Thanks to Stan Cruden, the Water Chestnut weed-cutter boat has been repaired and is being equipped with a new cutter-bar assembly and engine. This year there will be a major effort to reduce the size of the water chestnut beds at the north end of the lake. Since the engine on the cutter boat was not operating properly in 2008 and 2009, not cutting was done and the bed has increased in size and plants are beginning to spread to the rest of the lake. Residents have been requested to come to the north end of the lake between 8 and 10am on Saturdays in their small boats, canoes and kayaks to clip leaflets from chestnut plants that cannot be reached with the cutter boat. Clipping leaflet heads from the plants prevents them from producing nutlets and new plants in subsequent years.

As indicated in previous Newsletters and e-mails, analysis of the fish population in Kinderhook Lake by NYDEC in 2010 indicated that about 90% of the fish are white perch. Since largemouth bass and bluegill populations have decreased over the past 10 years, it is suspected that the white perch, which are known to be avid egg and fish-fry eaters, have prevented the reproduction of those two species which spawn along shorelines in the spring. DEC has agreed to perform a fish-count study along shorelines this Spring to check on the population of bass and bluegills but programs will be initiated to reduce the number of white perch and fishermen will be encouraged to keep all perch that they catch.