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The Conservation Corps: An Outstanding Service at a Bargain Price!
By Mel Croft Everyone is looking for a bargain in this ailing economy. Imagine if you took your automobile to your mechanic for needed repairs and were told that you'd only be charged for parts; labor would be free. This is exactly what the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance (BRCA) Conservation Corps has been doing for years. They provide needed repairs for your ailing shorefront property; they assess the problem, make improvement recommendations, and with your approval do the work, charging you only for materials and appropriate permits. Now this is a bargain! With a Corps project, lake quality is improved, and the property owner gets an aesthetically pleasing restoration, which, in many cases, increases property value. The Corps' mission is to reduce sources of pollution in our Belgrade Lakes. Organizationally the Corps consists of a program director, two crew leaders, a field supervisor, and a group of 10 local young men and woman who do the work, all managed by a volunteer board of directors to provide guidance and support. Projects come about strictly on a volunteer basis. The program director visits each potential site to assess the situation to determine if the project fits within the Corps' mandate. If so, costs for materials are determined allowing the property owners to decide if they wish to proceed. Founded by a collaboration of surrounding lake associations, the Conservation Corps has been helping to improve and maintain water quality in the Belgrade Lakes region since 1996. Originally called LABS (Lake Associations of the Belgrades), the Corps evolved due to declining water quality in the Belgrade Lakes and was modeled after the successful China Lake Conservation Corps. Founding members include Bob Joly, Jane Eberle, Jerry Tipper, Dick Park, Denny Phillips, Lenny Reich, Linda Bacon, Roy Bouchard, and many more. Tipper recalls, "Initially the organization was run out of the kitchens and basements of volunteers, all with 'make something happen' attitudes." The Corps was eventually merged into the BRCA, which provided tax-exempt status and needed structure. Not surprisingly, the Conservation Corps attracts outstanding young men and women. In fact, it's the people who've made the Corps successful! Former Conservation Corps program director Jason Bulay, a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono with a degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, recently recalled: "It was a great experience, rewarding to actually do work on the ground that is going have a positive impact." He remembers the rain garden and infiltration steps that the Corps installed at Day's Store on Long Pond last year as one of the more pleasurable projects he supervised, primarily because of its "visibility to the public." Diane Oliver of Day's Store described the work team as "a good group of kids, who worked hard and were very conscientious." She also remembered that the day following project completion, a huge downpour came and the improvement was immediately visible. Bulay has since moved on to direct the BRCA Milfoil program this year and will be entering the University of Maine School of Law this fall. Sarah Zazzaro, who recently replaced Bulay as Corps director, recently received a Masters of Science degree in Ecology from the University of Maine at Orono. Zazzaro has the Conservation Corps off to a great start this year, ready to begin the first project. Zazzaro and Pete Kallin, BRCA Executive Director, collaboratively hired the crew members for this summer; eighteen applicants vied for only eight open positions. Zazzaro noted about this year's group, "we hired these applicants because they came across as reliable, hard working, and had a strong team ethic." When asked why she applied for the job of Corps director, she stated that it had so many facets of things that interest her, "conservation, outside activities, a creative challenge required to design and implement projects, work involving my major, and helping the environment." Her long-term goal is to become an environmental educator. Crew leaders Sam Mathes and Izzy Burgess both sought summer employment with the Corps partially because they wanted to help improve lake water quality. Burgess has been coming to Great Pond every year since birth, and exudes: "This is my favorite place in the world; now I have the opportunity to work for a cause and make a difference in lake quality!" Prior to the season kick-off, all crewmembers are trained to plant trees and shrubs, stabilize eroding shorelines (riprap), stone line eroding ditches, and build waterbars and turnouts on roads and drainage ways. Since its inception, the Conservation Corps has implemented over 494 erosion-control projects in the Belgrade Lakes. But the more important measure is the amount of phosphorous that has been kept out of our lakes, which in turn inhibits the algal growth threatening most of our lakes. Pollution, including phosphorous, is a major threat to our lakes, and unless proactive steps are taken the lakes will atrophy. The Corps, through creative and dedicated personnel, will continue to provide a much-needed service to the Belgrade Lakes at a great bargain. Labor costs are covered primarily by donations from towns located in the watershed (Rome, Belgrade. Smithfield, Oakland, and Sidney), fund raising events, and private donations. Your donations to the Conservation Corps help ensure that we'll be able to enjoy the beauty of our lakes for many, many years. Mel Croft represents the Belgrade Lakes Association on the Conservation Corps's board of directors. The other members of the board are Bob Joly and Jerry Tipper (both from the East Pond Association), Dave Dawson (McGrath Pond/Salmon Lake Association), Wally Buschmann (Snow Pond /Messalonskee Lake Association), Cheryl Murdock (North Pond Association), and Sarah Zazzaro, Director of the Conservation Corps. To get more information about the Corps or to request a site assessment, visit the BRCA's website or call | ||
