Lake Buel

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Lake Buel
Lake Buel - Cottages on a summer afternoon
Cottages on a summer afternoon
Location Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Basin countries United States
Surface area 196 acres (79 ha)
Average depth 20 ft (6.1 m)
Max. depth 42 ft (13 m)
Surface elevation 908 ft
Settlements Monterey, New Marlboro

Lake Buel is a 196-acre (0.79 km²) great pond in Berkshire County, Massachusetts just east of Great Barrington.[1] Over one-hundred summer home and a few dozen year-round homes surround it. The Lake is named after Samuel C. Buel of Tyringham, Massachusetts who saved people from drowning on the Lake (called at the time Six Mile Pond) on July 23, 1812.[2]

The northern shore of the Lake is in the town of Monterey and the southern shore is in New Marlboro. There is a paved boat ramp on the northwest shore that is owned by the Public Access Board and managed by the Division of Forests and Parks.[3] A portion of the Appalachian Trail crosses the Lake's watershed.[4] It is managed by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Game.[4]

Contents

[edit] Natural characteristics

The mean depth is 20 feet (6.1 m); the maximum depth is 42 feet (13 m).[5] The Lake Buel watershed encompasses 3268 acres.[4] At times the Konkapot River Basin becomes part of this watershed.[6] The Lake's water is well-buffered and hard with a pH between 7.8 and 8.6. This hardness and alkalinity suggest that the Lake generally safe from the effects of acid rain.[7] The Lake is eutrophic and mesotrophic: eutrophic because of macrophyte production and hypolimnetic metabolism; mestrophic because of total phosphorus content and summer phytoplankton productivity.[8] The normal full water elevation of the Lake is 908 feet. The flood elevations for the 10-year and 100-year floods are 911.5 feet and 913.6 feet.[9]

[edit] Summer camps

The Lake has a long history of summer camps. A Camp Buel existed as early as 1900.[10] In 1915 there was a Camp Berkshire.[11] Fokine Ballet was listed as a summer camp in the 1950s.[12] Camp Deerwood and Camp To Ho Ne are now defunct, but Camp Half Moon continues to have campers. In 2008, Kutsher's Sports Academy moved its camp from Monticello, New York to Lake Buel, taking over the old Deerwood site.[13] Kutsher's will host 200 campers and have 100 staff members.[14]

[edit] Wildlife

Fish species include Black Crappie, Bluegill, Brook Trout, Brown Bullhead, Brown Trout, Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, White Perch, Yellow Perch;[5] White sucker, minnows, Northern pike, Bridle Shiner, Common Shiner, Fallfish, and Golden shiner.[15]

Reptiles that use the Lake include Common Snapping Turtle, Wood Turtle, Spotted Turtle and Painted Turtle.[16] Amphibians populations include Common Mudpuppy, Dusky Salamander, Eastern newt, Spring Peeper, Green Frog, Bullfrog, and Northern Leopard Frog.[17] Mammals include American Beaver and Muskrat. American Mink have not been observed at the Lake, but likely use the perimeter and wetlands.[18]

[edit] Milfoid infestation

Lake Buel suffers from an infestation of milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum). It is likely that this aquatic plant was introduced unintentionally in the early 1960s.[4] The magnitude and spread of the aquatic plant increased notably between 1974 and 1988, with a particularly dramatic increase between 1974 and 1981. These increases occurred because of fragmentation and vegetation reproduction. Because of decaying milfoil in the Lake's two hypolimnia during this era, the Lake experienced an intensification of hypolimnetic anoxia.[19]

In the early 1990s the aquatic plant covered over 85 acres (over 40%) of the Lake. This infestation places a large demand of oxygen on the Lake, limiting cold water habitat.[20]

Aquatic macrophyle harvesting was initiated in 1980. A 90-acre harvest was performed that year.[20]

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lakes and Ponds in Berkshires County. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  2. ^ Taylor, Charles J. (1882). History of Great Barrington. Great Barrington, Mass.: Clark W. Bryan & Co., 380. 
  3. ^ LAKE BUEL. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  4. ^ a b c d (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 51. 
  5. ^ a b Lake Buel of Massachusetts. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  6. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 58. 
  7. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 82. 
  8. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 106. 
  9. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 95. 
  10. ^ Shaw, Albert (1900). "Summer Camp for Boys". The American Monthly Review of Reviews XXI (Januay-June): 699. New York, New York: The Review of Reviews Company. 
  11. ^ Sargent, Porter (1915). The Handbook of Private Schools. University of Michigan, 246. 
  12. ^ Sargent, Porter (1953). The Guide to Summer Camps and Summer Schools. University of Michigan, 69. 
  13. ^ Sports academy leaving Sullivan Orthodox Jewish camp will lease site
  14. ^ Town of Monterey - Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  15. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 158. 
  16. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 149. 
  17. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 150-153. 
  18. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 153-155. 
  19. ^ (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 41. 
  20. ^ a b (1991) Clean Lakes and Great Ponds Program, Phase II Project: Lake Buel, Revision, Coventry, Connecticut: Ecosystem Consulting Service, Inc., 14. 
  21. ^ The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation - Chronology. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.

[edit] External links

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