ALA 3Q 2026 Newsletter - Annual Meeting Recap

Members, friends and neighbors,

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Annual Meeting on July 11 at the Averill Corporation. It was one of the most energized and engaged meetings we've had. We gathered, we ate, we celebrated, we bid with our cellphones for the silent auction (and the best items ever!), we heard a terrific keynote, and we shaped a path forward for the next 3 years. Behind all of it is a simple truth: this is the strongest the Averill Lakes Association has ever been. There's a lot in this issue. Please read it, and then please get involved. We need you. Keynote Recap

Our 2026 keynote speaker was Nick Fortin, wildlife biologist and Deer Project Leader with Vermont Fish & Wildlife. For those who couldn't be there, here is the short version of a fascinating talk, one that hits especially close to home, because we live in the heart of Vermont's moose country.

Where the moose are. Vermont's moose are concentrated in the Northeast Kingdom. On every occurrence map Nick showed, our corner of Essex County sits squarely inside the state's "core" moose range. When you see a moose crossing the Averill road at dusk, you're seeing the densest moose population in the state.

A story written in the forest. Nick walked us through three centuries of change. Vermont was heavily forested, then largely cleared for farming in the 1700s and 1800s (moose nearly vanished), then reforested through the 1900s, and the moose came back. The population climbed, peaked around the mid-2000s, and has been managed carefully ever since.

Why the numbers move. Moose health today comes down to three pressures:

• Loss of young forest habitat. Moose thrive on the tender regrowth of young, recently disturbed forest. As our woods mature into closed-canopy stands, there's less to eat.

• Brainworm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis). This parasite is carried harmlessly by white-tailed deer and passed through slugs and snails that moose accidentally eat while browsing. For moose it is often fatal: they are a "dead-end host." Where deer and moose overlap, brainworm takes a toll.
  

• Winter tick. This is the big one. A single moose can carry tens of thousands of winter ticks, and one engorged female lays up to 4,000 eggs. Heavy tick loads are worst on calves, which can be weakened or killed in late winter. Milder, shorter winters and high moose density both make the tick problem worse.
  

What the research found. From 2017–2019, Fish & Wildlife (with the University of Vermont and Native Range Capture Services) captured and collared 36 cows and 90 calves across four study areas in three states. Adult cows fared well: roughly 87% survived, and 57% gave birth. But calf survival was far more variable, running from about two-thirds in good years down toward half in the areas hit hardest by winter ticks.

The management insight. Here's the counter-intuitive part. You can't manage winter ticks directly: you can't spray a forest or treat a wild herd. The one lever managers do have is moose density: fewer moose per square mile means fewer hosts, lighter tick loads, and healthier animals overall. That's the logic behind Vermont's limited, targeted moose hunt in the highest-density units of the Northeast Kingdom. The goal isn't the most moose. It's healthy moose.

For those of us lucky enough to share this watershed with them, it's a reminder that a thriving lake and a thriving forest are the same story.

State of our Lakes Recap: a 501(c)(3) and Dual Gold Awards With the support of your vote last year, we are proud to be formally a Vermont- and federally-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, a status that lets your dues and donations go further and opens the door to matching funds and grants.

The centerpiece of our year is the Lake Wise program, Vermont's shoreland-stewardship standard run through the Department of Environmental Conservation. The Gold Lake Wise Award recognizes lakes where shoreline owners consistently protect water quality by keeping natural buffers, managing runoff and erosion, and treating the shoreline as the living edge of the lake that it is. Earning it on both Averills is a genuine milestone, and one we believe makes ALA the first Vermont association to bring two separate lakes to the Gold standard.

The ALA's work is increasingly recognized beyond our own shoreline. This fall, the association will be represented at two notable gatherings.

FOVLAP Annual Meeting: Thursday, September 10 - The ALA is an active member of the Federation of Vermont Lakes and Ponds (FOVLAP), the statewide voice for Vermont's lake associations. This year's annual meeting is a hybrid event, in person at the Vermont Historical Society in Barre and via Zoom. i will serve as the ALA's voting representative at the morning business meeting and will deliver a one-minute "Lake Report" on our year: the dual Gold awards, the greeter program's second season, and our 2026-2029 strategic priorities.

NALMS 2026: November in Kelowna, British Columbia. Our dual Gold Lake Wise story is going continental. I will present the Averills' achievement at the North American Lake Management Society's international symposium showcasing what this membership has built and achieved. Wake Boats and Vermont's New Rules: What Every Boater Should Know

This is new for a lot of us, so let's lay it out clearly.

Vermont's revised wakesports rules took effect June 11, 2026. They change where wake sports (wake surfing and wakeboarding behind a ballasted, wake-enhancing boat) can happen, and they add real requirements aimed at protecting shorelines, water quality, and other people on the water. The key points:

• Wake sports may only occur inside a defined "wakesports zone," which must be at least 50 contiguous acres, at least 500 feet from shore on all sides, and at least 20 feet deep.

