Newsletter articles

By Greg Baker – December 2024

We are all fortunate to live and or recreate at beautiful Lake Anna. Sometimes what was meant to be a wonderful day at the lake takes a turn for the worst and we want and need our Conservation Police Officers (CPOs) there to help. CPOs or what other states call Game Wardens are no different than any other police officer in the state and are fully certified through the Department of Criminal Justice Services. This gives them the right to enforce all Commonwealth laws. You might be annoyed (I hope not!) when they check your fishing license or check to see if you have the right number of life jackets on board, but I can assure you in an emergency, an arriving CPO is a huge relief.

One of the things we found in LACA’s biennial survey is that our members want more of a presence from our CPOs on Lake Anna. Certainly, on busy holiday weekends we see the police out in force throughout the lake. On a normal weekend, the police are far more scarce and during the week or in other times of the year, we might rarely see an officer. The reason? It all comes down to funding. As a side note, CPOs are not the only folks that patrol Lake Anna, we are fortunate to have officers from both Spotsylvania and Louisa County’s Sheriff’s Department also patrolling the lake.

 The Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is authorized for approximately 182 CPOs for the entire state. That works out to about two CPOs per county. Currently, there are only 160-170 of those positions filled. You can imagine how hard it is for the department to manage their resources and provide coverage to Lake Anna, with such a small force. To make matters worse, CPOs often make less than their counterparts in other policing organizations.

Graduates of the 13^th Academy Class of CPOs, August 29, 2024

The DWR CPOs are the only statewide policing organization that does not receive any funding directly from the Commonwealth. DWR funding comes from fishing and hunting license sales, watercraft registrations, federal dollars derived from outdoor expenditures, sales and use tax on watercraft sales and finally a portion of sales tax related to wildlife equipment sales. That would be awesome if DWR received all these funds, but they don’t.

The General Assembly passed House Bill 38 back in 1998 which authorized DWR to receive sales tax on sales of wildlife equipment, things like fishing poles and guns. HB38 capped the annual amount to $13 million dollars. Unfortunately, that cap has not changed in almost 25 years. Because of inflation, a dollar in 1998 would need to be $1.83 today to have the same value. The General Assembly should increase this cap to $23 million just to keep up with inflation.

To make matters worse, the state has only appropriated the full $13 million only once in the last 15 years. The average appropriation for the past seven years has been just over $11.3 million per year. The same goes for sales tax on watercraft. Every year, the state has appropriated less than the amount collected in watercraft tax. Over the past 7 years, Virginia has collected approximately $7.9 million per year in watercraft sales tax and passed on roughly $5.6 million to DWR.

If the state just appropriated 100% of the amounts promised, that would work out to approximately $4 million per year in additional funding. Even if the state does not raise the cap on Wildlife Equipment Tax, that makes a huge difference. That may not sound like a lot in days of multibillion-dollar state budgets, but it would make a significant impact to DWR ability to provide increased CPO coverage at Lake Anna. Don’t get me wrong, we think the state should do both: Adjust the cap for inflation and appropriate 100% of what was promised.

What can we do? Join LACA! One of Lake Anna Civic Association’s mandate is to promote safety on Lake Anna. We are working hard to speak with our local legislators to provide funding for Lake Anna. When we speak to a legislator it makes a difference if we can explain that LACA represents over 1000 property owners at Lake Anna. If you are not yet a member, please join us at www.lakeannavirginia.org  Secondly, write your state delegate or your state senator and ask them to support DWR CPOs by fully funding the Authorized Watercraft and Wildlife Equipment Tax. You can find your state delegate at https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov Finally, please show your support for our CPOs and other officers on Lake Anna by giving them a friendly wave when you see them out on the water. Remember, they would rather be out on a boat with their friends and family on a holiday weekend than pulling a double shift making us safe.

President LACA

greg.baker@lakeannavirginia.org

By John Wayne – December 2024

Cutalong continues to move forward with the creation of a master planned resort community with hundreds of homes, an 18-hole championship golf course and practice facilities, tennis and pickle ball courts, an aquatic facility, access to Lake Anna via community docks, beach, and other amenities. The developer, Reef Capital Partners, and their local team led by Joe Walsh, have been responsive to many of the concerns raised by the community.  LACA has worked with this team, representing concerns expressed by our membership to include environmental impacts, impacts on adjacent property owners and users of the lake, overcrowding of waterways, roads and traffic concerns, and others.

