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Each July, we take time to reflect on the beauty, value, and importance of lakes during Lakes Appreciation Month. Since 1998, this national initiative founded by the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) has encouraged communities to get outside, engage with their local waterbodies, and take action to protect them.
This year, we’re sharing four simple and meaningful ways to celebrate. If you're a lake regular or you're just starting to dip your toes into lake stewardship, you'll find something valuable here!




1. Get to Know Your Lake
There’s no better way to appreciate your local lake than by exploring it up close. Take a morning paddle, enjoy a peaceful shoreline walk, or head out with a fishing rod and a friend. Lakes offer the perfect setting for adventure, reflection, and connection with nature. Whether it’s your first visit or your hundredth, there’s always something new to discover and appreciate at your local lake.
And thanks to digital tools, exploration doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. For example, in Pennsylvania, the Bucks County Conservation District, in collaboration with Bucks County Planning Commission and Princeton Hydro, recently launched an interactive ArcGIS StoryMap showcasing the Lake Luxembourg watershed and Conservation Pool Restoration Project. This interactive tool lets you experience the lake’s ecology in a whole new way. Take a deeper dive—without getting your feet wet—and check out the StoryMap here.




2. Join the Secchi Dip-In
Join lake lovers across North America for the annual Secchi Dip-In, a citizen science event where volunteers collect water clarity data using a simple Secchi disk. This collective initiative helps monitor lake health over time and contributes valuable data to local lake managers and the broader scientific community.
Getting involved is simple—grab a Secchi disk (they're easy to make), take a turbidity reading, and submit your data online using the Secchi Dip-in database. Need guidance on how to use a Secchi disk? Check out our instructional video for a step-by-step walkthrough:
[embed]https://youtu.be/cj7YEctvqRQ?si=jgI-d4SjNXillUr_[/embed]

While you're on the water, keep an eye out for harmful algal blooms (HABs). You can report potential blooms using the bloomWatch app, a helpful tool that connects citizen scientists with local environmental officials. Click here to learn more about identifying, monitoring and reporting HABs.



3. Create and Share Lake-Inspired Content
Get creative and let your appreciation for lakes shine. Try your hand at Lakes Appreciation Month Bingo, make a short video, write a lakeside haiku, or paint a scene from your favorite shoreline. When you express your love for lakes through art, you can also inspire others to connect with and care for their local lakes.
You can also participate in the NALMS “Show Your Lakes Appreciation” Challenge. While you’re out enjoying your favorite lake, snap a #lakeselfie, capture a scenic sunset, or photograph your pet mid-paddle. Post your photo on your favorite social media platform with the hashtag #LakesAppreciation and include the name of the lake in your caption for a chance to win prizes and be featured online. The contest runs all month long!
Here's a winning entry from last year—a joyful shot of “Jo Jo the dog kayaking on Lake Michigan.”




4. Take Action and Give Back
Looking to make a tangible impact? Volunteer for a local lake cleanup, support your watershed association, or become a lake steward helping to monitor your lake's water quality, remove invasive species, and more! Even taking small actions in your own backyard, like reducing fertilizer use or installing a rain garden, can make a big difference for water quality.
Princeton Hydro has had the privilege of partnering with lake associations, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations across the country on a wide range of lake restoration and stewardship efforts. These partnerships show what’s possible when communities come together to invest in their lakes. Read about our recent collaboration with Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.
Whether you’re picking up trash, attending a public meeting, or just learning more about lake science, your involvement matters.
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Lakes are vital ecosystems and treasured community assets. Let’s use this month to celebrate them, protect them, and remind others just how important they are!

To explore more ways to get involved this Lakes Appreciation Month, visit NALMS.org. To learn more about how Princeton Hydro manages and monitors lakes, click here.
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July is #LakesAppreciation Month - a great time of year to enjoy your community lakes. Lakes Appreciation Month was started by North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) to help bring attention to the countless benefits that lakes provide, to raise awareness of the many challenges facing our waterways, and to encourage people to protect these precious resources.







We’ve put together six tips to help you celebrate Lakes Appreciation Month and get involved in protecting your favorite lakes:



 1. Join the “Secchi Dip-In” contest.











The “Secchi Dip-In” is an annual citizen science event where lake-goers and associations across North America use a simple Secchi disk to monitor the transparency or turbidity of their local waterway. Created and managed by NALMS, volunteers have been submitting information during the annual Dip-In since 1994. Get all the Dip-In details here.









