Thanks to Marv Davis and John Toliver of Friends of Lake Frederick for hosting the quarterly gathering of the Blue Ridge Conservation Alliance August 17 at Lake Frederick’s Shenandoah Lodge. We learned about the lake’s ecology and volunteer efforts to improve and sustain it. Guests were treated not only an informative learning experience and hike — the beignets and treats were de-lish.

FOLF, a 501 (c) (3) organization, augments the efforts of Virginia state agencies responsible for managing Lake Frederick and its natural resources. Lake Frederick, the 117-acre waterbody, is managed primarily for fishing by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). The lake is surrounded by the unincorporated community of Lake Frederick, which one day will number over 2,000 residences, two pools and clubhouses, and other amenities.

DWR acquired the lake and a fifty foot buffer around the entire shoreline in 1981; the buffer was later enlarged to 100 feet. The lake has a maximum depth of 50 feet and an average depth of 20 feet. Much of the shoreline and the upper ends of the two embankments contain standing submerged timber. Typically, the standing timber is located along the shoreline out to around twenty-five feet from the water’s edge.

FOLF volunteers have established a walking trail around the lake — the only such trail around a DWR lake, reports John. The presentation about the watershed, history of FOLF, their water quality monitoring sites, the nature trail, and their collaboration with VDWR.