Summer of 2007 on Hamilton Lake

The following is President Bill Dillon’s summary of Hamilton Lake issues and achievements for the summer of 2007 for the Steuben County Lake Council’s annual publication, Soundings:

The Summer of 2007 on Hamilton Lake was very much dictated by the weather. We had a very hot and dry early part of the summer, followed by much moisture and an unprecedented invasion of mosquitoes in late August, early September. Many long-time residents of Hamilton felt that the lake was in better recreational shape than ever before. This was, doubtless, a result of intensive efforts on weed control in 2006. Residual chemical weed control from 2006, when the lake association spent nearly $140,000 on weed control, simply paid off. Late in the summer, domestic weeds made an aggressive comeback but were treated effectively with standard weed control practices.

The major disappointment faced by the Hamilton Lake Association was denial of its application for a LARE grant to handle the construction phase of an effort to stabilize the streambed of Black Creek, the major tributary feeding Hamilton Lake from the surrounding watershed. Previous grants permitted the completion of engineering feasibility and design studies and it is hoped that a new grant application will be approved in July, 2008.

A major development which is certain to have a profound effect on the future of Hamilton Lake has to do with the Callendar property on the north side of the lake. This beautiful and pristine one hundred acre parcel has been placed on the market. The Callendar family has expressed the fervent desire that the acreage be purchased by an environmental trust and kept in its pristine state. Certainly, this is one of the most beautiful sections of natural lakefront in northeast Indiana and the HLA shares the hope that the property can be acquired by an environmental trust. A closer look at this property is available on-line at www.callendarshamiltonlake.com.

Bill Dillon, President, Hamilton Lake Association