On October 11, 2019, abutters to Cedar Lake met to discuss the overgrown vegetation in the lake, which was impeding recreational use – swimming, boating, and fishing – and diminishing its aesthetic appeal. People were also concerned about the loss of wildlife, especially the bullfrogs that used to be so noisy and now were nearly silent. What other animals were being affected? What were the ramifications of the lake’s degradation on the herring that spawn there? If left unchecked, how might these changes affect our property values? Something had to be done.

Motivated by these concerns, in 2020 a group of neighbors incorporated Friends of Cedar Lake and made a commitment to improve conditions in the lake. Official status as a 501 (c)(3) was obtained March 1, 2021. In the summer of 2021, APCC conducted the first comprehensive testing of Cedar Lake. The results of that testing were summarized as “a mix of Acceptable and Unacceptable grades. APCC would recommend that ponds like these require immediate restoration to improve water quality due to the effects of eutrophication. In addition, Cedar Lake was found to contain significant vegetation throughout the pond which is likely a symptom of the pond’s impairment.”

As options for remediation were explored, several people attended a presentation on the use of a harvester to remove excess vegetation from Elbow Pond in Brewster. The problems there seemed to match the problems at Cedar Lake. In July 2022, several people attended a plant identification workshop presented by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. It was there we discovered that Cedar Lake was completely clogged with fanwort, a non-native, invasive plant. Moreover, harvesting was out of the question, since cutting the  fanwort would actually cause it to spread. We were advised that an herbicide, Fluridone, could safely be applied to kill the fanwort without harming other plants or wildlife in and around the lake. The direction of our remediation plan shifted.

In February 2023, Friends of Cedar Lake contracted with SOLitude Lake Management to eradicate the fanwort. The hope was that the Fluridone would be applied in July 2023. Unfortunately, that deadline was not met by SOLitude. After much frustration, a Notice of Intent was filed with the Falmouth Conservation Commission in January 2024. On April 17, 2024, a hearing was held, resulting in an Order of Conditions that we received on May 8, 2024.

SOLitude is scheduled to begin its work in early July, after the herring have stopped running. The process will likely take about a month to complete, followed by periodic testing to evaluate the impact of the treatment on the fanwort and to confirm that no harm was done to other plants or wildlife.  Cedar Lake will require ongoing maintenance, including limited applications of Fluridone well into the future. We will also redouble our efforts to protect the lake through responsible property management by those of us who live on or near the water, e.g., installing natural plant barriers along the shoreline, refraining from using fertilizers, transitioning to “Cape Cod lawns”, servicing our septic systems, making sure that nearby storm drains are emptied regularly, and watching what we put down our drains.   

We have learned a lesson about the importance of being proactive about protecting our freshwater ponds and lakes.