Too Many Weeds and What BLIA is Doing About It!

What is BLIA doing to remedy this situation? Over the past 5 years all surpluses in the BLIA budget from member dues have gone into a fund dedicated to water improvement. Our plan is to have this fund build so we can use these dollars as matching funds we will need to secure future grants to fund our projects. Due to your generosity and commitment to this plan, we have the necessary funds to support some grant applications. BLIA is in the process of applying for a $4,000 grant to do a weed mitigation project. This first part of this project is an Aquatic Plant Survey of Ballston Lake to verify specific invasive aquatic plant species, quantity, and location. This step is required prior to a plant treatment plan so the mitigation companies know what is there, where it is, and the density of the invasive. After this survey BLIA can develop a program to remove invasive plants from the identified areas. We are targeting invasive plants only since native plants are beneficial to supply oxygen to the water. A well oxygenated lake will bind the phosphorus that enables aquatic weeds and algae to grow. In addition, BLIA is working with the Town of Ballston and Clifton Park to secure a $26,000 grant from DEC to combine and update the Ballston Watershed and Lake Management and Protection Plan. This effort is needed so the two towns and BLIA can be better positioned for future grant applications. Hopefully you will support these efforts with your active membership in BLIA. Only through ALL our support can we succeed in improving Ballston Lake.