Help Save Silver Lake!

Home to many species of wildlife, fish and beautiful scenery, Silver Lake is located outside the borough of Lewisberry, PA.

 

The Silver Lake Community Association (SLCA) owns and operates the 229-year old, 20-acre lake. The Association has been working to secure the funding to upgrade the dams and spillway. As a Non-Profit group, the maintenance of the lake, three dams and the feeder streams are completely funded by the SLCA; SLCA members and volunteers perform maintenance and improvement projects throughout the year. There are public areas of the lake that are enjoyed by local and visiting travelers.

  

When Hurricane IDA hit in 2021, the damage to the dam resulted in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) requiring a drawdown of the lake until all permanent upgrades and repairs are made. If the hurricane would not have impacted the lake, the funding was anticipated to be available with the schedule of upcoming costs. The schedule of work needs to be accelerated in order to protect our wildlife (many of them are endangered) that made Silver Lake their home and feeding grounds. However, the funding is not fully there.

 

We are asking for your help in saving this beautiful lake, so that it can be enjoyed by future generations. Your donation will go towards the cost of repairing the dams and meeting PADEP guidelines. Losing this historic and beautiful lake would result in a major loss of wildlife --some of it endangered – and a part of our area’s history that can never be replaced. Please help us save Silver Lake so it can be used and enjoyed for many years to come. 

Please consider helping, any donated amount is appreciated!  HELP SAVE SILVER LAKE!

Silver Lake resident Ken Boyer has been photographing the wildlife of beautiful Silver Lake, Lewisberry PA for decades. Recently, the torrential rainfall from Hurricane Ida damaged our lake’s earthen dam, which was constructed by Quaker settlers in 1786!

Consequently, the PA DEP is requiring that our dams be brought up to 21st century engineering standards before we are permitted to allow our lake to return to a full pool of water. Engineering and construction costs will be substantial, and the 65 small homes and cottages that make up our association are challenged to raise the money needed to permanently rehabilitate our dams.

Ken Boyer put together this introduction, inventory of species that use our lake, and a Powerpoint Presentation that showcases photographs of these waterfowl and raptors:

To whom it may concern:

I have lived on Silver Lake since 1975. I immediately fell in love as I noticed the unusual amount of wildlife that visited the lake/lake wetlands/lake wooded areas. Especially noticeable were the number of waterfowl and raptors.

Whitetail Deer, Wild Turkeys, Possums, Raccoons, Skunks, American Minks (a pair have been living here for about 6 – 8 years), a Beaver every so often, River Otters every so often, and many other animals use the lake for varying reasons—drinking water, food sources (such as fish, crustaceans, insects, and vegetation to name a few). The varieties of fish living in the lake that I am aware of are, Crappies, Bluegills, Gizzard Shad, Carp, Catfish, Smallmouth Bass and Largemouth Bass. Largemouth Bass are the biggest population, but every so often you will see Smallmouth.

When Silver Lake freezes during the winter people come from all areas to ice skate and play ice hockey. They are able to access the lake from a small public area on Silver Lake Road. During these times when I look out the window, I feel like I am looking at a Norman Rockwell painting.

Getting back to the waterfowl and raptors, you will see from the list below what I call visitors to Silver Lake. I started this list almost immediately after moving here because I found that there were far too many species visiting and residing at this lake to be a coincidence. Silver Lake is on the migratory path of the Eastern Flyway. I am convinced of this because regarding the Eastern Flyway, in the movie Fly Away Home, (a 1996 movie about a young girl leading mother-less geese in an ultralight plane from Canada to North Carolina), there is a brief scene of a map of Pennsylvania and the route they use – it’s directly over Silver Lake!

Over the years, I began sending out emails, to friends, family and anyone interested in the photographs I had taken of nature in action. This has been my way of sharing with everyone the gift that nature has provided to all of us who live on the lake. It gives visitors, residents and others the chance to observe the real habitat of nature and the opportunity to see nature in action.

Silver Lake is one of nature’s special places. All of us who live here know this.

By living on Silver Lake, I have observed the different types of waterfowl and raptors that have passed through here on their migratory travels. It has been an education that I value. It is my sincere hope that we can preserve this lake for future generations.

Ken Boyer

http://silverlakecommunityassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Silver-Lake-Wildlife-Presentation-Ken-Boyer-1.pdf

http://silverlakecommunityassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Waterfowl-Raptors-of-Silver-Lake-Ken-Bower.pdf


Additional information including History, Current Projects, and Blog Updates can be found on our main website: http://silverlakecommunityassociation.org/

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