BIG MOOSE PROPERTY OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1928

Promoting informed stewardship of our environment, appreciation for and preservation of our natural and cultural legacy within the Adirondack Park, water safety for children and adults, and enjoyable social interaction among individuals, families and all members of the community-at-large.

BMPOA Members:

The summer season is kicking off! We look forward to an exciting summer. Please read on for information regarding our lake and our plans for the season.

Lake Events:

• July 1 – Beginning of Summer Picnic – Information will follow via e-mail!
• July 15 – Sunfish Sailboat Race – New this year! More details to follow.
• July 22 – Annual Meeting and Chicken BBQ. The annual meeting begins at 9:00, with donuts at 8:30. The chicken BBQ fundraiser follows, with chickens ready at noon. This year, picnic tables will be set up to enjoy your chicken hot off the grill! Bring your own place settings and beverage of choice and share the fun while supporting the BMPOA recreation program!
• July 29 – Lake Swim
• Aug 5 – Chapel Bazaar
• Sept 2^nd – Labor Day Boat Parade

 Water Quality

Invasive Species: Big Moose Lake continues to be free of Aquatic Invasive Species. Continued diligence by each of us by inspecting our own and our guests’ watercraft (including boats, jet skis, canoes, kayaks, sailboats, etc.) will go a long way in helping us maintain an invasive free lake. Special thanks to Dunn’s for providing inspection services. Beginning this year, with the BMPOA’s full support, Dunn’s will inspect all boats not from this lake upon entry, regardless of whether it has been inspected/tagged at one of State boat washing centers. 

At the annual meeting we will be introducing the opportunity for lake members to become “Lake Protectors,” a program in which participants can be citizen scientists and help monitor the lake for invasive species. Follow this link for more information: https://www.adkinvasives.com/Get-Involved/Volunteer/Lake-Protector-Corps

Dye testing: The Town of Webb Dye Testing of septic systems will continue. There is no cost to you for these tests. The BMPOA covers the cost. The goal is to test properties approximately every 3 years to assure properly functioning septic systems.

Recreation Program

Kurt Pardue and Anne Dew have put together another outstanding schedule for our youth. The Big Moose Summer Recreation Program begins Monday July 3^rd, and concludes Friday, August 11^th. Thanks in advance to Dick and Faith Shore for hosting the swim lessons at their beach! The calendar, registration form and welcome letters may be found here.

Lifeguard wanted: We are seeking a lifeguard for our Recreation Program swim lessons. If you, your child or anyone you know is interested in exploring this opportunity or what is involved in becoming a lifeguard, please contact Kurt Pardue.

Youth Protection Training: Youth Protection training continues to be a vitally important part of our culture and mindset. While all Board members and employees are required to take the training, we strongly encourage our membership, regardless of whether they have kids participating in programs, to take the training. It is very informative and relevant to our home lives and well as our lives here in Big Moose. The training can be found and http://my.scouting.org Follow the prompts to create an account and begin the course.

Reminders

Higby Road Garbage Collection: Mondays, 9am – 10 am beginning June 5^th through October 10^th. July 3^rd will be as normal (no holiday change); Monday September 9/4 is moved to Tuesday 9/5. If you need to dispose of trash outside the Monday time slot, the Old Forge transfer station is open daily, excluding Wednesday, from 8 am – noon, with additional hours on Saturday and Sunday from 1pm – 4pm. Closed Wednesdays.

White Metal Day: July 15^th 8am – 4pm at the intersection of Big Moose and Higby roads

Association Center:

• In deference to those living nearby, please refrain from using the association center past 10 p.m. 
• The AED is now onsite through Columbus Day. 
• It has become practice for some members who are unable to have packages delivered directly to their camp to use the center for package delivery. Please recognize that BMPOA has no responsibility for these packages, with the recipient assuming the risk for any lost packages. 

Water Safety

New York State has been phasing in boating license requirements for all ages. Paul Littman will be teaching a course for the recreation program, which may also be joined by adults, space permitting. The course will be taught 7/11-7/13 from 9:00am-12:00pm. There are also online courses available. Information regarding all classes will be posted in Association Center. The phase in details can be seen HERE.

As a note, New York recognizes the boating safety certificate issued by your home state.

Community Updates

Boat registration and compliance: As you are aware, there has been stepped up interest over the past few years in compliance to boater registration requirements from our law enforcement. The BMPOA is supportive of the police efforts in complying with New York State laws. 

As such, from time to time you may see the Webb Police department on the BMPOA dock checking for compliance.  The Board has given permission for the Webb Police Department to access the dock for purposes of inspecting boats moored at the dock in the furtherance of enforcing compliance with boat registration, hull numbering and validation sticker requirements.  We believe this is in the best interests of the lake and is a practical response to assist our law enforcement members.

Emergency Services: As we all know, with the closing of the Big Moose Ambulance Service, coverage for our area was picked up by the Old Forge Volunteer Ambulance Corps (OFVAC). I recently touched base with its Chief of Operations, Danielle Hoepfl, to see how the service was going. The following is some information she shared.

• In 2022 there were less than 2 dozen calls to the Big Moose area.
• Old Forge has 24/7 paramedic on site, and drivers on-call. So, time to wheels in motion is approximately 3 minutes. This will offset some of the response time differential (typical volunteer services are 10 min or more to wheels in motion). Inlet has 24/7 paramedics as well during the summer months.
• Old Forge is taking this very seriously and wants to provide the best service possible. At the end of July 2022, their team of about 20 people drilled with the BML Fire Department and drove all the roads in the area (including the private roads) to familiarize themselves with the area. If the ambulance can get there, they will drive there.
• Old Forge is working on grants to provide broader mobile medic services which we will be able to utilize. 
• The Big Moose Fire Dept is now being toned on all calls of a medical nature, so there is local awareness to assist immediately.
• There are 4 local designated helicopter landing places directly around the lake – Darts Lake, the Chapel parking lot, the Association Center, and the Big Moose station, as well as others further removed.
• A 911 dispatcher can immediately put helicopters on standby based on the nature of the call. They do not need to wait for local assessment.

I wanted to share this information to demonstrate the commitment that the OFVAC has to effectively serve our community. I will continue to stay abreast of our services.

Follow us on social media – in addition to our web site, bmpoa.com, BMPOA has its own Facebook and Instagram pages! These pages are separate from the Big Moose Lake group and deliver content specific to our membership.

Marge Correll
President, BMPOA