Local businessmen established the Smith Mountain Lake Association in 1969. The organization was more of a business council that wished to establish a beneficial link between the lake’s recreational opportunities and the neophyte business community. But by 1970 SMLA’s focus shifted to environmental protection and community life issues – very similar to the environmental shift observed around our country. With linking to the local economy still in the forefront, SMLA focused on ensuring the lake remained an attractive place to live, work and visit. The Smith Mountain Lake Association currently is the largest and oldest volunteer organization on the Lake with over 1,100 members who support their resources and dedicate their time to ensure Smith Mountain Lake not only survives the pressures of growth, but also improves the Lake’s environmental quality as time marches on.
About SMLA
Our Mission: As the Steward of Smith Mountain Lake, SMLA’s mission is to protect the water of Smith Mountain Lake and promote safe recreation.
SMLA Leadership: All volunteers, many of which have had experience in performing or managing environmental programs, lead SMLA. They all have their roots in leading industries, government organizations, and non-profit firms. SMLA firmly believes in the “check and balance” system as well as the KISS principle. Consequently, SMLA projects are run efficiently and with clear purpose.
Board of Directors
The BOD is comprised of up to 23 members and operates under a set of Bylaws that are updated as necessary to accommodate changing changing conditions.
Click here to see a list of current directors.
Executive Committee
This Committee serves as a subset of the BOD to: a) handle day-to-day operation, b) perform initial research and develop candidate policy options, and c) deal with critical issues that cannot wait until the next BOD meeting. The President, Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer comprise the Executive Committee. The President may appoint others as the need arises.
Lake Council
As many of the Programs are technical in nature, analysis and discussion on these Programs is reserved for the Lake Council which is comprised of the Program Committee Chairs for all Programs that collect data and analyze that data. This procedure helps allow the BOD to focus on Association policy, finance, and overview of the Programs.
Current Committees: Committees come and go as the requirements and available funding dictate. SMLA’s current Committees include:
- Environmental Education – Educating our residents and youth to the environmental concerns and solutions that affect our Lake.
- Adult and Youth Education – Reminding our residents to environmental sensitivities of the Lake and orienting them to our neighborhood youth.
- Buffer Landscaping – Introducing Native Vegetation on the shoreline to help filter nutrients and sedimentation.
- Septic System Education – Helping Lake residents to understand the hazards of a compromised septic system to the Lake and how to best manage the system.
- Invasive Species – Developing and implementing scientifically based solutions to reduce or eliminate non-native vegetation and aquatic species that can strangle our Lake and make it unusable.
- Lake Cleanup – Working with volunteers, both SMLA members and non-members to remove tree limbs and manufactured debris from coves and shorelines.
- Save Our Streams –Sampling benthic organisms in tributaries to assess the health of water entering the Lake.
- Water Level Monitoring – Understanding the various factors associated with how water inflow/outflow affects lake level.
- Water Safety Council – Providing a variety of services to Lake boaters and swimmers designed to keep your summer fun safe.
- Water Quality Monitoring – Sampling select water quality factors to assess the trophic level ensure clear water for all to enjoy.
- Vessel Pump out – Providing free marine head pump outs for Lake boaters to minimize accidental release of human effluents into our water.
Join SMLA Today
Click to learn more about how you can help Smith Mountain Lake and its community.