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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing
Article Summaries |
Messalonskee Meeting: A Proactive Messageby Esther J. Perne 
An excellent agenda highlighted the annual meeting of the Snow Pond/Messalonskee Lake Association, which was held on Friday, July 16. Although the core of concerned attendees was a fraction of the response evoked by last summer's milfoil hearings, there was a lot to be learned about this high-usage, popular waterway. For instance, those present learned that another 6,000 splake will be released in the lake this year, that Messalonskee was the first site to be re-inhabited by eagles after their near-extinction in the '70's, that children caught wearing life jackets receive coupons for free sundaes, that there are only three legit ways to remove invasive plants, that the Town of Oakland has generously donated $3,000 toward the monitoring of its public boat landing, and that the pot luck supper that precedes the meeting is not to be missed."It's nice to be out on the lake," stated speaker Game Warden Terry Hughes, describing that one of the missions of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is to form a partnership with the people who are using the outdoors. A lifetime lake-dweller on Messalonskee, Terry is exceptionally familiar with the lake, its history, and its issues. Explaining, "My role is to enforce fish and game laws," he has some unique enforcement programs to his credit.
Acting on the realization that the biggest violation is lack of Personal Flotation Devices (PFD's), Terry distributes coupons for free sundaes at McDonald's to all children he stops who are wearing life jackets. It's the law that children ten and under wear a life jacket at all times. Additionally, this spring the warden held a day of exchange when Hamlin's Marine of Waterville provided 400 new, safe life jackets to replace old, unserviceable ones that were turned in — a program that will be repeated next Memorial Day. Other laws that Terry has been enforcing include: no person under the age of 16 can operate a personal watercraft; personal watercraft cannot be operated after dark; and headway speed (no wake) must be observed in waters less that 200 feet from shore. But the biggest focus of enforcement is milfoil. On a statewide order from the department colonel, all watercraft operating without a milfoil sticker are automatically being given a summons this year. Anyone transporting plants is, too. And, in regard to the Lake Messalonskee boat landing in Belgrade, surveillance from afar (wardens watching with binoculars) has been instituted to ensure that boaters are complying with plant removal. Anyone who would like information about the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is encouraged to visit its web site. Reporting on the status of the Snow Pond/Messalonskee Lake milfoil monitoring, Mike Little of the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance advised that coverage of the Oakland boat ramp will be increased during the week, due to the Town of Oakland's $3,000 contribution and to the donation of $1,000 by the Berman Association, based in Oakland, to each lake association. Mike also reported that there is federal grant money of $34,000 in matching grants to help control non-point source erosion. Camp roads are a major threat that the lake association is addressing. The BRCA is working with the Town of Oakland in a major buffer planting at the town beach. Conservation Corps Director Hilary Walter told the group that roughly ten projects are in the works or being evaluated for Lake Messalonskee. She reminded everyone to call now for next season. Hilary will be available at
An invasive plant overview was the subject of a presentation by guest speaker John McPhedran of the Department of Environmental Protection. He explained that the only three acceptable control methods are hand removal, bottom barriers and suction harvesting and reported that there are now two other invasives in Maine: hydrilla in Pickerel Pond in Limerick and curly leaf pond weed in West Pond in Parsonsfield. In regard to Lake Messalonskee, some hand removal around the Oakland boat landing was done by divers last year, to date there is not an infestation at the Sidney ramp, and the Belgrade ramp is the subject of continual study. One point of investigation is the extent to which boats are dragging milfoil out of the Belgrade Stream versus how much would make its way downstream by natural means, an experiment momentarily detoured by the untimely disappearance of the net off the Belgrade Stream bridge. In the final presentation of the evening, Charlie Todd, Biologist in the Endangered Species Program at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife gave a slide show entitled "The Recovery and Future of a Threatened Species in Maine: Bald Eagles Return to Central Maine." Once on the endangered list in 43 states and reduced to a population of 30 pairs in Maine, with none in the Kennebec Valley, this national symbol has made an amazing comeback. Although the adults are the beautiful black birds with the snowy white heads and the 7-foot wingspan that turn heads when they soar, babyhood is another story. With slides to illustrate, Charlie documented the relatively ugly mottled babies, the growth spurt from 2-3 ounces to full adult size in three months, and the arduous task of learning how to fly. Lake Messalonskee can be proud that the first pair of eagles to return to the Kennebec Valley settled there. This summer they had one eaglet on the lake, whereas the pair on North Pond had triplets. Why eagles were reduced to a few hundred pairs in the entire United States can be attributed to chemical residue, dioxins, PCBs, perhaps mercury. Here in Maine the major problem was illegal shooting, not by knowledgeable hunters, but by juveniles. As the state has addressed and continues to address these factors, the real challenge that remains for the future is habitat. Eagles like privacy. "It's great to have them back here in Central Maine," Charlie summarized. A lot of people, especially those who have had the privilege to watch them glide along the Kennebec River or above an inland lake, would agree. They are our national symbol and a barometer of environmental quality. On that note a very informative meeting adjourned. | ||