Much work has been completed within Cutalong over the past year creating the water and wastewater infrastructure required for this ambitious development.  Not wanting to go backward in terms of our fight to improve the water quality of Lake Anna, LACA has focused much of the discussion with the Reef team on environmental concerns.  As I am sure you know, development projects of this type have requirements to “offset” any increased nutrient loads (nitrogen, phosphorus, etc.) calculated for the final development state.  These increased loads can be offset by buying “nutrient offset credits”, the results of which can be nutrient reductions in some other locale, even outside of Virginia. 

During our discussions, LACA requested that Reef consider implementing the required “credits” within the Cutalong property, ensuring that the impact of the development does not increase the inflow of these harmful nutrients to Lake Anna.  Further, regarding the implementation of their wastewater treatment facility (WWTF), we asked that Reef consider the creation of wetlands on the property to help with the absorption of even the small amounts of nutrients emanating from that facility. Joe and his team became advocates for the idea, attended a field trip with LACA to an existing man-made wetland in use in Chesterfield, Virginia, and found a way to incorporate this concept into their design. I received the following information from the development team this month.

“In compliance with the DEQ VPDES Permit issued in June 2024, Cutalong has designed and received approval from DEQ for the creation of the required nutrient offset credits, which will be generated 100% onsite at the project’s 1,000 acres and for the benefit of the Lake Anna watershed. The plan provides all required credits needed to construct and operate the second WWTF. That WWTF is currently in design and will be constructed at a future date, as required by development schedules.

Highlights include:

●    75-Acre Conservation Easement:

The 75-acres is primarily south of Contrary Creek, with parcels also on the west end of the Cutalong golf course. This land, previously used for agriculture, has been converted into a perpetual forested state, creating valuable nutrient credits.

●    Stream Restoration:

●    A $1.5 million project to restore 3,000 linear feet of stream channels has commenced. This project will stabilize stream banks and beds, reducing erosion and preventing the release of nitrogen and phosphorus into the watershed. Construction began in November 2024 and is scheduled to be completed by Summer 2025.

●    Wetlands Creation:

½ acre of wetlands which were destroyed during mining activities in the late 1800s when the existing creek was dammed to provide a water source for mining activities, will be restored. This restoration will reconnect the wetlands to the floodplain, providing additional nutrient uptake beyond the permit requirements.”

Joe also reports that building activities are beginning to occur and/or are scheduled for many of the community amenities.

Cutalong Golf Club continues to move forward with exciting developments.

●    The Cutalong Golf Clubhouse is under construction, scheduled opening in Summer 2025. Exterior, interior, and site renderings are available, along with a link to the August 2024 press release for more details.

●    Phase One of Member Amenities will debut in late Fall 2025, featuring temporary docks, a fishing pond, chipping greens, a competitive putting green, a lighted putting green, four pickleball courts, and three miles of hiking trails.

●    The Cutalong Stay & Play Condominiums have been fully designed, and groundbreaking will begin once final site plans and permit approvals are received.

I know from discussions with Joe that the team continues to work with Louisa County officials on updates to the plans.  We expect to see some changes to the types of residential development, as well as other changes once this process is completed. While there is still much to come, Joe and his team have proven to be good partners with LACA in its efforts to keep Lake Anna Clean, Safe and Beautiful.  We look forward to continuing to work with Joe and the other members of the Reef Capital Partners team as this development continues to come to fruition.

LACA Land Use

john.wayne@lakeannavirginia.org

By Sue Biondi – December 2024

The Annual Lake Anna Civic Association meeting took place on July 27 at Callie Opie’s Barn.  As members arrived, they were greeted by the board, including officers, regional directors and committee chairs.  They were treated to coffee, tea and sweets to start the day. 

President Greg Baker welcomed members and called the meeting to order at 9:30 am.  The agenda was distributed to members prior to the meeting.  The guest speaker was Stacy Brown, who is with the Virginia Department of Natural Resources.  She gave a very interesting and informative speech on the Perspective of Boating Safety on Lake Anna.  There was a question-and-answer session after her speech. 

Greg Baker then spoke about current legislation being considered regarding remediation and mitigation of recurring harmful algae blooms.  Minutes from the 2023 Annual Meeting were presented by Secretary Sue Biondi.  Treasurer Willie Kelly then presented the 2023-2024 annual financial report.  Greg presented the new LACA Wake Surfing Policy. 

The following committees presented their annual wrap-up reports:  John Wayne - Land Use; Mo Daniels - Emergency Services and Safety; Dick Hanscom - Water Quality; Mark DeBord - Environmental Preservation; Rick Nehrboss - President’s Council; and Craig DiSesa - Fireworks. 

