Paul_Smiths_College_-_Dining_Hall_-_Student_Center

Lower St. Regis Lake is a part of the

St. Regis River The St. Regis River (or rivière Saint-Régis in Quebec) is an river in northern New York (state), New York in the United States. It flows into the Saint Lawrence River at the hamlet of Saint Regis, New York, Saint Regis in the St. Regis Moha ...

in the

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York (state), New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the hi ...

in northern

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. At its northern edge is

Paul Smith's College Paul Smith's College is a private college in the hamlet/village of Paul Smiths, in the town of Brighton, Franklin County, New York, in the Adirondack Mountains. Established in 1946, Paul Smith's College offers academic degrees of Associate ...

, former site of

Paul Smith's Hotel Paul Smith's Hotel, (1859–1930) formally known as the Saint Regis House, was founded in 1859 by Apollos Smith, Apollos (Paul) Smith in the town of Brighton, Franklin County, New York, in what would become the village of Paul Smiths, New Yor ...

. Along with Upper St. Regis Lake and

Spitfire Lake Spitfire Lake is a part of the St. Regis River in the Adirondacks in northern New York State and is in area. Along with Upper and Lower St. Regis Lake, it became well-known in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's power el ...

, it became famous in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's

power elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...

, drawn to the area by its scenery and by the rustic charms of

. It is the site of St. John's in the Wilderness, a small chapel originally built of logs, that was formerly attended by the families of shoreline property owners that arrived in canoes, rowboats and sailboats. Paul Smith's College maintains several lean-tos on the lake. The college is the start of the famous

Seven Carries The Seven Carries is an historic canoe route from Paul Smith's Hotel to the Saranac Inn through what is now known as the Saint Regis Canoe Area in southern Franklin County, New York, in the Adirondack Park. The route was famous with sportsmen ...

canoe route. The lake lies in the town of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Hydrology

Lower St. Regis Lake is part of the St. Regis Chain of Lakes. Water flows north from Upper St. Regis Lake, through

, and finally through a long channel known as "the slough" into Lower St. Regis Lake.Laxson, C.L., Yerger, E.C., Treibergs, L.A., Wiltse, B., and D.L. Kelting. 2021. St. Regis Chain of Lakes: State of the Lake Report, Program Update 2021. Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute

/ref> The lake has a surface area of and has a maximum depth of . Lower St. Regis Lake's water level was impacted in 1851 when a dam was built to power a sawmill.Rechlin, M., Laxson, C. L., Milewski, C., & Stager, J. C. (2019). An Environmental History of Lower St. Regis: Lake Degradation and the Path to Ecological Redemption. ''The Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies, 23''(1), 81-99

/ref> The lake's water quality is heavily impacted by road salt runoff, with chloride concentrations at 27mg/L or 135 times the background level.

Watershed Characteristics

The watershed area is with the lake perimeter being . There are 10 km of state roads and of state roads that run through it. The watershed area consists of 35% deciduous forest, 28% evergreen forest, 3% mixed forest, 13% wetlands, 17% surface water, and 3% residential area.

Natural History

The current biological community of Lower St. Regis Lake can be defined as a warm water aquatic ecosystem due to the changes caused by human development. The fish community includes species such as

Yellow Perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...

Northern Pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

Largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

Smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

Pumpkinseed sunfish The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as sun perch, pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small to medium–sized freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from the sunfish fami ...

Rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red-eyed fish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (bi ...

Brown bullhead The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (' ...

, and others. Birds and mammals that can be seen at the lake include Common Loons, ducks,

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North ...

, River otter,

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia * Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elec ...

, and

North American beaver The North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') is one of two Extant taxon, extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber''). It is native to North America and has been introduced in South America (Patagonia) and Europe ...

. There are no observed aquatic invasive species in the St. Regis waterway system.

Human History

Before any settlements arrived on Lower St. Regis Lake, the lake was used for recreational purposes and as a food source. In 1858 Paul Smith bought land on Lower St Regis Lake. Smith wanted to create a place for families to stay while he took the fathers and husbands out hunting. As a result, the St. Regis House was created. However, this house was not big enough for his guests, so he expanded the house to create the

. In the year 1907 Paul Smith purchased a dam which was originally used to run a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. He used this dam to raise the level of the lake in order to store water for

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

. In the 19th century many spruce and white pine around the lake were cut down in order to build three golf courses for the hotel, which affected the water quality of the lake. The hotel brought many tourists to the area to experience the great

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York (state), New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At , ...

. Wealthy families who came to visit Paul Smith's Hotel then decided to build their own houses and camps on the lake. Due to new settlements the overall development of Lower St. Regis increased five times its previous amount. The lake experienced

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

due to families dumping

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

from bathrooms and kitchens straight into the lake. In the 1970’s there were thick blooms of

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...

in the lake. In the early 20th century, a group of Lower St. Regis Lake property owners including Dr. E.L Trudeau, Phelps Smith, and Dr. Walter B. James started to become concerned within the water quality. As a result, they signed a resolution to ban draining sewage and or wastewater into the lake. In addition, building any structure closer than 30ft from the shore was prohibited. In 1946, Paul Smith's Hotel made a transition into

. The college has a sewage treatment plant to prevent waste from contaminating the lake. Th
Adirondack Watershed Institute
with help from Paul Smith’s College have been monitoring Lower St. Regis Lake to maintain healthy water quality levels.

Recreation

Lower St. Regis Lake is a part of the St. Regis Canoe Area which is the only designated canoe area in New York State. The lake is a part of the

seven carries The Seven Carries is an historic canoe route from Paul Smith's Hotel to the Saranac Inn through what is now known as the Saint Regis Canoe Area in southern Franklin County, New York, in the Adirondack Park. The route was famous with sportsmen ...

which occupies the major water bodies of the St. Regis Canoe Area. The lake has been a popular location for recreation and

leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

in the

since Paul Smith’s moved to this region in the mid-1800's. Lower St. Regis Lake is mainly used by visitors for fishing, canoeing, and the use of the

Adirondack guideboat The Adirondack Guideboat is a rowboat that was developed in the 1840s for recreational activities in Adirondack Park. It was designed to have a shallow draft, carry three people and their gear, and be light enough to be portaged by one man, the g ...

. Since the 1970's, Lower St. Regis Lake has gone through a large ecological shift in its water quality that has affected the

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

and the

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

of the lake. Lower St. Regis Lake has a large visitor population, primarily during the summer months. Recreational activities such as boating,

paddling Paddling, in regard to waterborne transport, is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using at least one hand-held paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel via generatin ...

, fishing, and camping are the most popular that occur on the lake during peak summer season. Other recreational activities that occur off the water body are hiking, photography,

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

, and hunting. During the winter season when the lake is frozen

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters L ...

, and

cross country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

are the predominant recreational activities that occur. Visitors to the lake have access to

backcountry In geography, a backcountry, back country or backwater is a geographical area that is remote, undeveloped, isolated, or difficult to access. These areas are typically rural or mountainous and sparsely populated. Terminology Backcountry ...

camping by paddling to other parts of the St. Regis Canoe Area.Propst, B. M., Schuster, R. M., & Dawson, C. P. (2009, May 9). An exploratory analysis of coping schemes used by paddlers who camped in the St. Regis Canoe Area, New York. US Forest Service Research and Development. Retrieved March 1, 2023

/ref>

References

{{authority control Adirondacks Lakes of New York (state) Lakes of Franklin County, New York