The Massachusetts Environmental Police are offering a basic boating safety course on April 14th and 21st from 10am to 3pm at the Mt. Greylock Visitor Center. Advance registration is required.
Youth 12 through 15 years of age who successfully complete the course will be issued a Safety Certificate allowing them to operate a motorboat without adult supervision, as required by state law.
Read MoreConservation Committee Permits In Monterey, efforts to maintain the ecological and recreational health of Lake Garfield are based on what is referred to as the three-legged stool approach, a collaboration of the Monterey Select Board-appointed Lake Garfield Working Group (LGWG) working with the Monterey Conservation Commission; the non-profit Friends of Lake Garfield (FLG); and the voters of Monterey who help fund science-based projects to control invasive aquatic weeds such as Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) while acquiring state grants to improve water quality and treat stormwater flowing into Lake Garfield.
Read MoreSometimes the Friends of Lake Garfield receives communication from people asking about safety issues on Lake Garfield. These include swimming, the use of jet skis, complaints about shoreline erosion caused by large boat wakes and potential accidents between open water swimmers and boats.
Read MoreThe Town of Monterey, Friends of Lake Garfield, and Monterey Native Plants Working Group have partnered with Berkshire Regional Planning to offer free property evaluations that identify ways to reduce stormwater runoff, increase climate resiliency, and help reduce pollutants in our waterways…
Read MoreTomorrow (October 15th) marks the draw down date for Lake Garfield. There are boats moored and docked as of this morning. We have been partially draining Brewer Pond for two days due to the recent rain and are planning to keep the valve open but do not wish to cause harm to boats still on the water.
Any help spreading the word would be appreciated. For now I will plan to open it up this week pending removal of the boats.
Read MoreAlthough it’s been a relatively quiet summer for monthly updates from the Lake Garfield Working Group (LGWG), good things have been moving forward to help maintain the beautiful, clear waters and overall health of Lake Garfield. Two areas of LGWG focus, namely, the procurement of acceptable methods to control the growth of the invasive, aquatic weed Eurasian water milfoil (EWM), and securing required regulatory compliance for this activity…
Read MoreAt the 2022 annual town meeting on May 7, Monterey voters approved Article 29 which appropriated the sum of $50,000 to hire a certified lake scientist, and increased funding to help control the growth of invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) in Lake Garfield.
Read MoreThere were two articles on the town warrant to address the invasive aquatic lake weed—Eurasian watermilfoil—that continues to infest Lake Garfield.
The first, Article 29, was a citizen’s petition to appropriate $50,000 from free cash to pay for the non-chemical control of the lake weed as well as hire a lake scientist to help determine the abundance and distribution of the milfoil in the lake.
Read MoreThe Lake Garfield Working Group (LGWG) is comprised of volunteers appointed by the select board to advise on town policy matters relating to the health of Lake Garfield. The group has continued to hold its monthly public meetings through the winter, even as seasonal lake activity is primarily limited to ice fishing and occasional skating.
Read MoreIf you are now beginning to think about kayaking on Lake Garfield on a peaceful summer morning, go directly to the parks commission page on the town website (montereyma.gov). There you will find applications and instructions for the “Water Vessel Storage Lottery” for 2022 which will take place on April 15. Due to popular demand there will be ten double-vessel permits allotted for two members of the same household. Please choose which lottery you would like to enter, and send your application soon to the parks commission at the town hall. — Tracey Brennan Monterey Parks Commission
Read MoreIn the center of the Monterey Town Beach stands a monument dedicated to the creation of the beach. This monument recognizes that the property was set aside by townspeople and second home owners. The structure has badly deteriorated and is also in a precarious spot. The Parks Commission proposes replacing it with a bench and incorporating the existing plaque in the area near the bench.
Read MoreCourteny Morehouse, of Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, will present on an ongoing town project to mitigate pollutants in Lake Garfield on Monday, November 15, at 7 p.m., over the community center’s Zoom account. She will present what phosphorous can do to a lake ecosystem, how phosphorous is getting into Lake Garfield
Read MoreAt the October meeting of the lake Garfield Working Group (LGWG) it was reported that two boats and crews from the Connecticut-based New England Aquatics spent ten days removing invasive milfoil from the densest patches surveyed, resulting in twelve hundred netted bags of milfoil.
Read MoreThe four man crew from Connecticut have been working on the lake during the last week removing the Eurasian Water milfoil “forests”. Two divers suction the milfoil up into bags that, at the end of the day, are delivered to Gould Farm for composting.
Read MoreRunoff Project
Two components of a project that addresses sediment and phosphorus pollution in Lake Garfield are underway. Conceptual design plans to capture and treat stormwater drainage from the Hupi Road area on the north side of the lake are nearly complete. Once ready, these plans will be added to the drafted Lake Garfield Watershed-Based Plan, which will be made available for public review on the town website possibly during June.
Read MoreThe annual public FLG informational meeting will be held on July 17 at 9:30am at the Firehouse Pavilion. Please attend and learn what is happening on Lake Garfield.
Read MoreThe topic of Eurasian water milfoil in Lake Garfield has been a constant presence at town meetings for many years. Article 39, which was a citizen petition, asked the town to appropriate $30,000 for non-chemical control of the invasive weed.
Read MoreThe Monterey Town Meeting will be held on May 1st at 9:30am. If you are a voter in Monterey, please come to support the citizens petition for the annual DASH (Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting) control of milfoil. We are requesting $30,000. If you are not a voter, you may still come to the meeting to support the petition.
Read MoreAt the February meeting of the Lake Garfield Working Group, the discussion focused on updates of current town and regional projects designed to protect and enhance the health of Lake Garfield and the Konkapot and Housatonic Rivers, as well as developing resiliency for the detrimental impacts of climate change that are becoming more apparent from one year to the next.
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