On Saturday morning, June 3, 2023, despite the cold and rain, 200 people assembled at the State Park Pavilion to hear our guest speaker make her presentation. For many years, Amy Smagula, Chief Limnologist at NH DES, has developed long-term milfoil management plans for Pawtuckaway Lake. Consistently she has recommended that the PLIA continue its program of hand-pulling milfoil plants, coupled with a robust Lake Host program for prevention of new incoming infestations.
For the first time this year, Amy is recommending that carefully tailored herbicide treatment could be part of our milfoil plan, because of the alarming spread
and density of new milfoil growths. Her most recent Long Term Milfoil Management Plan can be found here. At the meeting she detailed her history with Pawtuckaway Lake and various milfoil management tools that should be coordinated as part of a comprehensive plan. She further explained the benefits of limited applications of a new herbicide called ProcellaCOR to help our Milfoil Team keep up with ever expanding areas of milfoil infestations. In addition, she entertained questions from the audience and answered them all with examples from her own research, expertise, and experience. For those who missed Amy’s talk, it was recorded and can be viewed here
Amy helped many of the attendees better understand her plan for the lake and how NH DES will be assisting our Milfoil Team with other endeavors, such as a Diver Assisted Suction Harvester (DASH) boat.
President Steve Soreff led a business meeting in which he announced that four Board 
members were retiring and four new members had volunteered to join the Board. Leaving were Dee Decker, Mike Coltin, Mike Hyer, and Les Thompson. The four members elected unanimously were: Troy Brown, Dawn Fernald, Shelly Heit, and Neil Santos. Steve then introduced Program Chairs who gave their reports, starting with Bruce Henden, new Lake Host Manager. Milfoil Team Captain Neil Santos vividly described how difficult it is in Pawtuckaway’s conditions of low visibility to locate milfoil plants to begin with. He further emphasized how carefully removing entire milfoil root systems stirs up the lake’s silty bottom to create almost no visibility at all. Plant fragments and stalks can easily be lost in the murk. He also invited people to watch the video, taken by Team member Jim Kelly and displayed on a laptop, to understand how dense and impenetrable the huge infestation near the Town beach is. He concluded by saying that his team is overwhelmed and unable, with its current resources, to meet the demands of our ever-growing milfoil menace.
Communications Chair Pam Kelly announced a letter writing campaign sponsored by the PLIA to encourage stakeholders to send their comments about the Pawtuckaway State Park expansion plan to state and local officials. She explained that the PLIA does not oppose the expansion in its entirety, but only wants the design of the new RV campsites, as proposed, to be modified. There are many reasons, she added, why those campsites should be away from the waterfront where they pose environmental and aesthetic threats. She has publicized this campaign to all PLIA members and friends so they can participate if they wish. You can read the article here.
Government Liaison Tom Duffy introduced Tara Blaney, formerly a manager of Pawtuckaway
State Park who now works as a Supervisor for the NH Parks and Recreation Division. She spoke about the initiatives the park system is taking to assist our Lake Host and Milfoil Programs with their work, educating park visitors and assisting them to learn about keeping watercraft clean, drained, and dry. She explained when the next public information session about the park expansion can take place. She also noted that the State Park system now has responses to some of the concerns raised at the April 11 meeting with State Park officials.
Following all this sobering talk, attendees were invited to visit member Sonoma Potavin’s display about her Chinese Mystery Snail project and take home with them a complimentary snail collection bucket that Sonoma had created to help people find, remove, and safely dispose of these pests in the lake. Sonoma’s initiative was praised by Amy, who intends to publicize her wonderful effort.
The Paddle Poker table did a brisk 
business in raffle tickets, PLIA T-shirts were sold, refreshments were enjoyed, and many took a stab at playing the “Name that Scat” game invented by Susan Medeiros. What fun!
Finally, the organization honored Mark “Wags” Wageling with its Local Hero award, for his tireless attention and hard work 
as Water Testing Chair. Wags manages a team of dedicated
members and provides them with collection bottles to take water samples, which he delivers to the State labs in Concord every month for testing. As “Commodore” of the good ship Water Testing, he and his crew are out on the lake in all kinds of weather taking samples and measuring various qualities of our lake water. He is truly an unsung hero who deserves all our thanks!
NH Parks and Recreation has plans to add 35 RV campsites at Pawtuckaway State Park. The current design to the right shows them all grouped on or near the waterfront along the North Channel.
These photos show the stretch along the North Channel that would be affected. For these reasons, the PLIA opposes the existing design of the expansion, as proposed. The State has told us that the design is “conceptual” and can be modified. Based on that understanding, we want those campsites to be relocated away from the water, where they will not threaten the delicate balance of our lake. If you would like to weigh in on this project, we urge you to send a letter or email to our state officials voicing your opinion. We have drafted a 
Saturday, June 3, 2023
Amy has been providing expert assistance for our Milfoil Team, helping us train Weed Watchers and Lake Hosts, providing expert assistance for our Milfoil Team, doing surveys of Pawtuckaway’s plants and lake health, and monitoring our milfoil infestations.