President Baker then announced the annual Jack Bertron awardee, Harry Looney, Chair of the Water Quality committee.  Harry was not present to receive the award, but it will be delivered on his return.  After time for some questions and answers, the meeting adjourned. 

There was nothing but positive feedback about the venue, the meeting and the efforts of the association to protect the lake and continue to commit to the mission statement, “to preserve and protect the cleanliness, beauty and safe use of Lake Anna and its watershed through communication, advocacy, education and community involvement to benefit the members and all lake users.”  A huge thank you to Mike Kavros, owner of Callie Opie’s, for hosting the meeting. 

sue.biondi@lakeannavirginia.org

By Mark Debord – October 2024

Dominion Energy Virginia is seeking proposals to evaluate the feasibility of developing a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at the North Anna Power Station. SMRs have a smaller footprint than traditional reactors, can be manufactured at off-site facilities and shipped for installation. This makes them less expensive to construct than traditional reactors.  What are Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)? | IAEA

Dominion announced the Request for Proposals (RFP) at an event on July 10 at the North Anna site. The RFP is not a commitment to build an SMR at North Anna. It is merely a first step in evaluating the technology and the feasibility of a SMR at the North Anna site.

"For over 50 years nuclear power has been the most reliable workhorse of Virginia's electric fleet, generating 40% of our power and with zero carbon emissions," said Robert Blue, chair, president and CEO of Dominion Energy. "As Virginia's need for reliable and clean power grows, SMRs could play a pivotal role in an 'all-of-the-above' approach to our energy future. Along with offshore wind, solar and battery storage, SMRs have the potential to be an important part of Virginia's growing clean energy mix." 

The North Anna site is currently home to two pressurized water reactors, which began commercial operation in 1978 and 1980. Under their current licenses, North Anna units 1 and 2 can continue to operate through 2058 and 2060.

mark.debord@lakeannavirginia.org

By Sue Biondi – October 2024

No doubt you have heard the expression “they mix like oil and water.”  That expression is used when two things are incompatible.  The expression couldn’t express more the incompatibility of water and electricity.  This article is a must read for all LACA members and all who frequent the lake, whether on or off water. 

On July 4, 2024, at Smith Mountain Lake, an adult male jumped into the water at a private home dock and immediately showed signs of struggling.  His two friends jumped in the water to help him, and immediately felt like they were being shocked.  They managed to pull the victim out of the water and began CPR until medics arrived.  The person succumbed to the event.  Information about this tragedy can be found on You Tube and WJLA ABC7 News. 

There are no visible signs of electricity in the water.  If someone enters electrified water, it can cause paralysis, leading to the inability to swim or tread water.  Electricity passes through the body and may cause instant death.  This is especially hazardous in fresh water (a lake) due to lower water conductivity.  Many drowning deaths are incorrectly classified as a “drowning,” but are electric shock deaths.  A boat lift with faulty wiring that connects to shore power can be a source of electrified water, as well as improperly wired pumps, boats or lighting, improperly grounded wires, or stray current in the ground.  Anything requiring electricity around the water should be installed by a certified electrician. 

Electric service around docks and marinas should include Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) that are compliant with the National Electric Code (NEC) 2011 and Marine Ground Fault Protection Article 555-3.  These GFCIs should be tested at least monthly.  Only use extension cords that are specifically intended for marine use and are in good condition.    NEVER use household cords near water.   Become familiar with the location of power breakers on your dock and in the house so power can be shut off quickly.  If you feel a tingle while swimming, swim away from the dock and do not use a metal ladder to exit the water.  The water should be inspected and tested using a qualified electrician. 

Another hazard to consider is CARBON MONOXIDE (CO).   Poorly tuned boat engines produce CO.  Proper ventilation for engine and generator exhaust vents must be clear and pipes should be inspected for leaks.  Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, fatigue, confusion, dizziness, nausea or seizures, all like symptoms of seasickness.  Get a person into fresh air and call 911 for assistance.  DO NOT swim near a boat’s exhaust vents.  DO NOT sit on a boat platform while the boat is idling.

