| |||
Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
It's a Wash: Fixing the Problems this Rainy Summer Has Createdby Dale Finseth A couple of weeks back, Josh shared his thoughts regarding our rainy spring and summer. Unfortunately, one result has been disastrous erosion on many gravel and camp roads that added sediment and phosphorus to our lakes and ponds. It is often that sort of "eye opening" education that is needed for us to invest in the work or maintenance we should have been doing all along. Here at the Kennebec District, we continue to receive calls and provide assistance with soil and erosion control measures. We help individuals and camp road associations. The good news is that we now work with a number of different camp road associations. Hopefully that means that neighbors who share the use and responsibility for their road to camp are trying to work together in order to become better stewards of their property and their watershed. Camp road associations have always struggled to work together. Like any social organization, it is always easier to get along with each other when only a minimal annual fee and the willingness to bring a good plate of food to the annual meeting is what is expected. Once the focus of the group is becomes the financing of major road repair or the costs of a more elaborate road maintenance plan, friction can test the group's ability to get along and work together. The Kennebec District has, on many occasions, been able to assist a group to create a better plan for working together. Other times a larger lake or pond association can work with the camp road groups within a watershed to help them generate a productive working relationship. What seems to work well is the creation of an organizational plan with guidelines for how you will work with each other and make decisions about road maintenance. That needs to be done before a "road crisis" occurs. Don't depend on those year's of being neighbors to see you through a problem that will cost the road association serious money. There are a couple of resources that are available. A number of groups including the Maine DEP produced a good manual, "A Guide to Forming Road Associations". That booklet has been modified and is currently being prepared for a reprinting. This last winter a work group met with DEP to recommend changes. That resulted in three pieces of State legislation, LD 1307, LD 1311, and LD 1315, which affect Road Associations and the work they do to improve camp roads. The new edition of the "Guide" incorporates those recommendations and the new legislation. It is an excellent resource for creating and improving your road association. Also check out the website of Fire Road #53 in the China watershed. They have created an excellent list of resources for any group wanting to work together as a road association. Remember, think water quality. Update: The new version of "A Guide to Forming Road Associations" was released in October 2009. Click here for more information. The Kennebec County Soil & Water Conservation District is a non-profit organization that promotes conservation and the wise use of our natural resources. For more information about any of our projects, please contact Dale Finseth at | ||