The Kezar Lake Protective Association earns the first NH LAKES LakeSmart Community Award

Concord, N.H., October 2, 2023 – On a bright, sunny September morning, Sutton residents and the NH LAKES Team gathered together along the shoreline of Kezar Lake to celebrate the first award of its kind in New Hampshire—the LakeSmart Community Award! The Kezar Lake Protective Association is the first group to receive this prestigious award in New Hampshire. Over the past two years, property owners in the Kezar Lake community have adopted lake-friendly living practices so that the lake doesn’t become as toxic and unhealthy to swim in again as it was nearly 50 years ago.

NH LAKES delivers the LakeSmart program to lake communities throughout the state to help property owners live and manage their properties in a lake-friendly way. The program is free, voluntary, and non-regulatory. By becoming LakeSmart, property owners help protect wildlife habitat and property values while preventing toxic cyanobacteria blooms in lakes. Property owners who adopt LakeSmart living practices receive the LakeSmart Award and recognition in their community.

To say the Kezar Lake community has embraced the LakeSmart Program is an understatement. They know anything they do to stop runoff water and prevent nutrients from entering the lake will keep it healthy. In fact, over the past two years, the Kezar Lake community has reached over 50 percent participation in the program. Just 15 percent of community participation is required to receive the LakeSmart Community Award.

“Working with the Kezar Lake community has been an absolute pleasure, and I am incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication to ensuring their lake remains healthy today and for future generations,” applauded Gloria Norcross, NH LAKES Conservation Program Coordinator. “I have greatly enjoyed getting to know the people who make up the heart of this lake, and I can’t imagine a community more deserving of this award.”

Over 50 percent of property owners around Kezar Lake have participated in the LakeSmart program by taking the LakeSmart self-assessment survey or inviting the NH LAKES LakeSmart Team to conduct a property tour. Each property owner now has a customized plan for adopting lake-friendly ways of living and caring for their property to reduce nutrient pollution and prevent the lake from blooming again with toxic cyanobacteria as it did back in the 1960s and 70s.

“It has been so wonderful working with NH LAKES, learning what will help protect our storied lakes,” said Lynn Wittman, KLPA President. “LakeSmart was an actionable goal to get us working on a plan that looks at all the land draining into the lake.”

If you are concerned about the health of your lake, reach out to NH LAKES to find out how you and your community can work towards achieving the LakeSmart Community Award. And, learn more about the LakeSmart Program here.