 2. Enter the #LakesAppreciation Challenge.











NALMS invites you to participate in its "Show Your Lakes Appreciation Challenge" social media #lakeselfie photo contest. The first place winner, who will be chosen on August 3, gets a $100 REI gift card, donated by Princeton Hydro. Click here to get all the details on how to participate.









3. Monitor and report algae blooms.











With the bloomWatch App, you can track harmful algal blooms (HABs) with your smart phone. HABs can produce toxins that can have serious negative impacts on water quality. Use bloomWatch to take photos of potential blooms, submit your photos through the app, and the info gets sent to relevant state officials for further action. Get more info here.









4. Commit to keeping your lake clean.











Volunteers play a major role in maintaining the health and safety of community waterways. If you’re interested in helping to conserve and protect your water resources, you can start by cleaning up trash. Choose a waterbody in your community; determine a regular clean-up schedule; and stick to it! Cleaning your neighborhood storm drains really helps too; click here to find out how. 









5. Support your local lake.











You can help support your favorite lake by joining or donating to a lake or watershed association. Lake associations monitor the condition of the lake, develop lake management plans, provide education about how to protect the lake, work with the government entities to improve fish habitat, and much more.









 6. Get outside and enjoy the water.











There are countless ways to enjoy and appreciate your community lakes. During Lakes Appreciation month, take photos that illustrate how you appreciate your community lakes, share them on social media using the hashtag: #LakesAppreciation, and hopefully you’ll inspire others to show their Lake Appreciation too.









To learn more about NALMS and get more ideas on how to celebrate your local lakes, go here: https://www.nalms.org. If you’re interested in learning more about Princeton Hydro’s broad range of award-winning lake management services, go here: www.princetonhydro/pondlake. 

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Spring is officially here! Tulips will soon be emerging from the ground, buds blossoming on trees and, unfortunately, invasive plant species will begin their annual growing cycle. No type of habitat or region of the globe is immune to the threat of invasive species (“invasives”). Invasives create major impacts on ecosystems throughout the world, and freshwater ecosystems and estuaries are especially vulnerable because the establishment of such species in these habitats is difficult to contain and reverse.

This blog provides an introduction to invasive aquatic species, including information that will help you prevent the spread of invasives in the waterways of your community.
Defining Invasive Species
Invasive species can be defined as non-native occurring in an ecosystem that is outside its actual natural or native distributional range. Although the colonization of an ecosystem by non-native species can occur naturally, it is more often a function of human intervention, both deliberate and accidental. For aquatic ecosystems some species have become established as a result of the aquarium trade, fish culture practices and/or transport of plants and animals in the bilge and ballast water of trans-oceanic shipping vessels.



One of the primary reasons invasives are able to thrive, spread rapidly, and outcompete native species is that the environmental checks and predators that control these species in their natural settings are lacking in the ecosystems and habitat in which they become introduced. The subsequent damages they cause occur on many ecological levels including competition for food or habitat (feeding, refuge and/or spawning), direct predation and consumption of native species, introduction of disease or parasites, and other forms of disruption that lead to the replacement of the native species with the invasive species. As a result, invasives very often cause serious harm to the environment, the economy, and even human health. A prominent example is the Emerald Ash Borer, a non-native, invasive beetle that is responsible for the widespread death of ash trees.

As noted above, there are a large number of aquatic invasive species. Some of the more commonly occurring non-native aquatic plant species that impact East Coast lakes, ponds and reservoirs include:

 	
Curly-leaf pondweed
 	
Eurasian watermilfoil
 	
Hydrilla
 	
Water chestnut

Understanding How Invasives Spread
Either intentionally or unintentionally, people have helped spread invasives around the globe. This is not a recent phenomenon but rather something that has been occurring for centuries. “Intentional introductions,” the deliberate transfer of nuisance species into a new environment, can involve a person pouring their home aquarium into a lake or deliberate actions intended to improve the conditions for various human activities, for example, in agriculture, or to achieve aesthetics not naturally available.

