July 19, 2008
Central Park's Lake Renewal
The Central Park Conservancy working on renewing the lake, which means removing some sediment, draining some parts of the lake, and rescuing the wildlife in it. The NY Times witnessed the "fish rescue" in one area, and the findings included finding a 30-pound snapping turtle and almost 3,000 fish, like a bullheaded catfish and pumpkinseed sunfish. All of the inhabitants--see the slideshow here-- were relocated to another watery home in the lake.
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It's about time. The lake has been so degraded over the years. Loads of sediment from shore erosion. Loads of sediment from fallen leaves. Loads of organics from geese/Dogs, etc. Virtually no inflow/outlfow. The bottom is a low-oxygen muck of organic sediment with no plants, no contour. The Algal blooms are horrible. Sure, Bullheads, turtles, bluegills,
& Carp, but Bass & Perch are way down. Yes, It's the natural course of eutrofaction of Northeast ponds/lakes, but this is a 100+ year old artificial pond in a city park. Some heavy dredging, change in inflow/outflow, aeration (like in the Meer), bottom contour & erosion protection would go a long way. and a surface skimmer (saw one in Baltimore harbor years ago, small boat with a rolling belt) could reduce the surface leaves/scum. Just don't do what they did with the 59th Street pond & eliminate almost all shoreline access. Reduce Carp & stunted Bluegill
population, reintroduce more Largemouths, Perch & Pickerel. Some Tiger Muskies would be great!
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Maybe they should put one of those water fountains in the middle of it. Being that it is art and all.
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dadoc, thanks for that explanation--that's very interesting. I also like the idea of a "surface skimmer," and I think they need on in Prospect Park.