On April 7th, Governor Mills signed LD 1826: An Act To Require Reporting by the Interagency Task Force on Invasive Aquatic Plants and Nuisance Species Regarding Recommendations To Reduce the Threat of Further Infestations. 

This legislation will establish a subcommittee of the existing Interagency Task Force that will make recommendations, including suggested legislation, to combat threats of invasive aquatic species. This committee will include not only state agency staff but also representatives from lake associations and lake protection organizations. This is an important step in the right direction to better protect our lakes! 

Photo: Discussing the threat of invasive aquatic species with Governor Mills at the bill signing. L-R: Susan Gallo (Maine Lakes), Rep. Hasenfus, Gov. Mills, Sen. Hickman, Lidie Robbins (30 Mile) and Toni Pied (Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed)

Getting to the Core of Parker Pond's Paleoclimate: A 13,000 Year History

Thursday, May 5, 1:00-1:30 PM via Zoom 

To reconstruct local Maine climate history, students from Colby's “Earth's Climate” course took a 3.5-meter-long sediment core from Parker Pond's northern basin this past February. Their discoveries include a twig near the bottom of the core that allowed them to radiocarbon date the age of the sediment to >13,000 years old. Over the course of the semester, the students performed analyses of the sediments and identified pollen grains preserved within the core. They warmly invite you to attend this virtual lunchtime talk where they will share with the community their process of discovery and findings about Parker Pond's deglacial through Holocene climate history.

Erosion Control Mulch (a.k.a. Erosion Control Mix or ECM) is not your ordinary bark mulch. ECM is a specialized mulch product made of wood fragments, partially-composted bark, gravel, sand, and stone. It is much heavier than other mulches and the elongated fibers of varying sizes are able to lock together and stay put, even on steep slopes. ECM is a versatile product with endless applications for controlling erosion on your shorefront.  

Like most mulches, ECM also retains moisture, controls weeds, and improves the soil as it decomposes. It can be used to stabilize footpaths and walkways, establish functioning shoreline buffer zones, stabilize steep slopes, cover and protect bare or compacted soils in common areas, or simply to cover any exposed or bare soils on your property to prevent them from washing into the lake. Click here to learn more about how you can use ECM to prevent erosion on your property and protect water quality in your lake.

Do you know any youth who would like to spend their summer outside working to protect our beautiful lakes?

30 Mile is now accepting applications for our Youth Conservation Corps Crew!

We are looking for high school and college students who are passionate about protecting our waters, and want a rewarding summer job, all while building their resume, and gaining hands-on lake-protection experience. Please pass along this opportunity!

Visit our website to learn more and to apply.

On May 12th & 13th, 30 Mile and the Androscoggin Lake Improvement Corporation (ALIC), with the support of the towns of Wayne and Leeds, and the Maine DEP, will be conducting a watershed survey of the Androscoggin Lake watershed. The purpose of the survey is to identify and prioritize sources of soil erosion and stormwater runoff that can bring phosphorus into the lake from developed areas throughout the watershed. Watershed landowners will receive more information about this survey this month.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Attend a FREE training seminar to learn about watersheds, how to identify erosion and other sources of polluted stormwater runoff, and ways to help improve water quality in Androscoggin Lake. If you are interested in being a survey volunteer, learn more and sign up here.

Lake ice disappeared quickly this spring. The first lake with a reported ice-out was Androscoggin on April 4th. The “ice-out date” (also known as ice-off or thaw/breakup date) is defined by the State as when you can navigate unimpeded from one end of the water body to the other. Every spring, we all look forward to hearing the loons again, but how does early ice out impact the lake’s ecology? Earlier ice-outs can lead to warmer summer water temperatures, algal blooms, and depleted dissolved oxygen in lake waters. Click here for ice-out tracking.

Photo: Ice-out on Flying Pond on April 11, 2022 with the “Narrows” open.