The Pine Plains Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) has taken another step toward improving recreational access to Stissing Lake: a newly constructed 400-foot fence now lines a pathway to the right of the town beach, marking a second point of public lake entry.
Led by Pine Plains resident Trevor Roush, a team of volunteers — including Scott Hoffman, Bill Maserjian, Quinn Murphy, and Keith Sisco — built the fence over two days: one day for pounding posts, another for installing rails.
“The fence might not be a work of art, but it reflects the agricultural past, present, and future of Pine Plains,” Roush said.
Roush, who owns a small-scale logging business called Foliage Forestry, regularly installs fences as part of his work in wooded areas. His wife, Hannah Schiller, a member of the CAC, brought the idea to him.
“I said, ‘Yeah, that’s something I think I can do — and do it cheaply,’” Roush said.
In addition to donating their time, Roush and Hoffman provided black locust posts from a logging job on Schultz Hill Road. According to Town Board member Jeanine Sisco, this donation saved the town approximately $7,000 in materials and labor. The only purchased supplies were the wooden planks used for the rails.
Each volunteer contributed their own skills. Murphy, who works for Roush, cut and hand-carried all the posts. Hoffman, who owns an agricultural fencing business in Pine Plains, drove each post into the ground. Sisco measured all 70 of the one-by-six-inch planks used for the rails, which Maserjian nailed in place.
“The fence also represents community members coming together to create more opportunities for other community members,” Roush added.
The project followed a separate improvement completed in late June, when the CAC hired a diving team to remove invasive weeds from the lakebed near the new access point. On June 29, divers led by Connecticut police chief Dave Kullgren, who owns C and D Underwater Maintenance, installed a benthic mat to prevent the weeds from returning.
For decades, swimmers entered the lake from a point on the opposite shore, but the property recently changed hands, and the new owners — concerned about liability — no longer permit public access.
Unlike the town’s designated swimming area, the new entrance will not be supervised by lifeguards. Signage will be posted to inform visitors of the risks associated with open swimming.
Thank all who did this project.
I wonder if there are any updates on this? The last time I checked it out it didn’t seem like there was access, and I can’t seem to get in touch with anyone at the town about it.