Lake Sunapee's Lake Host Program

The Lake Host program at Lake Sunapee was originally established in 2000 and Hosts were called Launch Site Monitors. Today, this program is administered by the New Hampshire Lakes Association, a non-profit organization devoted to protecting NH water bodies, and managed by individual lake associations.

The Lake Sunapee Lake Host program covers all five public ramps on the lake and usually consists of nine or more Host's.

Lake Hosts are on duty from May through September and perform courtesy boat inspections while educating boaters and the public about how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive plants and animals. Any plants or animals found on boats and/or trailers are removed and disposed of by the Lake Host.

Educational materials and lead-free fishing weights (swapped out with ones made from lead - courtesy of LSPA) are also provided as needed. 

Season Statistics

In 2016 Lake Hosts performed 5014 courtesy boat inspections and found only one invasive plant fragment on a trailer last used in a MA waterbody. When this program first began in 2000 many plant fragments were found and removed from boats and trailers. The following charts (scroll down) display the number of watercraft inspections performed in 2016 by Lake Hosts per ramp and number of boats that were last used in a water body harboring at least one known aquatic invasive species (AIS).  Regionally, NHDES discovered variable milfoil in Crooked Pond located in Loudon, NH. A new infestation of Asian clams was discovered in Lake Bomoseen located in Castleton, VT.  Click here to learn more about AIS.