Author: Erin Mastine

The Crystal Lake Improvement Association (CLIA) has reached an impressive milestone in its LakeSmart journey. More than 15% of eligible shoreline property owners have earned LakeSmart Awards, earning the designation of a LakeSmart Community Award from NH LAKES.

And, the community’s commitment goes well beyond that milestone. Nearly 50% of the shoreline property owners around Crystal Lake have welcomed NH LAKES for a LakeSmart property tour, receiving personalized recommendations for making their properties more lake-friendly. While not every property owner has yet earned a LakeSmart Award, the strong participation shows just how committed the community is to protecting its lake. Today, 32% of eligible property owners have earned a LakeSmart Award—the highest level of awards among LakeSmart Communities statewide.

For Crystal Lake residents, protecting the lake is more than a program. It’s a community effort that has been building for decades.

Turning concern into action

A major turning point came in the summer of 2003, when Crystal Lake experienced a series of cyanobacteria blooms, which can be toxic to humans, pets, and wildlife.

“It broke our hearts as it was the first time,” said long-time Crystal Lake resident, LakeSmart participant, and now President of CLIA, Dan Regan. “People started paying more attention to the water quality and what they could do to protect the lake.”

That concern has helped fuel a community that is actively engaged in the health of Crystal Lake. Residents have embraced LakeSmart as another way to turn that commitment into action.

According to Dan, one of the program’s biggest impacts isn’t necessarily something you can see around the lake—it’s the conversations happening among neighbors.

“The LakeSmart Program has created a new dynamic where people are talking to each other about our water quality and what we can do to improve it,” he said. “We are blessed with good water quality right now, but most people know that they have a role in maintaining, or even improving, that quality.”

Protecting what’s within our control

Like all lakes, Crystal Lake is changing and aging. But residents recognize that some of the factors affecting its future are within their control.

Polluted runoff water, septic systems, and homeowners’ use of their properties, just everyday living, can all affect water quality.

Dan pointed to a recent observation from Forrest Bell of FB Environmental that resonated with the Crystal Lake community: “All lakes age. The problem is that what used to take centuries has now accelerated to just decades.”

That understanding has helped motivate residents to act now rather than wait until problems become more difficult to solve.

The lake association is also developing a watershed management plan, but the community isn’t waiting for the plan to be completed before getting to work.

“We cannot sit back and wait for the results of the watershed management plan,” Dan explained. “We need to continue with the momentum that the LakeSmart Program has created.” 

Shirley Green, the LakeSmart Ambassador for Crystal Lake, has been instrumental in getting the community involved with lake-friendly living. She and her husband, Glynn, were the first property to receive a LakeSmart tour and also their LakeSmart Award back in 2020. It’s possible to say they started the lake-friendly living movement at Crystal Lake.

“I am so proud of our lake community for receiving recognition for lake-friendly living,” said Shirley. “I have always loved the lake and its community. It is a special place.”