Please come to learn more about the history of milfoil and its management on Pawtuckaway Lake-it is now getting out of hand – and bring your questions!
to share about our organization and the lake, much to celebrate, and future activities to discuss. Your presence makes our meeting more productive and more fun!
The PLIA has mailed out its annual PawPrints newsletter and it is now available online as well, 
On April 15, 2023, Nottingham held a town wide clean up day. Volunteers from the PLIA pledged to return to the scene of their campaign last year at the Town beach. 
This year there was a surprise awaiting them – Autumn Ricker had brought his loader and rake to do the groundwork (so to speak) for their project to remove grasses and rocks and roots from the beach sand. While he was operating his heavy 
equipment, the crew got busy hauling fallen branches and debris from the area under the trees next to the beach. Then they removed more rocks and roots from the sand
excavated by Autumn, resulting in a pristine area for summer visitors to enjoy. 
The PLIA would like to 
make Autumn Ricker an honorary member of their organization! Thanks to all for showing up and pitching in! Check out the before and after photos below. We are happy to help make Nottingham a Town to be proud of!
On April 1, 2023, three dozen people filled a room at the Nottingham Town Offices for a training conducted by the Pawtuckaway Lake Improvement Association (PLIA). The topic was about spotting and preventing invasive species from entering a lake or pond. 
PLIA Lake Host Coordinator Dee Decker and Weed Watcher Co-Chair Steve Soreff made presentations about courtesy inspections of boats and trailers, and how to recognize aquatic pests like milfoil, phragmites, purple loosestrife, and water chestnuts.
When the rain abated, the crowd moved outdoors for more instruction on ways to inspect boats for the presence of invasive “hitchhikers.”
a presentation to the Nottingham Board of Selectmen at one of its regularly scheduled meetings. He outlined the history of milfoil infestations in Pawtuckaway Lake, emphasizing the hundreds of hours that PLIA volunteers have donated in efforts to find and extract this noxious threat to the lake.
public ramps on the lake to prevent invasive aquatic species of all kinds from entering the water. Last year she organized a community training to include interested residents from other lakes in town.
in Pawtuckaway Lake just off the State Park boat ramp, and since then it has been located – by PLIA volunteers – in many other coves and areas of the lake. Pawtuckaway is located entirely within the borders of Nottingham, and thus the Town has taken a special interest in preserving the health of its signature resource. For this reason, the PLIA felt it was important 
to keep the Board of Selectmen and citizens of Nottingham informed about the threat posed by the growing presence of milfoil in the lake. The Town beach and State Park have recently experienced significant milfoil discoveries.
the areas of milfoil around the lake have become. The maps in his report are particularly dramatic and disturbing. He also outlined the efforts made by the PLIA and its volunteers to locate and contain these infestations. Finally, he explained what more comprehensive and possibly drastic measures might have to be taken if the situation continues to worsen.
One member of the Board of Selectmen urged others to visit the lake for themselves to learn about these undertakings and see how serious the problem has become. The best way to understand the scope of milfoil growth in Pawtuckaway Lake is to read Neil’s report, 
samplers, neighborhood ambassadors, Chinese mystery snail eradicators, community service contributors, roadside trash pickers, event planners, trainers, fundraisers, committee members, and all-around supporters of the work the PLIA does. When they get together, you can feel the energy of their love for
Our President listed and praised all the many volunteer activities that have been performed this year. Plans for a winter event or events on the lake are already being hatched, according to our Vice President! This summer has been particularly challenging for our Milfoil Team, with more infestations to extract and fewer Weed Control Divers to do it! We are looking to train more of them for next year.
On August 20, 56 paddlers 
entered the Third Annual Paddle Poker Tournament held on Pawtuckaway Lake. It was a fundraiser for the PLIA and raised a whopping $2,200 for our organization’s programs! Troy Brown of the Mountain Road Trading Post donated $250 to sponsor the event, as well as discount coupons for merchandise at the store. Thank you, Troy!
There were five stations around 
the lake offering playing cards and refreshments to participants as they paddled the course. These hosts contributed generously to the fun and games: 
Tom Duffy and Karen Rydeen, Michele and Mark Lefebvre, Bob and Karen Given, Pete and Carol Wawrzonek,
and Dee and John Decker. Thank you to these wonderful hosts!
Frieden (Low hand).
conversation was spirited, and the love for Pawtuckaway was abundant. What’s 
not to enjoy? Thanks to all who participated and made this event such a spectacular success – there was plenty of fun to go around (see for yourself)!