This article is intended to promote education and boating safety.  For more information, sources include www.nfpa.org/education and the Electrical Safety Foundation International (703-841-3229.

sue.biondi@lakeannavirginia.org

By Mark Debord – October 2024

Shoreline vegetation is a critical piece of the efforts to limit the runoff of nutrients that lead to Harmful Algae Blooms (HAB). Last year, through a generous grant from DuPont, LACA members and other volunteers planted between 2500-3000 native plants.  Lake Anna Civic Association - Another DuPont Clear Into the Future Grant for LACA (lakeannavirginia.org). LACA received additional grants from DuPont and Dominion Energy that we’ll use to continue and expand that work in 2024.

In addition to the role that shoreline vegetation plays in reducing nutrient uptake in the lake, it is an important part of erosion control, storing carbon, and water purification. It also provides critical habitat for fish, waterfowl and other wildlife at Lake Anna. Understanding Living Shorelines | NOAA Fisheries. 

In March 2023, Dominion Energy established the Lake Anna Reservoir and Waste Heat Treatment Facility (WHTF) Vegetation Management & Herbicide/Pesticide Treatment Policy.  Lake Anna Reservoir and WHTF Vegetation Management & Herbicide/Pesticide Treatment Policy (cdn-dominionenergy-prd-001.azureedge.net).  The purpose of the policy is to protect aquatic vegetation at the lake (note that hydrilla is managed under a separate policy).

Under the policy, landowners should not treat more than what immediately prevents access to swimming areas, boat docks, and the main water body. Before removing any vegetation along the shoreline or in the water, whether with chemicals or physical removal, a landowner must apply to Dominion for prior approval. The application and accompanying instructions are attached to the policy in the link above.

Preventing HABs requires a group effort. Protecting Lake Anna’s shoreline vegetation plays a critical role in that.

mark.debord@lakeannavirginia.org

By Greg Baker – July 2024

Elections

The LACA elections are live. LACA’s board is made up of 11 volunteers representing the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. In addition, members of LACA are represented by one of 6 Regional Directors, each representing members that closely correlate to the county voting districts.

LACA’s board members serve a two-year term and approximately half of the board is up for election each year. With the Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Treasurer and the Regional Directors from Jackson/Cuckoo-Public Side, Brokenburg and Mineral/Louisa up for election in even years. The President, Treasurer and Regional Directors from Jackson/Cuckoo-Private Side, Partlow and Belmont up for election in odd years.

In addition to the voting members of the board, the LACA leadership group also includes the chairs and co-chairs of our various standing committees. These include the Water Quality, Environmental Preservation, Emergency Services & Safety, Land Use, Membership & Marketing, and our Fireworks Committees. (To learn more about one of these committees, please click through to our website.)

You can learn a little more about our leadership group by clicking on the following links:

Board

Committee Chairs

The current election is in process and while we do not have any contested seats, please take the time to vote to show your appreciation for the many hours that our LACA leadership devotes to the community. Voting is limited to the primary member in the household or what is called the “Bundle Coordinator.”

We do have an opening on the board for the Regional Director position for the Jackson/Cuckoo-Public Side. If you reside within this region and are interested in learning more about the role, please email me. You may learn more about the role by clicking here.

Annual Meeting

The LACA annual meeting will be held at a new location on Saturday July 27^th, 2024 at The Barn at Callie Oppie’s Orchard on Route 522 very close to the intersection of Route 522 and Route 208 intersection. (The site of the new and much anticipated traffic circle.)

The official meeting will begin at 9:30AM, however please arrive at 9:00 to meet the LACA leadership and spend some time with the committee chairs. A light continental breakfast will be available.

You will hear reports from each of our committee chairs. The election results will be announced, and we will give an update on the $1MM in funding that Lake Anna received from the state to fund the Lake Anna Cyanobacteria Mitigation and Remediation Program.

We also have arranged to have special guest speakers from the Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Stacey Brown, DWR’s boating division director along with Sgt. Alan Hatmaker will speak to DWR’s Perspective on Boating Safety on Lake Anna. This is also an opportunity for us to express support for additional police presence on Lake Anna.

Attendance to the LACA Annual meeting is limited to members in good standing with LACA. To register for the event, you may follow this link. Space is limited so it is important to register in advance of the meeting. If two of you plan to attend, please note that both attendees must register prior to the event. We will attempt to host a Zoom option, but our technology is limited, so we encourage you to attend in person if possible.

What are Bundles and why does it matter?

LACA uses a third-party website host/membership management company, Wild Apricot. Wild Apricot uses terminology of “bundle coordinator” and “bundle member.” A bundle coordinator is the primary member in your household and the only member that is allowed to vote in our elections. LACA allows for each member to represent two members of the same household. The bundle member is that second member.

