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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing
Article Summaries |
You've Come A Long Way, BRCA!Membership has tripled, to 740, since 2001. The recent Conservation Corps 10th Anniversary fundraisers, the Pro-Am Invitational Golf Tournament at the Belgrade Lakes Golf Course and the gala dinner at the Village Inn in Belgrade Lakes, brought in $60,000. And, 2005 boat inspections for invasive plants in the Belgrades will exceed 7,000 — and represent roughly 20% of all those conducted statewide! These were just some of the positive highlights of the Annual Meeting of the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance (BRCA) on September 8, 2005 at Alden Camps on East Pond. Following a delicious buffet dinner, the evening's agenda began with guest speaker Dr. Whitney King of Colby College who presented "Looking at the Chemistry of Lakes." Focusing on East Pond and Great Pond, Dr. King's analyses included depth contour maps, temperature layering (the hypolimnion), oxygen and iron content, and other factors that may impact the algae blooms in East Pond and the Gloeotrichia in Great Pond. Interesting indications on East Pond were that, contrary to previously prevailing belief, the lake does have a hypolimnion — the boundary between top and bottom temperatures — of roughly six degrees difference, and that the oxygen in the bottom of the lake is 20% of what it should be. Great Pond has a hypolimnion temperature difference of 40 degrees, but 10% of the lake has no oxygen in 10%. Next was the annual business meeting. Whether measured by acres of land acquired, tons of rocks hand placed by the Conservation Corps, mountaintops preserved by dedicated local land and lake stewards, or the scientific data and diagrams of the Colby research, the BRCA has come a long, long way in seventeen years. Founded in 1988 as the Watson Pond Conservation Trust to resolve a fifteen-year arrangement of uncertainty regarding two parcels of land: 55 acres on French's Mountain and 35 acres with one quarter mile on Watson Pond, the new group emerged as owners of the largest and possibly only section of protected shoreline at that time in the entire Belgrades. In 1991, with 100 members, the Trust became the Belgrade Region Conservation Alliance. By 1992 the theme of the annual meeting, "Conservation in the Belgrade Lakes Watershed: How We Can All Work Together," initiated the current focus on all the lake associations and other conservation organizations joining resources and forces. This year's meeting truly demonstrated everyone working together, with representatives from all the lakes, many of the watershed communities, a range of towns throughout central Maine, state agencies and Colby College in attendance. Committee report highlights included summaries of grants that are in place for water quality work on several of the lakes, a report on the Conservation Corps completion of 46 projects on 36 sites in 2005, and the acquisition of land in Norridgewock, Vienna, New Sharon and Rome to add to the already commendable purchases of recent years — the Mountain, the Kennebec Highlands, and this summer Mount Phillip. A special award was presented by Maureen Maslak by Maggie Shannon in recognition of Maureen's outstanding scheduling and coordination of the boat inspection personnel, both paid and volunteer, for all of the Belgrade lakes. What next for the BRCA? Trailmaster Brian Alexander described the new Mount Phillip parking lot and trail head and outlined similar trail management plans that are in the works for French's Mountain and the Kennebec Highlands. For more information about the BRCA or any of its projects 495-6039 or visit its web site. | ||