UNH Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Team Leader Jeff Schloss is retiring today! Jeff played an integral role in the diagnosis and treatment of water quality challenges in Chocorua Lake in the later 1990s. Dwight Baldwin, a longtime CLC water quality volunteer, has shared this letter of gratitude to Jeff.

On Jeff Schloss’s Retirement, 2021

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement, Jeff. It does not seem so long ago that the year-long phosphorus-budget analysis was conducted to determine the sources and amounts of the nutrient entering the lake. And data from that study launched the “Berms and Swales” project focused on reducing the phosphorus input to Chocorua Lake. And what a great project that was with dedicated people from federal, State and local organizations coming together to solve the problem of increasing algal concentrations in the water column. Your insights and leadership skills were instrumental in the grand success of that project.

And then there was the question of whether the wetlands above the lake were a net contributor or sponge for phosphorus coming down the Chocorua River into the lake. Who would have thought of the elegant approach of placing growth plates and light monitors on the river bottom and measuring the longterm growth of algae over time? You did!

So it was through your many contributions that we came to a better understanding of dynamics of algae growth in Chocorua Lake and its tributaries and therefore were able to reverse its declining water quality. Your efforts have gone a long ways to making Chocorua Lake the iconic and lovely spot that it is today. We all thank you!

Dwight Baldwin

Banner image: A sketch of the Chocorua Lake Berms & Swales Project. Image: Steve Weld