Presentation on harmful algae blooms (HABs)

Lake community: for anyone interested in learning more about HABs and their seasonal presence during the hot summer months on Duane Lake, this presentation is being offered only 12 minutes away.  Please attend if you would like to learn more.  Members of the board are sure to attend. 

If you've never been to the Knox Octagon Barn the setting alone will be a treat!  See you there!

Bear sightings around Duane Lake

There have been two sightings of a black bear in the neighborhood this weekend.  So far, the reports are sightings along south shore properties.  If you have a birdfeeder out, especially sunflower seeds, you might want to put it away for the summer.

A turtle story in this weeks local news...

A story from the local news was passed along from a local subscriber of The Daily Gazette and is very timely as we enter turtle egg season.  

If you are a subscriber of The Daily Gazette you can follow this link to the original story or read the repost below.

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A little turtle from southeastern USA: How did it get into Duane Lake?

Out for a spring afternoon walk around Duane Lake today (May 12th), I happened across this little (one inch in diameter) turtle trying to cross the pavement. I thought I'd help it make the journey before somebody's SUV tires crushed it.

I thought it odd; snapping turtle eggs don't hatch until mid June. And it didn't look quite like a snapping turtle, anyway. So I brought it home for a comparison to turtles I might find in various online identification guides.

I didn't find anything quite like it in the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation guide.

So I Googled "baby turtles with yellow bellies."

Bingo. There it was: a red-eared slider turtle. Never heard of it? Neither had I. And I can't say I had ever seen one before, either in Duane Lake or anywhere else. Maybe I just never paid attention until it crossed the road in front of me. But its markings were unmistakable.
It turns out it's the species of turtle most often sold in pet shops. I probably had one those many decades ago when I was a kid.

According to Wikipedia, it's on some list of the 100 most invasive species in the world, allegedly because it outcompetes native turtles for habitat and food.
I don't support the idea of dumping turtles or goldfish into our lake, but you're here. Welcome to Duane Lake, I say. We're all invasive species to one degree or another. But that's a topic for another day.

-- Alan Knight

2025 NYSFOLA annual conference report

Thank you to Alan Knight and Dirk Felton for attending the 2025 New York State Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA) annual two day conference held at the Fort William Henry Hotel and Conference Center in Lake George, NY, May 2nd and 3rd.  See below for each participants summary of the day.

Report from the NYSFOLA annual conference

The NY State Federation of Lake Associations holds a two-day educational conference every spring at Lake George. Topics range from lake management problems and solutions to “lessons learned” about operating a lake association. Pretty much, it’s a sharing of research findings, ideas, and experience—all in all, a very informative collection of presentations.

Alan Knight attended six presentations on Friday, May 2nd, and Dirk Felton attended the next day. Here are the take-home points from the sessions they attended.

What a day!!!

What a day we had Saturday, April 26th! We had a good turn-out for our Duane Lake Earth Day Clean-Up with lots of trash, old TVs, a lone shoe, rotten boards, bottles and cans collected. Many thanks to those brave souls that dressed for the weather and gave it their all!

And our Silent Wings Raptor Event was awesome and spectacular! We learned all about respecting our wild feathered friends, when to report an injured bird or animal and who to report it to, what it takes to host an injured raptor, what they eat, how they hunt, the different calls or hoots and why they fly silently. We were treated to up close and personal visits with five birds of prey. Many great questions were asked and all answered by the expert Silent Wings staff. A big thank you to Sonya and Karen for making all the arrangements and baking the tasty (and cute!) cookies. Here are just a few of the many pictures that were snapped. All of the birds were regal looking and beautiful!

To learn more about Silent Wings, visit their website at Silent Wings Raptor Rehab and Education.  There you will find a host of information, upcoming programs, and a donation link supporting rehabilitation of local injured wildlife. 

If you enjoyed these photos, there's more.  Click the Photos tab on the DLA home page for more photos from this event.  If you would like to contribute a photo, please email it to duanelakeassoc@gmail.com

THANK YOU to our amazing volunteers, neighbors, and surrounding lake community whose generous contributions help to make these and all our annual lake community events a success!

Pat Huff    Chris Miller     Norm Stewart     Kathy Hotaling    

Alan Knight     Kim Roberts    Dirk Felton     Ian Colgan    Tom McGrath