“Unintentional introductions” involve the accidental transfer of invasives, which can happen in many ways, including aquatic species attached to the hull of boats or contained in bilge and ballast water. A high-profile example is the introduction of zebra mussels to North America. Native to Central Asia and parts of Europe, zebra mussels accidentally arrived in the Great Lakes and Hudson River via cargo ships traveling between the regions. The occurrence, density, and distribution of Zebra mussels occurred at an alarming rate, with the species spreading to 20 states in the United States and to Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Due to their reproductive fecundity and filter-feeding ability, they are considered the most devastating aquatic invasive species to invade North American fresh waters. They alter and diminish the plankton communities of the lakes that they colonize leading to a number of cascading trophic impacts that have especially negative consequences on fisheries. Zebra mussel infestations have also been linked to increased cyanobacteria (bluegreen algae) blooms and the occurrence of harmful algae blooms (HABs) that impact drinking water quality, recreational use, and the health of humans, pets, and livestock.

Additionally, higher than average temperatures and changes in rain and snow patterns caused by climate change further enable some invasive plant species to move into new areas. This is exemplified by the increased northly spread of hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillate), a tropical invasive plant species that has migrated since its introduction in Florida in the 1950s to lakes, rivers, and reservoirs throughout the U.S.

Regardless of how any of these invasive species first became established, the thousands of terrestrial and aquatic invasive species introduced into the U.S. have caused major ecological, recreational and economic impacts.
Measuring the Impacts of Invasives
After habitat loss, invasive, non-native species are the second largest threat to biodiversity. According to The Nature Conservancy, “Invasive species have contributed directly to the decline of 42% of the threatened and endangered species in the United States. The annual cost to the nation’s economy is estimated at $120 billion a year, with over 100 million acres (an area roughly the size of California) suffering from invasive plant infestations. Invasive species are a global problem — with the annual cost of impacts and control efforts equaling 5% of the world’s economy.”

Of the $120 billion, about $100 million per year is spent on aquatic invasive plant control to address such deleterious issues as:

 	
Human health (West Nile Virus, Zika Virus)
 	
Water quality impacts (Canada geese)
 	
Potable water supplies (Zebra mussel)
 	
Commercial fisheries (Snake head, lamprey, Eurasian ruffe, round goby)
 	
Recreational activities (Eurasian watermilfoil, water chestnut, hydrilla)
 	
Biodiversity (Purple loosestrife, common reed, Japanese knotweed)

Invasive species can change the food web in an ecosystem by destroying or replacing native food sources. As the National Wildlife Federation explains, “The invasive species may provide little to no food value for native wildlife. Invasive species can also alter the abundance or diversity of species that are important habitat for native wildlife. Additionally, some invasive species are capable of changing the conditions in an ecosystem, such as changing soil chemistry...”
Addressing Invasives
Our native biodiversity is an irreplaceable and valuable treasure. Through a combination of prevention, early detection, eradication, restoration, research and outreach, we can help protect our native heritage from damage by invasive species.
What Can We Do? 

 	
Reduce the spread
 	
Routinely monitor
 	
Document and report
 	
Spread the word

Reducing the Spread:
The best way to fight invasive species is to prevent them from occurring in the first place. There are a variety of simple things each of us can do to help stop the introduction and spread of invasives.

 	
Plant native plants on your property and remove any invasive plants. Before you plant anything, verify with your local nursery and check out this online resource for help in identifying invasive plants.
 	
Thoroughly wash your gear and watercraft before and after your trip. Invasives come in many forms – plants, fungi and animals – and even those of microscopic size can cause major damage.
 	
Don't release aquarium fish and plants, live bait or other exotic animals into the wild. If you plan to own an exotic pet, do your research to make sure you can commit to looking after it. Look into alternatives to live bait.

Monitoring:

Invasive plant monitoring is one of the most valuable site­-level activities people can support. Contact your local watershed organizations to inquire about watershed monitoring volunteer opportunities. For example, the Lake Hopatcong “Water Scouts” program was established to seek out and remove any instances of the invasive water chestnut species.

If you are a lake or watershed manager, the best way to begin an invasive plant monitoring project is with an expert invasive plant survey to determine which invasives are most likely to be problematic in your watershed and identify the watershed’s most vulnerable areas. Contact us to learn more.
Documenting and Reporting:

It’s important to learn to identify invasive species in your area and report any sightings to your county extension agent or local land manager. For example, in New Jersey there is the Invasive Species Strike Team that tracks the spread of terrestrial and aquatic invasives and works with local communities in the management of these species. Additionally, consider developing a stewardship plan for your community to help preserve its natural resources. Princeton Hydro’s team of natural resource scientists can help you get the ball rolling by preparing stewardship plans focused on controlling invasive species and protecting the long-term health of open spaces, forests habitats, wetlands, and water-quality in your community.
Spreading the word:

Many people still don’t understand the serious implications of invasive species. Education is a crucial step in stopping the spread of invasives, which is why it’s so important to talk with your neighbors, friends and family about the hazards and ecological/economic impacts of invasive species.

