An image of algae and plant growth in a portion of Chautauqua Lake in Aug. 2011. The image is used by the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy to show the need to cut the nutrients to the lake which fuels plant and algae growth. The photo does not reflect the overall health of the entire lake, as the majority of Chautauqua Lake is in much better condition. (Photo by Scott Alperin/courtesy of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy)
MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Legislator Lori Cornell (D-Jamestown) says she will be bringing her proposal to invest in the future of Chautauqua Lake to the full legislature later this week. This after members of the county legislature’s planning and economic development committee severely reduced the amount of funding being requested in Cornell’s Chautauqua Lake Investment act, which she said would help preserve the lake and stem its deteriorating condition by combating weed growth and other invasive species.
Cornell’s initial resolution called for $200,000 from a recent $10 million reconciliations in the 2011 county budge be used to help the lake. But lawmakers in committee reduced the amount to just $30,000 – which would be used to combat weed growth. Cornell’s legislation that she will introduce to the full legislature once again calls for $100,000 to be used for long-term maintenance projects in the lake, while another $100,000 would go to the Chautauqua Lake Association for immediate weed harvesting.
According to a release issued by Cornell, twenty six percent of the county’s property tax base is on the shores of the lake alone. She says the lake also adds significantly to the county’s local economy. Because of this, Cornell feels that the long term health of the lake should be an issue that “everyone can get behind and support.”
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