On April 30th,2018 the Policy & Review Board met at the Discovery Center. Following are my notes from this meeting.
1.
Goose Hunt for 2018
: Eric Null, Deep Creek Lake Manager, announced there would be another Goose Hunt this year and it will be planned both for Deep Creek and Broadford Lakes. Dates and other related information will be available when we get much closer to the dates for the hunt.
2.
Wake Boat Update
: During this boating season, the Lake Management Office will continue to record any incidents reported, will continue to educate boat owners, and will work with lake marinas to attempt to educate boat operators on the proper regard for others on the lake as well as respecting docks and other property on the lake.
3.
Bruce Michael, Director, DNR Resource Assessment Service
, advised DNR will continue its long-term water quality monitoring program and greater focus will be on coves than the main body of the lake. DNR is working to develop a link on their web site which will take one to a site entitled, "Eyes onthe Lake" which will have a variety of data and other information regarding DCL. Approval should be received to launch this site by the end of May 2018. DNR is planning to initiate a Zebra Mussel Detection Program shortly and Brookfield Power Company is expected to fund the labor portion of the program, and the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation will fund equipment and lab costs. The plan is to have several sites around the lake that measure calcium levels in the lake as this mineral is important to sustaining zebra mussels in any body of water. Previously, in 2009, water sampling was done in the lake and relatively low levels of calcium were found. The belief is that the levels may be higher in the coves so they need to be sampled. Hydrilla control treatments will continue this year with the first treatment scheduled for June 4th. The program has been very successful thus far in DCL.
4.
Paul Edwards, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners
: Commissioner Edwards thanked both Senator Edwards and Delegate Beitzel for their tireless efforts to get the State Lakes Preservation and Restoration Bill funded and their success has insured DNR will receive $1M per year for four consecutive years beginning in July of 2019. Additionally, he advised that a bill was passed into law that will add a seat to the PRB for a representative from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) (This bill was introduced into the General Assembly by both Senator Edwards and Delegate Beitzel at the request of the POA). Commissioner Edwards also advised that beginning shortly the County will publish an article monthly in The Republican that will address matters involving the Deep Creek Watershed.
5.
The Lake Manager
advised that over time, he has received many requests from property owners on the lake to have Minimum Wake Buoys installed at various locations. The establishment of additional buoys actually must be approved by the State Legislature as their location on the lake is established in law. The matter must first be discussed at the PRB level and, if the board agrees with the addition of a buoy(s), the recommendation must then be forwarded to the Boat Act Advisory Committee or BAAC. If the recommendation is approved by the BAAC, then it is submitted to the legislature through DNR for action. Currently there at 6 - 8 Minimum Wake Buoys on the lake now. The Lake Manager recommended the establishment of some criteria for adding a buoy and a committee to review such requests over time and make recommendations to the PRB. Representatives from several different disciplines should be on the committee such as Natural Resources Police, BAAC, DNR, etc. to insure the issue is examined from several perspectives. There will be further discussion on this topic at our next PRB Meeting.
6.
The next PRB Meeting
is scheduled for July 30th at 6:00 PM and will held at the Discovery Center.
