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January 2024 Newsletter from the 30 Mile River Watershed Association
Photo by Josh Robbins
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$30K for 30 Mile Matching Challenge a Success! | |
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We did it - we surpassed our goal! Thank you to the generous supporters of the $30K for 30 Mile matching challenge. 151 donors stepped up in the final days of the year to help us raise $36,000 and exceed our goal! Your generosity ensures that our work for clean and healthy waters will not only continue, but expand to meet the growing challenges our watershed faces.
Thank you to the five donors who made this opportunity possible by matching these gifts with an additional $30K. And thank you to ALL of the generous lake lovers who supported 30 Mile this year! Your gifts of all sizes demonstrate your commitment to the lakes, ponds, and streams in our watershed. We are grateful for you and the many ways you show up as a community to help care for these precious resources.
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Become a Live Stake Landowner! | |
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Live stakes are woody-shrub cuttings from established native plants that, once plugged into the ground, root quickly to help establish buffer vegetation and stabilize hard-to-plant shorelines. Live stakes are a great low-cost option for shoreline stabilization and grow best when installed during late-fall and early-spring, when the plants are dormant.
Do you have an area on your shorefront experiencing erosion? 30 Mile staff will be acquiring live stakes from local native stock this spring and installing on select shorelines in March or April. Let us know you are interested by completing this online form and we will send more details soon. Costs to landowners will be minimal.
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Photo Credit: Wellnesscapes Design, LLC., www.wellnesscapes.com, Left: newly installed live stakes; Center: Live stake one month after planting; Right: mature plants one year after planting. | |
30 Mile's Store is LIVE!
Check out 30 Mile's new store for cozy clothing, camp games and accessories, and other unique gifts that feature the lakes and ponds we all love. Our new store has something special for everyone.
All proceeds directly support 30 Mile's work across the watershed.
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Become a Water Quality Monitor | |
Would you like to make a positive impact on your lake? We’re looking for new volunteers interested in becoming trained water quality monitors to assist our staff with dissolved oxygen and Secchi disk data collection. New monitors participate in free training provided by Lake Stewards of Maine (LSM). You can read more about what this entails on LSM’s website, and reach out to 30 Mile’s Water Quality Program Director, Whitney Baker, at whitney@30mileriver.org to learn more. | |
Photos: certified volunteers water quality monitors Patt Koscinski of Androscoggin Lake (left) and Gary Philipp of Echo Lake. | |
2023 Water Quality Reports | |
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2023 was our biggest water quality monitoring season to date! We expanded this vital program to include 13 lakes and ponds to help identify individual and watershed-wide trends. Water bodies monitored included Androscoggin, Basin, David, Echo, Flying, Kimball, Hales, Lovejoy, Minnehonk, Parker, Pocasset, Tilton, and Whittier. Visit our Water Quality Monitoring webpage to read your lake’s 2023 monitoring report. Thank you to all the volunteers who made this year possible!
| Pocasset Lake Watershed Survey Report | |
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Over the past few months, our staff have been busy analyzing survey results and writing the Pocasset Lake Watershed Survey report, now available on our website.
In September 2023, 30 Mile, with the support of our partners and local volunteers, conducted a survey of the Pocasset Lake watershed. The purpose of the survey was to protect and improve water quality in the lake by identifying sources of soil erosion and polluted runoff that are now, or could in the future, pose a risk to water quality, and recommending solutions to correct the problems.
Trained volunteers and technical leaders surveyed the developed areas of the 6 square-mile watershed, identifying 69 erosion sites that are impacting or have the potential to harm water quality. Our final report provides an overview of survey results and prioritizes next steps. It is designed specifically for landowners living in the Pocasset Lake watershed. Follow-up letters to all landowners with identified erosion sites have now been sent.
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Free Gravel Road Maintenance Workshop
February 6th, 6:30-7:30 PM via Zoom
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 |  | The proper maintenance of gravel roads in Maine is important for providing residents safe access to their properties and minimizing costly capital repairs to these roads over time. It is also an important part of protecting our waters from degradation. In this presentation, participants will learn how proper maintenance protects water quality, about gravel road materials, how to evaluate a gravel road for maintenance needs, and how to implement Best Management Practices. This 1-hour online workshop will provide an overview for gravel road residents, lake and road association members, town officials, contractors, and other watershed managers to better understand methods and practices for evaluating and maintaining gravel roads. We will refer to the Maine DEP Camp Road Maintenance Manual. Provides 1 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) for individuals Certified in Erosion Control Practices by Maine DEP. Presented by John Maclaine, Nonpoint Source Training Center, Maine DEP and hosted by Waldo County Soil & Water Conservation District and Friends of Lake Winnecook. Join Zoom Meeting
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Support 30 Mile! Your gift today will make a difference in protecting our lakes from phosphorus pollution, invasive species, and other threats. Find the giving level that works for you. | |
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