Also consider talking with your community lake or watershed manager about hosting an educational workshop where experts can share their knowledge about invasives specific to your area and how best to address them.

 

We encourage you to share this article and spread your invasive species knowledge so that together we can help stop the introduction and spread of invasive species.
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Did you know that lakes contain about 90% of all surface water on Earth, not counting the oceans? That’s a whole lot to appreciate! And, luckily Lakes Appreciation Month is right around the corner!
July 1 marks the beginning of Lakes Appreciation Month. To encourage active participation in this month-long celebration, we’re holding a #LakesAppreciation Instagram photo contest where you can show us how you appreciate lakes! The winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.

CONTEST DETAILS & GUIDELINES: 
We want to see how YOU appreciate lakes! Send us photos of yourself actively participating in lake appreciation. ?Make sure to read the contest guidelines and conditions listed below. Need some inspiration? Scroll down for a list of suggestions to get your creativity flowing.

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST:

 	
During the month of July, get out on your local lakes and participate in an appreciation activity. 
 	
Snap a photo of yourself doing a lake appreciation activity and post it to Instagram. You must use this hashtag #LakesAppreciation in your caption and tag Princeton Hydro (@princeton_hydro) in the photo.

 	
In order for us to view your entry and your photo to be eligible for the contest, your account or post must be public.
 	
Entries must be submitted as regular posts on your profile in order to qualify, but we also encourage you to add the picture to your story!



PHOTO GUIDELINES:
Each Post Must Include the Following: 

 	
A lake photo
 	
You actively participating in an appreciation activity
 	
A caption explaining what you did and why you appreciate your lakes!
 	
#LakesAppreciation
 	
@princeton_hydro tagged

One lucky winner will be randomly selected on August 1, 2019. The selected winner will receive a $100 gift card to Amazon. We’ll reach out to you via social media to collect your email and address for prize distribution. If the winner does not respond within five working days with the appropriate information, we will select another winner at random. Good luck, everyone!

GETTING STARTED:
Not sure how to get started? We’ve got you covered with a few ideas! Here are 10 ways you can show your lake appreciation:



 	
Relax on the lake: Whether you enjoy swimming, relaxing on the shoreline, sailing, canoeing, or kayaking, there are countless ways you can get outside and enjoy your community lakes.

 	
Go fishing: There’s nothing quite like relaxing on the shoreline with a fishing pole in your hand. Whether you’re there to catch and release or want to take your catches home, fishing is a great way to unwind. Go get your license (if you’re above the age of 16), check your local fishing rules and regulations, and cast a line in your local lake!
 	
Break out the binoculars:  Lakes are great spots to go birding! Download the eBird app to track your bird sightings and see what fellow birders have reported in the area. Also, keep your eyes peeled for ospreys; New Jersey has an osprey conservation project with a map to track all the recent sighting reports.
 	
#TrashTag - Clean it up: One super quick and easy thing to do is clean up your local lake. You can get a small group of friends together or just go out on your own - no effort is too small! You’ll be able to immediately see the benefits of your actions when the trash-lined shore is clear. In addition to the Lakes Appreciation Photo contest tags, make sure you use #trashtag, a global viral cleanup challenge that shows people’s before and after pictures of their cleaning efforts so that you can be a part of that growing trend!
 	
Get involved with your local lake: You can help support your favorite lake by joining a lake or watershed association. As an organized, collective group, lake associations work toward identifying and implementing strategies to protect water quality and ecological integrity. Lake associations monitor the condition of the lake, develop lake management plans, provide education about how to protect the lake, work with the government entities to improve fish habitat, and much more.
 	
Remove invasive species: One of the most harmful elements of lake ecosystems are invasive species. So, by properly removing and discarding them, you can really help a lake to achieve its most desired state. A list of possible invasive species can be found here. For inspiration, check out this blog, written by our Senior Limnologist, Mike Hartshorne.
 	