• When a wake boat is running with ballast filled and throwing an enhanced wake, the operator must keep a 500-foot safety offset from other people on the water: other boats, paddlers, and swimmers, not just from the shore. (With ballast empty and no enhanced wake, the standard 200-foot shoreline rule applies.)

• A 500-foot offset from any signed loon nesting site applies during nesting season, May 1 through July 31.

• Any ballasted vessel that moves between water bodies must be decontaminated (a hot-water cleaning of tanks and bilges) to prevent spreading aquatic invasive species. More on that in the next section.
  

How this differs from New Hampshire and other states, and why it matters here. Boaters often assume their home-state rules travel with them. They don't. New Hampshire has no wakesports-zone requirement at all. Its only wake-surfing rule is that the surfer stay 150 feet from shore and wear a life jacket (a stricter statewide bill died in the legislature). Maine requires 300 feet from shore and 15 feet of depth. Vermont's 500-foot standard, from shore and from other users, is currently the strictest in the country. If you're launching a ballasted boat on the Averills, Vermont's rules apply, full stop.

On our lakes under the state framework, both Averills technically qualify as wakesports-eligible, but ARCO has banned wake boats from its launch on Little Averill. Wake boats have seen on Great Averill so far this summer and some are out-of-state visitors of lake residents, which is exactly why this education matters. Several of you have shared feedback about waves reaching docks, and at least one angler noted a wake boat operating too close for comfort. Those concerns are precisely what the new 500-foot offset is meant to address.

The leadership of the ALA has not changed its stance on wake sports on the Averills. As we evaluate next steps in partnership with ARCO and other stakeholders, we are focused on how expand education, monitoring, and reporting for camp owners at Great Averill. This is an agenda items for our September Board Meeting. Clean, Drain, Dry: Protecting Our Waters

The wake-boat decontamination rule is one piece of a bigger obligation that applies to every boat, kayak, and trailer that touches our water. Vermont's Aquatic Nuisance Control law (10 V.S.A. § 1454) requires all boaters to Clean, Drain, and Dry: remove all plant and animal material and mud from boats, trailers, and gear before and after launching; drain every compartment away from the water; and, when no decontamination is available, dry everything for at least 14 days before entering a new lake. Ballasted boats face the added flushing-and-decontamination requirements described above. Violations can bring fines of up to $1,000.

This is the same mission our Greeter Program advances every weekend. We're now in our second full year of greeting boaters at the launch, inspecting for invasives, and turning a state law into a friendly, face-to-face conversation. It works, and it's the front line keeping the Averills clean.

Looking ahead, one of our signature 2029 goals is a funded, staffed boat cleaning and decontamination station for the Averills, the permanent infrastructure that would make "Clean, Drain, Dry" effortless for every visitor. It's ambitious, and it's exactly the kind of project our 501(c)(3) status and your support can make real. LWAP: Launches and Culverts

Behind the scenes, our Lake Watershed Action Plan (LWAP) has become a real working tool: a comprehensive watershed data library and map that lets us target the projects that most reduce phosphorus and sediment. From a 10-year backlog of 43 potential projects, we've narrowed to 9 prioritized projects based on clear selection criteria - especially the impact of high magnitude raine events.

Culverts and bridges. Roughly 40 culverts in the watershed need upgrading, and we're prioritizing them for the biggest water-quality return per dollar. Sam Mayne of the Essex County Natural Resources Conservation District believes he can secure grants covering 80–100% of project costs, so this year's (2026-2027) work is a careful inventory and A/B/C prioritization, done collaboratively with ARCO, landowners, partners, and other stakeholders at the table. A new LWAP Committee under Tim Cowan is standing up to lead it.

Boat launches. Both launches need a full redesign from a water quality impairment and access perspective. Great Averill's is, frankly, one of the most improvement-worthy launches in Essex County. We're pursuing grants of roughly $12,000 for the Great Averill paper redesign and $8,000 for Little Averill in this 2026-2027 season in the same way we are addressing the culverts - in deep partnership and collaboration with numerous stakeholders. These designs will be the basis for broader conversations within the membership and the community if these should be pursued further for approvals, funding, and construction in 2028 and 2029. Your Leadership

At the Annual Meeting, the membership returned our officer slate for one more term:

• President: Bernie Gracy

• Vice President: Susan Gresser

• Treasurer: Gennette Carr

• Secretary: Connie Jackson
  

Our current leaders are experienced and deeply committed. But, as we said openly at the meeting, we're not getting any younger. We are actively succession planning and scaling up, and that means we need new hands, minds, and hearts:

• Board members and committee members: the Fundraising and LWAP committees are the place to start

• An attorney to advise the association

• Anyone willing to give a few hours to the lakes they love
  

If you've ever thought "I should get more involved," this is your invitation. We need YOU.

Thank you all for your continued support for what we do together to protect and enjoy our lakes. On behalf of a grateful board and leadership team. Bernie Gracy President, Averill Lakes Association