cove EWM location to the Channel Drive/Islands herbicide treatment zone reinforces the JPA admonition to all boaters to avoid navigating through littoral areas whenever possible including the broad area along the Sandy Beach shoreline all the way around the north end of the lake to the Clubhouse Cove.  This includes the area between the islands and the Channel Drive shoreline which, although very popular with boaters, MUST be avoided.
• The EWM locations found in the Second Pond are outside or on the edge of the JPA-designated navigation channel.  These locations will be a management priority for the JPA EWM Harvesting Team.  Please stay inside the yellow buoys delineating the edges of the littoral zone and the navigation channel.  Better yet, unless your camp is on the Second Pond, please stay out of this part of the lake altogether.
• The vast majority of the EWM found on the First pond is inside the JPA-designated watercraft exclusion area.  It is of utmost importance that boaters honor this restriction, stay out of this area and avoid transporting EWM fragments back up into the Third Pond.  This area will be a priority for the suction harvesting operation scheduled for July 13-17.
• A few EWM plants were found near the Point Comfort rental fleet docks.  These are scheduled to be hand pulled by the JPA this week.
• There must be no diminishment of our monitoring and surveying of the littoral zones in all lakeshore sections.  It is at this time of year that the responsibilities of the Lakeshore Section Coordinators (LSCs) are of paramount importance.  We cannot let EWM get the upper hand on us like it did last year and cause us to choose an herbicide treatment in order to level the playing field and avoid uncontrolled EWM proliferation.  Our vigilance and our effectiveness in suction and hand harvesting can reduce the potential for another expensive treatment.

Our success at effectively controlling EWM spread and growth depends on the contributions of ALL JPA members and your guests and renters and other visitors to Joe's Pond.  Please do your part to avoid causing watercraft-induced fragmentation by traveling through littoral zones only to access and egress your docks or the boat access ramp.

 Thanks everyone for doing your part. 

[The map on the left shows the areas (yellow lines) covered by the survey and the littoral areas (areas shaded  in light blue) that people are being asked to avoid. This includes the shallows near the shore which means you need to stay in deep water. This is inconvenient and makes it difficult getting in and out of your docking area and shows you why you need to stay away from the two smaller ponds unless absolutely necessary. Check regularly for any suspicious vegetation near your own dock area and report it immediately to Barry if you find something. There will be on-going surveys to try to spot any new patches of EWM.]

The message below was in response to a JPA member concerned about why there are no signs warning people to stay away from behind the islands:

 Dear xxxx,

I hear you and your concerns are certainly well-founded. Right now as far as we know the area between the Channel Drive shoreline and the islands is EWM free. It was called out specifically in the message to the JPA membership  because of its proximity to where a few plants were found in the AE survey and its popularity to boaters, but otherwise there is no solid justification to treat this area any differently than the 130 or so acres of littoral zone all around the lake for which the JPA advocates and educates that boating should be avoided in these areas.

 Bottom line is that lake associations have no authority to restrict access to public waters.The JPA feels it has a strong argument to justify putting in place such restrictions when we have good reason such as the documented presence of invasive aquatic vegetation (which we have on the First and Second Ponds). Without the known presence of EWM in the Channel Drive/Island Drive area, we lack solid justification to restrict watercraft usage there and must rely on our educational efforts, in full acknowledgment of their shortcomings.

 It’s the same story on every lake in VT with invasives: the inability and lack of authority to control the behavior of watercraft operators; and which is exacerbated when we experience the extreme volume of boat traffic on this lake. We have to focus on what we can control including our surveying and monitoring, our EWM harvesting and management, and enhancing our ability to prevent additional invasive introductions with a boat wash facility (if we can ever get approval for it), while continuing to keep beating on the drum of education. We’ll keep doing the best we can.

 Thank you for your interest and suggestions.  --Barry

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I received this note from Jane Segale yesterday: 

 Sad news. One of the loon babies has died. We were walking along the rail trail towards the bridge around 4pm and saw the mom with one baby. There was something else floating nearby. We realized it was the other baby struggling. I took a kayak out to it to see if we could help. I thought maybe it was tangled in fish line. When I reached it I could see that its neck appeared broken (its head was twisted all around) and there was a large gash across its chest. It was still moving its beak but then sank. Very sad.

Thank you for letting us know, Jane. It's hard to guess what happened to the little loon, but it could have been a large fish or an attach by an eagle. Since there are few boats on the water right now, it is unlikely that it was hit by a boat. It is very sad - we had hoped that our loon couple might successfully raise two chicks this year. Nature can be very cruel. 

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And this came from Susan Bouchard this week:

 As many of you know, the Joe’s Pond Sunfish sailboat races began in 1970 and, after a few missed years, were revived in 2016. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the races being restarted.

As mentioned in the JPA newsletter, our 54-year-old trophy, the Caledonian Cup, was beginning to show its age. When I brought it to NEK Trophy and Engraving LLC, owner Kristian Switser and his father, Dean Switser, generously offered to refurbish the trophy at no cost to the Joe’s Pond Association. They replaced all of the nameplates, re-engraved every winner’s name using their new laser engraver, and lightly polished the metal components. The Caledonian Cup looks wonderful once again.

Unfortunately, there is only enough space remaining to engrave the 2026 winners’ names. Please put on your thinking caps and let me know if you have ideas for how we should recognize future winners beginning next year. (See email link for Susan above.)

This year’s race dates are

June 21

July 12

August 2

Final race: August 23

Races start at 1pm sharp. Rain dates will be the following Sundays.