1. Please properly dispose of fishing line, hooks, and tackle. Remove fishing line that is wrapped around branches. There are fishing line recycling containers at a number of associations around the lake. If you would like a recycling container at your beach, please contact us.
2. Clean up trash, recyclables, and cigarette butts that you find in and around the lake, including on the roads, as things can get washed into the lake.
3. Do not use lead sinkers. Learn more at Get the Lead Out! (ny.gov). The Crossroads accepts lead sinkers for proper disposal, which are toxic to loons and spread through the food chain to eagles and other birds of prey.
4. Please do not feed wildlife on or around the lake. Feeding ducks or geese will encourage them to congregate close to shore, which could lead to swimmer’s itch, a painful rash caused by parasites in their feces. It’s also not good for the birds, who have plenty of nature’s food available in and around the lake. Feeding bread to developing goslings and ducklings can cause harm to their bones, potentially causing angel wing, which prohibits them from flying and therefore migrating. This can be a death sentence for these birds.
5. Don’t attract the bears! Bears are attracted to any food that’s left out, including bird seed and suet. If you have bird feeders, please only fill them from late fall to early spring, when bears are hibernating (the birds have plenty of nature’s food available in summer). Also, be sure to clean your feeders once a week with a 10% bleach solution to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading between birds.
6. Report injured wildlife – If you find what you believe to be an injured or orphaned wild animal, please call North Country Wild Care’s 24 hour hotline at 518-964-6740. You can also go to Animal Help Now:
7. Don’t use poison or glue traps. The National Humane Society states, “There are no truly humane ways to kill rodents, only methods that are less inhumane. Never use glue traps, which have been banned in several countries for their extreme cruelty, and bear in mind that rat poison can kill other wild animals, such as foxes, owls and hawks. Based on what we know about lethal control methods, strong snap traps (the traditional wood and metal kind, not the plastic kind) and traps that use an electrical charge to stun and kill seem to be the least inhumane.” North Country Wild Care (NCWC) sees many animals that have eaten poisoned rodents: owls, hawks, eagles, fox; even pets can ingest them. It‘s tough to diagnose and treat in time.