Why does this matter? If you add a second member to your household membership, that person is also invited to participate in all our surveys that drive LACA leadership’s decisions related to our mandates. In addition, those members may attend LACA events and receive newsletters and E-Grams.

How do you go about adding a bundle member?

1: First make sure that you are able to log into your profile on the LACA website: www.lakeannavirginia.org If you visit our website and see your name at the top of the page, you are logged in and if you click on your name you will be directed to your profile page. If you do not see your name, you will instead see “log in.” To add a bundle member, you will need to log in using the email address you used when you joined LACA. You may need to reset a password if you are unable to log in.

2: Once logged in and you see your name at the top of the web page, click your name and you will be directed to your profile page.

3: Once you are the correct page, you will see “My LACA profile” From there, scroll down to a section called ‘Bundle summary” and you will see a green button “Add member.” From there you may add another member of your household as part of your membership. Please note that your family member must have a unique email address that is different from your own.

4: Finally, your bundle member will need to log in and set up a password for his or her new profile.  If you have issues with this process, email me and I will have a member of the LACA leadership group reach out to help.

greg.baker@lakeannavirginia.org

By Maureen Daniels – July 2024

The truth is, the vast majority of folks follow the rules, play well with others, and take responsibility for their actions. It is helpful to keep this in mind as we continue to experience challenges about fair use of our beautiful, geographically limited resource, Lake Anna.

Clearly, the dynamics on our Lake have changed dramatically over the years. There has been an obvious increase in boat traffic with more and more people enjoying a wide range of water sports from low key, relaxing, to demanding, high energy. Boats and jet skis are bigger and faster, and some boats are specifically engineered to produce huge man-made waves that allow riders to surf behind.

The challenge for Lake Anna is to achieve a safe, positive coexistence where everyone can enjoy his/her own pursuit of H2O happiness without interfering with someone else’s right to do the same.

We are all a little to a lot guilty of being self-absorbed and oblivious while engaged in our favorite activities on the water. We get so focused on fishing, skiing, tubing, jet skiing, kayaking, paddle boarding, surfing—whatever—we lose situational awareness and that can put ourselves and others at risk.

Let’s get down to basics. . .

Attitude—Having fun on the water requires a serious attitude about safety.

We all share common goals: get out on the water, engage in our preferred pastimes, enjoy making memories, and have the best time ever!

The other, more consequential goal that sometimes gets lost in the “fun in the sun” mentality is one’s responsibility to avoid accidents and bring everyone back to home base without injury. Pay attention. Stay alert. Maintain a safe speed. Keep your head on a swivel. Think safety. Boat safely.

Behavior—Your behavior on the water reflects your attitude about safety. It indicates how much you know and embrace adherence to state laws and basic safety standards.

For example, do this quick indicator of where you are on the “safe to dangerous” behavioral scale:

Do you. . .

•  Make sure everyone on board is wearing a life jacket? Have all state mandated safety equipment on board?

•  Obey all No Wake zones (whether the police are watching or not.)

•  Stay at least 50 ft from fixed objects like docks, ramps, people in the water?

•  Ever monitor your wake to see how it is affecting those around you?

•  Cut across the bow of other boats?

•  Tow, ski, wakeboard, wake surf, kayak, canoe, paddleboard, or fish in the busiest or narrowest parts of the Lake? What if someone goes down in that high traffic area?

•  Allow anyone to ride on the gunwales (sides), sun deck, or dangle feet off the bow while underway? How about your pets?

•  Overload your boat or jet ski beyond capacity?

How did you do? All good? Any room for improvement?

Most accidents on the water are the result of human error. Inattention, inexperience, and bad judgement are leading causes of incidents/fatalities. Think safety. Boat safely.

Common Sense—is uncommon in many circumstances. The basis for a peaceful coexistence among many water enthusiasts doing many different things lies in a communal sense of common courtesy, respect, civility, manners and patience.

Let’s all do our part. Fair use. Fair play. Fair enough!

mo.daniels@lakeannavirginia.org

By Harry Looney – July 2024

The Virginia General Assembly approved an additional $500,000 in the fiscal year 2025 budget for continued efforts on the Lake Anna Cyanobacteria Mitigation and Remediation Program. The program, managed by the Lake Anna Advisory Committee, focuses on the remediation of phosphorus levels in the lake and sediment and nutrients entering the lake from the 218,500 acre watershed. The Lake Anna Advisory Committee will develop a plan for the execution of the fiscal year 2025 funding based on data collected from the efforts being executed this year using the previously appropriated $1 million dollars of state funding.

