Jan Jones: Not a swimming pool
Lake Bomoseen is not a swimming pool nor an aquarium. It is a complex system of aquatic life, changing through seasons and long time. It is akin to rich soil, now recognized by foresters and organic farmers as a living web of interdependent microbes, fungal threads and invertebrates. Likewise in a lake, nothing lives in isolation. The mammals, fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles, and birds depend on plants and macroinvertebrates, many of which creep through or on the benthic mud before gaining wings. They depend on the soup of microbes.
Proponents of ProcellaCor believe none of this, except the pesky milfoil, will be harmed if treated. But what if they’re wrong?
If the lake were a pool, we could adjust the chemicals and try again. If it were an ornamental pond, maybe we could hire Solitude Lake Management to install one of their fancy aeration fountains. But the lake isn’t a closed system - it’s dynamic and large. As the size and complexity of a system increases, its predictability decreases. We can’t say, “That fish seemed a little wobbly at first but now it’s good, so I think it’s okay,” because it’s about SO much more than a fish.
Perhaps, as suggested, people even could drink treated water without showing signs of illness in the short term, but we should know better that these are not the only metrics that determine safety. That requires time and many different lenses. Probably few people predicted that pH changes in rainwater would collapse entire ecosystems in the Adirondacks, leaving the lakes chillingly clear and lifeless. Few would have predicted that the ubiquitous pesticide DDT, expected to eliminate world hunger and kids’ head lice, among other things, nearly eliminated the eagles and ospreys we now enjoy over Lake Bomoseen.
I have good friends on the lake who support herbicide use. I’m asking, at the risk of jeopardizing friendships, is milfoil a crisis or a nuisance? How many times are we going to destroy habitats and jeopardize health for the sake of our personal recreational comfort? I understand that Lake Bomoseen has long been a place for vacationers to play, to live the dream of swimming right from the front door and driving boats through open water from a private dock. But it’s also a place where birders paddle cheap kayaks through the north end, awed by the richness of nature: gossamer-winged dragonflies landing on caps, frog songs and bird scolding, paths etched by unknown beetles on rose-colored lily leaves, a paddle pulled up to study the minute prey traps on submerged bladderworts. The lake belongs to the anglers who wander its edges or ice, or float quietly through the weedbeds. It’s for long-distance swimmers, and for babies who visit our parks on Day Passes. It’s for generations of schoolkids investigating natural science. Lake Bomoseen is for people on all sides of politics, Vermonters and tourists alike, of all recreational persuasions (fishers, boaters, swimmers, artists, divers, walkers, birders, sitters…).
I’m 70 now. I’ve had the privilege of enjoying this lake for most of my adult life - working here as a State Park Naturalist and teacher, splashing with our kids (who loved watching the harvesters go by and feeling the funny mat underfoot in the swim area), exploring the coves, wetlands, streams. This is a flooded valley of good memories. Thus, it is disheartening to be embroiled in this herbicide debate, ironically during the 50th anniversary year of the Clean Water Act. But I do feel hopeful. Many of the voices fiercely fighting this permit to use ProcellaCor in Lake Bomoseen are those of young adults, who played and swam in these waters when they were little (yes, there was plenty of milfoil back then), and have now settled to work as small business owners, teachers, outdoor guides, artists; who want their children to enjoy the same natural wonder and fun that they experienced as Vermonters.
The future of Lake Bomoseen is not a local issue; it is everyone’s issue. Please, if you care deeply about our state’s environment, you should be aware of and alarmed by the increase in unwarranted use of herbicides, and speak out. There are other options, especially if we take our lead from the natural world and start working together.
Jan Jones has worked as an environmental educator, park naturalist, and writer. She lives in Hubbardton.