CSLAP Season Preparedness Webinar – View the May 9, 2025 webinar here. If no warm samples were received from your lake last year, you can use the same shipping method as in 2024. If we receive a warm sample, we will notify you and make a switch to expedited shipping.
Lakes that had warm samples in 2025 will be switched to expedited shipping for 2025.
Lakes with at least one warm samples in 2025 – Anawanda Lake, Babcock Lake, Ballston Lake, Bedford Lake, Big Fresh Pond, Lake Bonaparte, Burden Pond (Rensselaer County), Canada Lake, Canadice Lake, Lake Carmel, Cayuga Lake (Sites 1,2 and 5), Lake Celeste, Chautauqua Lake (N and S sites), China Pond, Lake Como, Conesus Lake (sites 1 and 2), Crooked Lake, Deer Lake, Deer River Flow, Eagle Lake, Echo Lake (Hamilton County), Findley Lake, Forest Lake (Warren County), Fresh Pond, Galway Lake, Lake George – Heart Bay, Glen Lake, Goodhue Lake, Lake Guymard, Hemlock Lake (all sites), Hunt Lake, Lake Huntington, Indian Falls Lake, Indian Lake (Putnam County), Java Lake, Kirk Lake, Lake Bonaparte, Kirk Lake, Lake Kitchawan, Lake Lamoka, Lebanon Reservoir, Lake Lincolndale, Little Fresh Pond, Little Long Pond, Long Lake (Columbia County), Long Pond (Suffolk County), Lower Rhoda Pond, Lake Lucille, Mariaville Lake, Montgomery Lake, Moon Lake, Mountain Lake, Oquaga Lake, Orange Lake, Lake Oscaleta, Otisco Lake, Owasco Lake, Palmer Lake, Panther Lake, Lake Peekskill, Pleasant Lake (Oswego County), Lake Placid, Queechy Lake, Robinson Pond, Round Lake (Saratoga County), Round Pond (Rensselaer County), Lake Sagamore, Lake Salubria, Saratoga Lake, Seneca Lake (Sites 11, 12, 13), Sepasco Lake, Silver Lake (Wyoming County), Skaneateles Lake, Sleepy Hollow Lake, Solomon Lake, Somerset Lake, Spring Lake (Rensselaer County), Tanglewood Lake, Tomkins Lake, Lake Truesdale, Tully Lake, Ulster Heights Lake, Lake Waccabuc, (unnamed) Wallkill Pond, Weiden Pond, White Lake, Wolf Lake, Yankee Lake.
2025 CSLAP Waiver Form – Original, signed waiver forms must be on file with NYSFOLA for all program participants whose name appears on the CSLAP Application, Sampling Record Form, Observation Form, or Chain of Custody Form. Only volunteers who have attended a formal training session can collect or process samples. New York State law prohibits parents/guardians from signing on behalf of minors and waiving their legal rights. For this reason, all CSLAP participants must be 18 years of age or older. In addition, all volunteers must attend a formal training session in accordance with the DEC Quality Assurance Management Plan for the program.
2024 CSLAP Sampling Protocol – Updated for 2024, this is the “go to” document for any questions about CSLAP and sampling, sample preservation, and shipping procedures.
2024 CSLAP Field Sample Collection Checklist – A step-by-step guide to collecting your CSLAP samples. (But not intended to be a substitute for reading the full Sampling Protocol!)
2025 CSLAP Perception Survey Form – Aesthetic & recreational use observations and Health & Safety observations.
2025 Sampling Record Form – Sounding Depth, Secchi Readings, weather and more.
Enter Your CSLAP Data online and/or report a Harmful Algal Bloom: on.ny.gov/cslap_dashboard
Need help? Watch the 05/17/2022 webinar for instructions on entering data:
CSLAP Training Refresher Videos – These videos will help you through the basics of collecting and processing your samples. Please note that the bottles themselves have changed over the years, but the collection process remains the same.
CSLAP Plant Sampling Protocol – This document has instructions for the optional full lake plant sampling process. There are also instructions for submitting plants for identification. (Hint: Take a picture first!)
AIS Shoreline Plant Sampling Protocol – This approach is for those who want to assess the presence or absence of aquatic invasive species (AIS), rather than trying to determine the population of plants in the lake. This survey is less complex and requires less time than the full CSLAP plant survey.
Test Your Secchi Savvy! – Not sure whether or not that Secchi has really disappeared? Use the Secchi Simulator tool from our friends the Lake Stewards of Maine.
More supplemental forms
NYSFOLA and NYSDEC have provided additional sampling protocols and forms to help better understand our NYS lakes, their uses and conditions.
Lake Level Survey is simply tracking the level of the lakes to see how it changes seasonally, after rainstorms, and over time. Click for the form and instructions.
Zebra Mussel Monitoring helps us understand the spread of the invasive zebra mussel. It’s just as important to know where they are not! This is easy to do! Click for instructions.