A report on the evaluation of changes in water quality in a stream following the implementation of agricultural best management practices

Otsego Lake (Otsego County, NY), of glacial origin, forms the headwaters of the Susquehanna River. It is a deep (50.5 m max) dimictic waterbody of 4,167 acres having a catchment of 46,482 acres. The lake serves as the potable water supply of Cooperstown and it is noted for its cold water fishery, which includes native lake trout and whitefish as well as stocked brown trout and Atlantic salmon. The lake provides many recreational opportunities and it provides an aesthetic backdrop for the historically preserved Village of Cooperstown, which depends heavily upon a tourist-based economy (Harman et al. 1997).