Like roulette? Like others to play the odds for you? Like to wager with your property values? If so, you could be in luck if you plan to move in the next two to four years; have decided water recreation is a thing of the past; live out of sight and smell of Candlewood Lake; enjoy scraping shelled critters off your boats and docks; have become immune to property-value dives; cast cautionary advice to the winds.
But if you’re not the wagering type, think again. Your world could be turned on its ear. Guess who’s coming to dinner? Prolific, invasive, aquatic invertebrates called zebra mussels.
Not only are they coming to dinner, but likely they will have yours as well.
If our lake perimeter defenses are not fully secure before boating season begins and the zebra youth begin to move, look out. If these critters do arrive and colonize, then all bets are off. The lake that has served as the region’s recreational mecca and natural paradise will no longer. Its ecological balance will forever be disrupted. Lake area property values will dive and the tax burden will shift to other parts of town. Indeed, such outcomes could be “devastating,” in the words of one biologist.
So consider whether you want to put your faith in the Foxwoods crowd and play the odds that zebra mussels will not arrive. And indeed they may not. The problem is no one knows for sure. But most experts urge erring on the far side of caution and doing everything possible to prevent entry. So Google “zebra mussels” and decide for yourself (the Lake George region views them as a multi-billion dollar threat). Then question what you can do—and the authorities must do—to prevent this threat from becoming reality.
It’s your town, your lake, your property values, your call. So raise your voices, urge that essential preventive steps be taken, and comply with boat cleaning guidelines to ensure your interests and Candlewood’s are protected … before it’s too late.
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