Lake Rogerene (or Rogerine) is a privately managed 9-acre lake in
Mount Arlington, New Jersey, within the boundary of
Roxbury Township and encircled by the loop road Rogerene Way. The lake is managed by th
Lake Rogerene Civic Association In October 2020, three hiking paths were opened around the lake, called the Lake Rogerene Trails, with a total trail distance of 0.92 miles.
History
Lake Rogerene was originally called Mountain Pond when roughly 30 families from New London arrived in the area in the early 18th Century. The settlers where
Rogerenes The Rogerenes (also known as the Rogerens Quakers or Rogerines) were a religious sect founded in 1674 by John Rogers (1648–1721) in New London, Connecticut. Rogers was imprisoned and spent some years there. He was influenced by the Seventh Day ...
- a Christian group with practices similar to those of the
Quakers.
There is some debate as to the exact date of their arrival, with official records citing 1734, although one writer at the time mentions the Rogerenes coming to the area prior to 1708.
Official records state that the name of the lake was changed to Lake Rogerene in 1925.
By 1780 most of the original Rogerene settlers had left the area or mingled into the general population.
Since the early 20th Century, the area has developed into a small lakeside community with summer homes around the edge and a small beach used by residents.
Ecology
There are several species of fish found in the lake, including
largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides''),
chain pickerel (''Esox niger''), and
spotted bass (''M. punctulatus'').
Lake Rogerene has historically suffered from severe infestations of the invasive aquatic weed,
Eurasian milfoil, and associated sediment build-up.
Invasive weed management
In 2019 the Lake Rogerene Civic Association commissioned a nature-based
biotechnology remediation programme,
to deal with the excessive growth of invasive
aquatic weed Aquatic plant management involves the science and methodologies used to control invasive and non-invasive aquatic plant species in waterways. Methods used include spraying herbicide, biological controls, mechanical removal as well as habitat modifi ...
s (predominantly Eurasian milfoil). These weeds choked the waters, while the lake had also been getting gradually shallower as organic sediment from decomposed weeds built up on the bottom in annual seasonal die-offs.
In July 2019 a
bathymetric scan of the lake showed that the total volume of the water in the lake was 56.79 acre feet (70,049 m
3), average depth was 6.28 feet (1.91 m) and maximum depth was 9.6 feet (2.93 m).
An initial
herbicide
Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...
treatment killed off most of the invasive weeds in May 2020, but this added to the organic sediment build-up on the lake floor; the following month the total volume of the water in the lake was 52.41 acre feet (64,647 m
3) and average depth was 5.8 feet (1.77 m).
Enzymatic bio-dredging was then used to digest this organic sediment and remediate the water quality in the lake. As of October 2020, bathymetric scanning showed the lake to contain a total water volume of 58.72 acre feet (72,430 m
3). The average depth of the lake was 6.49 feet (1.98 m), with a maximum depth of 10.77 feet (3.28 m).
References
{{coord, 40, 53, 52, N, 74, 39, 16, W, type:waterbody_region:US-NJ, display=title
Mount Arlington, New Jersey
Lakes of Morris County, New Jersey
Lakes of New Jersey
Roxbury, New Jersey