Call on your inner-artist and draw a lake scene: All you need is a notepad, a pencil, and some spare time to let your imagination and creative skills take over. Does your lake have ducks? Are there people swimming? Is the sun rising or setting? Snap a picture of you with your art!
 	
Monitor and report algae blooms: With the BloomWatch App, you can help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency understand where and
 	
 when potential harmful algae blooms (HABs) occur. HABs have the potential to produce toxins that can have serious negative impacts on the health of humans, pets, and our ecosystems. Learn more and download the app.
 	
Join the “Secchi Dip-In” contest: The “Secchi Dip-In” is an annual citizen science  event created by NALMS during which lake-goers and associations across North America use a simple Secchi disk to monitor the transparency or turbidity of their local waterway. Visit their website to find out how to join their contest!

 	
Create your own experience: Write a sonnet about one of your lake experiences. Snap a picture of you sitting out by the water’s edge. Share your favorite lake memory on social media. Collect shells. Play a round of SpikeBall or CanJam in the surrounding area. With permission from the lake owner, plant some native species around the water. The possibilities are endless for lake appreciation!

Still having trouble thinking of an activity to do? Visit the NALMS's website!



ADDITIONAL CONTEST CONDITIONS:
By submitting an entry (Photograph) via Instagram to Princeton Hydro’s 2019 #LakesAppreciation Month Contest, you agree to the following: You represent and warrant that:


 	
You are the sole and exclusive author and owner of the Photograph submitted and all rights therein; and
 	
You have the full and exclusive right, power, and authority to submit the Photograph; and
 	
You irrevocably grant Princeton Hydro a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use the Photograph in any manner related to the Contest, including all associated use, reproduction, distribution, sublicense, derivative works, and commercial and non-commercial exploitation rights in any and all media now known or hereafter invented, including, but not limited to public relations purposes, posting on social media accounts, and/or for company marketing materials; and
 	
No rights in the Photograph have been previously granted to any person, firm, corporation or other entity, or otherwise encumbered such that the prior grant would limit or interfere with the rights granted to Princeton Hydro herein; and
 	
No part of your Photograph defames or invades the privacy or publicity rights of any person, living or decreased, or otherwise infringes upon any third party’s copyright, trademark or other personal or property rights.

Check out the details and winner of last year's Lakes Appreciation Month contest:
[embed]https://www.princetonhydro.com/blog/lakes-appreciation-contest-winner/[/embed]

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The New York State Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA) Board of Directors awarded Dr. Stephen Souza, Founder, Princeton Hydro with its 'Lake Tear of the Clouds' Award. This award, named after the highest lake in the state, is NYSFOLA’s highest honor. It is only given to a person who has shown the highest dedication to New York’s lakes and watersheds, assisted NYSFOLA in its mission, and produced exceptional performance in his or her field of endeavor.


In bestowing this award to Dr. Souza, NYSFOLA recognizes his accomplishments and efforts in the management and restoration of lakes throughout the State of New York and his support of the initiatives promoted by NYSFOLA. The award was presented at the NYSFOLA’s 35th annual conference, which was held on May 4th and 5th at the Fort William Henry Hotel in Lake George.


During his acceptance speech, Dr. Souza said, “I am truly humbled and appreciative to have even been considered worthy of this award.  In accepting the 'Lake Tear of Clouds' Award, I want to extend my deepest thanks to NYSFOLA, the NYSFOLA Board of Directors, Nancy Mueller (NYSFOLA Manager), and all of you here tonight.  It is people like yourselves, who advocate for clean lakes, that have made my career so rewarding. I would be remiss if I also did not take the time to thank my wife Maria and my family for their support over the years and of course the dedicated lake scientists that I have the pleasure to work with day in and day out at Princeton Hydro. That of course includes Dr. Fred Lubnow, who I have had the pleasure of working side-by-side with since 1992, Chris Mikolajczyk and Mike Hartshorne, both of whom are here tonight, and the rest of my Princeton Hydro colleagues."


Dr. Souza first attended the NYSFOLA conference in 1985, and has been working to assess, restore and protect watersheds throughout the state of New York for over 35 years. Some of the notable projects managed by Dr. Souza over that time include projects conducted at Honeoye Lake, Sodus Bay, Greenwood Lake and Sleepy Hollow Lake. He is currently working with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on a major statewide harmful algae bloom (HAB) management effort.


