Spotlight is a new series featuring a different Sustainable Putnam supporter each month. It’s easy to share your story! Just click this link to answer a few questions and tell us what sustainability means to you. Share a photo of a favorite natural place in your town, and/or a photo of yourself. Every month we’ll pick one story to share on this News page.
A mother duck leads her ducklings into a Putnam County lake. (photo courtesy of Allison Hague)
Where in Putnam County do you live?
In Putnam Valley.
How long have you lived there?
10 years.
What is your favorite thing about living in Putnam County?
A diverse bounty of wildlife and wild places.
Please tell us about this photo, and why sustainability is a priority where you live.
The ducklings in my photo are swimming in a lake which has slowly changed over my past 10 years living in Putnam. It used to freeze regularly each winter, offering residents an opportunity to skate, snowshoe, and go ice fishing with neighbors. However, it hasn't frozen in 2 years. In summer, managing the milfoil is a constant battle. A town-employed weeding boat patrols, scooping seaweed, and the lake is stocked with carp which makes it more swimmable. We are lucky that algae blooms are not as rampant as those in other local waterways, nor are we plagued with zebra mussels which would render the beaches un-swimmable. Bald Eagles make their home here, as well as resident herons, muskrats, and myriad other wild friends I watch from my kitchen window. So conserving this beautiful part of the world is a priority for me, not only for my own recreation, but for the benefit of the delicate ecosystem we all inhabit together.
Allison, thank you for sharing, and for helping to make Putnam an even better place to live.
Allison, I agree with you! I’m also on a lake in Putnam Valley. Lake Peekskill has been dealing with several environmental concerns and we have a group of dedicated residents trying to work with town officials on restoring the overall health to our lake & community. Best wishes, Dan
Lovely, thanks for sharing, Allison! I’ve lived in Kent for 26 years, and we have a pond in our woods that we frequently hike to. This past winter, it froze briefly but not at all the year before. That was the first time it did not freeze at all! I’ve also noticed far less ice fishing on the reservoirs because they aren’t freezing either. It’s just so sad to see such visible evidence of climate change.