The Lake Anna Cyanobacteria Mitigation and Remediation Program is currently focused on reducing phosphorus levels in the upper North Anna River and Terry’s Run. EutroPHIX is the company leading the effort on the upper North Anna River and Clean Streams, Rivers, and Lakes is working in Terry’s Run. The reduction of excess phosphorus has been shown through multiple research studies over the past several decades to mitigate cyanobacteria levels. The mitigation effect is achieved through the removal of soluble phosphorus in the water which the cyanobacteria use as a source of food/energy.

Both contractors implemented their approved technical approaches in mid-June to reduce excess phosphorus in both tributaries. Those of you living on or near the upper North Anna River from the Harris bridge (route 522) to the headwaters of the lake, including Goldmine and Duckinhole Creeks and all of Terry’s Run saw treatment activities the last 2 weeks of June. All treatments were completed by the fourth of July holiday. The products being used by both contractors were approved by Dominion Energy and reviewed by both the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). The treatments are safe for humans, dogs, aquatic life, and the environment.

The Lake Anna community is thankful for the funding bills introduced by Delegates Fowler and Laufer and Senator McGuire during the last session of the General Assembly for continued state funding for the program. Please contact the LACA Program Manager if you want to get involved in LACA’s volunteer efforts or if you want to get more information on cyanobacteria / HAB issues at Lake Anna.

harry.looney@lakeannavirginia.org

By Mark DeBord and Rick Hoyle – May 2024

This article focuses on the responses LACA received to the survey questions from the Environmental Preservation (EP) committee.  These questions sought to determine member support for current and potential EP initiatives and solicit member concerns about environmental challenges to Lake Anna.

Regarding support for EP initiatives, over half of our respondents indicated they were at least somewhat interested in providing time or financial support for specifically identified EP committee efforts as follows:

Potential Environmental Preservation Activity	Highest Interest	Any Interest
Planting Native Flora on and near shore	37%	58%
Area road cleanups	27%	56%
Shoreline cleanups	35%	60%
Floating Treatment Islands	27%	56%
Stormwater Runoff Control	34%	59%
Seeking private and government funding for preservation efforts	48%	60%
Seeking government intervention/regulation/enforcement to control environmental impacts	44%	58%

EP committee leads are evaluating the efficacy of the Floating Treatment Islands.  In many cases, the anchor ties for these islands break and the islands are washed ashore and/or the plants on the islands die.  This requires significant effort and funding to redeploy and/or repopulate the islands every spring.  The leads are conducting a cost benefit analysis to determine if time and effort is better spent on Floating Treatment Islands or planting native flora on and near shorelines. 

LACA has been fortunate in attracting grants from industry such as DuPont for environmental preservation efforts, especially for planting native flora.  These grants still require the committee leads to coordinate assistance in planting as they did in the Spring of 2023 with the assistance of volunteers and Louisa County High School students.

Floating Treatment Islands have been a major LACA initiative since the last LACA survey in 2019.  Many respondents (42%) expressed interest in supporting this Environmental Preservation initiative through financial (51%) or labor (21%) contributions or having a one deployed in the lake in front of their property (14%).  As stated earlier, the leadership of the Environmental Preservation Committee plans to reach out to these respondents once the cost/benefit analysis is complete to either take these members up on their offer, or request they redirect their generosity to shoreline native flora efforts.

The Environmental Preservation section of the survey also queried members regarding their concerns with plant, animal, or aquatic invasive species.  Thirty-five percent of respondents to this question indicated concern.  Individual comments submitted were especially interesting with 48 citing HAB/Algae/Cyanobacteria, 39 citing snakeheads, 37 concerned with Hydrilla, 12 identifying plants, grass, weeds, or reeds, 7 citing cows, and 4 concerned with beavers.  Although some of these are not invasive, they can certainly cause problems.  One bright point is that some members have found snakehead fish to be very tasty!

The EP committee leads have created an Action Plan with due dates in reaction to the responses received for the questions cited above.  These actions await the approval of the LACA Board even though several of these actions have already been implemented. Further actions may be recommended by the Board and approved actions will be monitored for progress at our monthly meetings. You can expect to see responses soon if not already because of all the survey responses.  Again, membership feedback is extremely valuable and we are determined to implement your suggestions! Thanks again to those who completed our survey!

rick.hoyle@lakeannavirginia.org

lara.weatherholtz@lakeannavirginia.org

mark.debord@lakeannavirginia.org