“We thank you for your longtime support of NYSFOLA and our member lake association, Steve,” said Nancy J. Mueller, Manager. “And, we congratulate Princeton Hydro on its 20th anniversary.”








ABOUT NYSFOLA


The New York State Federation of Lake Associations, Inc. was founded in 1983 by a coalition of lake associations concerned about water quality, invasive species, and other issues facing New York's lakes. Today, more than 200 lake associations across the state are members of the only statewide voice for lakes and lake associations. NYSFOLA also has corporate members and individual members who support our efforts.
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Each July, we take time to reflect on the beauty, value, and importance of lakes during Lakes Appreciation Month. Since 1998, this national initiative founded by the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) has encouraged communities to get outside, engage with their local waterbodies, and take action to protect them.
This year, we’re sharing four simple and meaningful ways to celebrate. If you're a lake regular or you're just starting to dip your toes into lake stewardship, you'll find something valuable here!




1. Get to Know Your Lake
There’s no better way to appreciate your local lake than by exploring it up close. Take a morning paddle, enjoy a peaceful shoreline walk, or head out with a fishing rod and a friend. Lakes offer the perfect setting for adventure, reflection, and connection with nature. Whether it’s your first visit or your hundredth, there’s always something new to discover and appreciate at your local lake.
And thanks to digital tools, exploration doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. For example, in Pennsylvania, the Bucks County Conservation District, in collaboration with Bucks County Planning Commission and Princeton Hydro, recently launched an interactive ArcGIS StoryMap showcasing the Lake Luxembourg watershed and Conservation Pool Restoration Project. This interactive tool lets you experience the lake’s ecology in a whole new way. Take a deeper dive—without getting your feet wet—and check out the StoryMap here.




2. Join the Secchi Dip-In
Join lake lovers across North America for the annual Secchi Dip-In, a citizen science event where volunteers collect water clarity data using a simple Secchi disk. This collective initiative helps monitor lake health over time and contributes valuable data to local lake managers and the broader scientific community.
Getting involved is simple—grab a Secchi disk (they're easy to make), take a turbidity reading, and submit your data online using the Secchi Dip-in database. Need guidance on how to use a Secchi disk? Check out our instructional video for a step-by-step walkthrough:
[embed]https://youtu.be/cj7YEctvqRQ?si=jgI-d4SjNXillUr_[/embed]

While you're on the water, keep an eye out for harmful algal blooms (HABs). You can report potential blooms using the bloomWatch app, a helpful tool that connects citizen scientists with local environmental officials. Click here to learn more about identifying, monitoring and reporting HABs.



3. Create and Share Lake-Inspired Content
Get creative and let your appreciation for lakes shine. Try your hand at Lakes Appreciation Month Bingo, make a short video, write a lakeside haiku, or paint a scene from your favorite shoreline. When you express your love for lakes through art, you can also inspire others to connect with and care for their local lakes.
You can also participate in the NALMS “Show Your Lakes Appreciation” Challenge. While you’re out enjoying your favorite lake, snap a #lakeselfie, capture a scenic sunset, or photograph your pet mid-paddle. Post your photo on your favorite social media platform with the hashtag #LakesAppreciation and include the name of the lake in your caption for a chance to win prizes and be featured online. The contest runs all month long!
Here's a winning entry from last year—a joyful shot of “Jo Jo the dog kayaking on Lake Michigan.”




4. Take Action and Give Back
Looking to make a tangible impact? Volunteer for a local lake cleanup, support your watershed association, or become a lake steward helping to monitor your lake's water quality, remove invasive species, and more! Even taking small actions in your own backyard, like reducing fertilizer use or installing a rain garden, can make a big difference for water quality.
Princeton Hydro has had the privilege of partnering with lake associations, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations across the country on a wide range of lake restoration and stewardship efforts. These partnerships show what’s possible when communities come together to invest in their lakes. Read about our recent collaboration with Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.
Whether you’re picking up trash, attending a public meeting, or just learning more about lake science, your involvement matters.
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Lakes are vital ecosystems and treasured community assets. Let’s use this month to celebrate them, protect them, and remind others just how important they are!

To explore more ways to get involved this Lakes Appreciation Month, visit NALMS.org. To learn more about how Princeton Hydro manages and monitors lakes, click here.
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Category: Lake Restoration