Chautauqua Lake Association

I had the pleasure of attending the 2025 Annual meeting of the CLA at the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club on August 23. The meeting could not have been more relevant today considering how vital the lake is to our community. From the Ice Castle festival in Mayville (a 250 year old settlement) to the McCrea Park docks Chautauqua Lake is full of endless fun and educational opportunities. There are many public areas and playgrounds around the lake. Its presence creates a very relaxed environment where kids can breathe free. It's free to enjoy the lake of course but we all have to pitch in and help if we want it to remain clean. The history of commerce in the Chautauqua area was based on the production and preservation of lake ice year-round for refrigeration. It was shipped all the way out to Pittsburgh. In the 19th Century natural ice could be found abundantly in Western New York until as late as August!
 
I am raising my family here in town by the lake and I love it. It has been an adjustment for me but I feel overall it has been a boon to my health and that of my kids. Meeting the President of the CLA, John Ford, was an incredible opportunity. He truly cares about the lake and you can see it in his efforts to gather the community together. The discussion began with a formal thank you to the Haudenosaunee peoples and recognition of their connection to the lake itself. In attendance was the County Executive PJ Wendel Jr. along with representatives from many of the towns and villages that surround Chautauqua Lake. The county executive did not present a speech. He spoke briefly with a few others privately at the end of the meeting before leaving. I stayed my opinion on nuclear energy in Chautauqua County for the time being as it had no bearing on the topic at hand. I was welcomed by the members and there was an engaging presentation about the work being done to clean up the lake. It seems they are never at rest! The new manager of the CLA, Heather, disclosed that they removed 10.7 Million pounds of waste and debris from the lake's depths (77ft at its deepest) with over 500 truck loads in 2024 alone. 

They employ many young people in the area (at $15.50 per hour) and right now they are in need of folks to do the work on the Lake. There are also salaried positions available. They are in need of CDL qualified drivers as well as folks to maintain the lake conditions. This area is a great place to work if you're passionate about nature. It reminds me that it is water at the core that truly connects us all, our need for it as well as our admiration for it. Please donate or volunteer your time, every effort counts. Please direct any employment enquiries to the CLA directly.

Google says, "[The Chautauqua Lake]...flows south into the Chadakoin River, which joins the Allegheny River, then the Ohio River, and finally the Mississippi River before emptying into the Gulf of America (formerly named 'Gulf of Mexico'). Chautauqua Lake is situated on the Eastern Divide, which separates the drainage of the Gulf of America from the watersheds that flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean."