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About UsFriends of Bolton Lakes (FBL) is dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the health of Connecticut's Bolton Lakes and the watershed through research, education & public awareness.
Established as a non-profit organization in 2013, FBL is answering a call to speak with one voice about the needs of our local lake resources. These lake ecosystems are major natural resources for the towns of Bolton, Vernon, Coventry and Tolland. Sustaining their environmental quality is the joint responsibility of FBL, the towns & state. |
LATEST NEWS
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO RESTORE AND EXPAND FEDERAL FUNDING SO THAT CONNECTICUT ISN'T LEFT TO BATTLE HYDRILLA ALONE!
Hydrilla spreads a foot per day under ideal conditions; together, we can move even faster. Thank you for showing up - online, on the water, and in Hartford - to protect Connecticut's lakes!
What we’re asking you to do (it takes about five minutes):
Download the sample letter:
PDF Version
Word Version
Send it to your U.S. Senators and Representative:
Forward this email to at least three friends, neighbors, or lake-association members and ask them to act.
Post on social media. Use the hashtag #SaveCTLakes and tag your House member (@RepLarson, @RepJoeCourtney, @rosadelauro, @jahannahayes, @jahimes).
Why send your own letter? Form letters and petitions help, but individualized messages get flagged, logged, and summarized directly for policy staff. A surge of unique letters from lake stewards across Connecticut will highlight that hydrilla is not just a river issue—it is a statewide lake emergency.
Connecticut U.S. Congressman
Website Contact Page
Mailing Address (Washington D.C.)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact
503 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Sen. Chris Murphy
https://www.murphy.senate.gov/contact
136 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Rep. John B. Larson (CT-1)
https://larson.house.gov/contact/offices
1501 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-2)
https://courtney.house.gov/contact/offices/washington-dc-office
2449 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-3)
https://delauro.house.gov/contact/offices/washington-dc-office
2413 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Jim Himes (CT-4)
https://himes.house.gov/contact-me
2137 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-5)
https://hayes.house.gov/contact
2049 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
What we’re asking you to do (it takes about five minutes):
Download the sample letter:
PDF Version
Word Version
- Replace some sections with one or two sentences about your own lake (property values, volunteer time, fishing memories, etc.).
- Sign with your name, town, and the lake you represent.
Send it to your U.S. Senators and Representative:
- Email: Copy the text into the contact form on each official’s website (links below).
- Mail: Print and mail a hard copy--postal mail still commands attention on Capitol Hill.
Forward this email to at least three friends, neighbors, or lake-association members and ask them to act.
Post on social media. Use the hashtag #SaveCTLakes and tag your House member (@RepLarson, @RepJoeCourtney, @rosadelauro, @jahannahayes, @jahimes).
Why send your own letter? Form letters and petitions help, but individualized messages get flagged, logged, and summarized directly for policy staff. A surge of unique letters from lake stewards across Connecticut will highlight that hydrilla is not just a river issue—it is a statewide lake emergency.
Connecticut U.S. Congressman
Website Contact Page
Mailing Address (Washington D.C.)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact
503 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Sen. Chris Murphy
https://www.murphy.senate.gov/contact
136 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Rep. John B. Larson (CT-1)
https://larson.house.gov/contact/offices
1501 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-2)
https://courtney.house.gov/contact/offices/washington-dc-office
2449 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-3)
https://delauro.house.gov/contact/offices/washington-dc-office
2413 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Jim Himes (CT-4)
https://himes.house.gov/contact-me
2137 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-5)
https://hayes.house.gov/contact
2049 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
SPRING 2025 SPRING FORUM: NEWHOCA LODGE, VERNON
The FBL Spring Forum was held on May 5th at Newhoca Lodge at 7 pm. The main speaker was Andrew Bade from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's fishery department, who spoke about the bass action plan for the state. Here are his thoughts on this topic:
"At Lower Bolton Lake, we stopped detecting adult Smallmouth Bass after 2009 but did observe a juvenile in 2016 and received a credible report of another one in 2022. So, they may or may not be truly extirpated. But at the very least their abundance has been dramatically reduced with no direct observations of a stock size Smallmouth Bass since 2009 despite six electrofishing samples. We are using side scan sonar to map habitat in the Bolton Lakes to see if that could be part of the cause for decline and, if so, to develop a habitat enhancement proposal. We have yet to analyze those data, but I would be happy to share the resulting habitat maps and any management recommendations once that is complete. We also plan to assess the zooplankton and forage fish community at Lower Bolton Lake. Lower Bolton Lake is among the waterbodies where we believe a reintroduction of Smallmouth Bass could be successful and are actively investigating that possibility."
Information about Connecticut's Bass Action Plan
At the meeting there was also a discussion of the conditions of the lakes and plans for the rest of the year.
FBL has a new FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/18iGKkmfJT/
The water levels of both the Middle and Lower lakes have risen to normal non-winter levels.
Materials shared at the Spring Forum are linked below:
Presentation_FBL Spring Forum 2025.pdf
Lower Bolton Lake 2005
Lower Bolton Lake 2011
Lower Bolton Lake 2018
Lake and Pond Book
Biennial Reports of the State Board of Fisheries and Game from 1930-1959
"At Lower Bolton Lake, we stopped detecting adult Smallmouth Bass after 2009 but did observe a juvenile in 2016 and received a credible report of another one in 2022. So, they may or may not be truly extirpated. But at the very least their abundance has been dramatically reduced with no direct observations of a stock size Smallmouth Bass since 2009 despite six electrofishing samples. We are using side scan sonar to map habitat in the Bolton Lakes to see if that could be part of the cause for decline and, if so, to develop a habitat enhancement proposal. We have yet to analyze those data, but I would be happy to share the resulting habitat maps and any management recommendations once that is complete. We also plan to assess the zooplankton and forage fish community at Lower Bolton Lake. Lower Bolton Lake is among the waterbodies where we believe a reintroduction of Smallmouth Bass could be successful and are actively investigating that possibility."
Information about Connecticut's Bass Action Plan
At the meeting there was also a discussion of the conditions of the lakes and plans for the rest of the year.
FBL has a new FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/18iGKkmfJT/
The water levels of both the Middle and Lower lakes have risen to normal non-winter levels.
Materials shared at the Spring Forum are linked below:
Presentation_FBL Spring Forum 2025.pdf
Lower Bolton Lake 2005
Lower Bolton Lake 2011
Lower Bolton Lake 2018
Lake and Pond Book
Biennial Reports of the State Board of Fisheries and Game from 1930-1959