Maine Lakes Report 2013 Dear Friends and Stewards of Maine Lakes, This report on the health of Maine lakes reflects the effort of more than 1,000 volunteer citizen scientists throughout Maine who monitored several hundred lake basins throughout the State in 2013. A growing number of VLMP lake monitors have been continuously active for multiple decades, and a few have been involved for most of the 43 years since the Maine Legislature officially authorized volunteer lake monitoring. Their work is a strong testament to the level of public commitment to Maine’s clear, clean lakes, and it is probably not coincidental that our lakes have remained as healthy as they have under the careful watch of these individuals. The Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP) is believed to be the longest- standing statewide citizen lake monitoring program in America, having been formed at about the time of the passage of the historic Federal Clean Water Act in 1971. The Mission of the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program is to help protect Maine lakes through widespread citizen participation in the gathering and dissemination of credible scientific information pertaining to lake health. The VLMP trains, certifies and provides technical support to hundreds of volunteers who monitor a wide range of indicators of water quality, assess watershed health and function, and screen lakes for invasive aquatic plants and animals. In addition to being the primary source of lake data in the State of Maine, VLMP volunteers benefit their local lakes by playing key stewardship and leadership roles in their communities. Our primary partners are the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency, which provide a wide range of financial, technical and management support to the program. In turn, the VLMP provides these agencies with essential information that is used to assess and protect Maine’s lakes. The relatively small investment of public funding that supports the work of the VLMP is multiplied several times over through the invaluable, high quality work of VLMP volunteers. Studies conducted throughout the country have consistently shown that lake data gathered by properly trained volunteers are equivalent to, and virtually indistinguishable from that of professional lake scientists, at a fraction of the cost! The additional invaluable benefit of public education and stewardship that VLMP volunteers provide to communities throughout the state is one of Maine’s best examples of grassroots natural resource protection. The effectiveness and strength of the VLMP is in part due to collaborative partnerships with other entities, including agencies and Chart from 2012 Florida LakeWatch Study, comparing organizations throughout Maine and the U.S. This collaboration professional and volunteer lake data. has formed a powerful resource for technical expertise, outreach, and access to a great deal of information concerning Maine lakes and their watersheds. Since the earliest days of the program, the VLMP has been at the forefront of gathering lake data in Maine and the U.S. For more than four decades, the total number of active individuals involved in monitoring water quality, and in screening public waters for invasive aquatic species has increased steadily. Scott Williams VLMP Executive Director Table of Contents Acknowledgements . i Volunteer Coordinators . .1 Appendices A Long-term Distribution of Water Quality Data for Maine Lakes . .2 B Water Quality Data by County . .5 C Range of 2013 Average Secchi Disk Transparency for VLMP Lakes . 17 D Explanation of Individual Lake Report and Sample Report . 25 E Invasive Aquatic Plant Screening Survey Activity Reported . 30 F Certified Volunteer Lake Monitors . 39 G Lifelong Volunteers . .57 Glossary . .62 2013 Supporters of the VLMP . 64 Please Note: The 2013Maine Lakes Report has been abbreviated due to unforeseeable delays in the processing of the data. The report is limited to the data summaries. The 2014Maine Lakes Report, available in the spring of 2015, will include the full document. For additional information about the Maine VLMP, please visit: www.mainevlmp.org Current (near real-time) water quality data for a limited number of Maine lakes through the 2014 monitoring season can be viewed online at: http://www.mainevlmp.org/near-real-time-lake-data/. More extensive historical information concerning Maine lakes is available at www.lakesofmaine.org. Support for this report has been provided by: US Environmental Protection Agency Maine Department of through Section 319 of the Environmental Protection Federal Clean Water Act Boater Participation in the Maine Lake & River Protection Sticker Program Ram Island Conservation Fund of the Maine Community Foundation Roy A. Hunt Foundation More than 1,000 volunteer lake monitors throughout Maine who have provided their time, expertise, and financial support. Maine Lakes Report 2013 Acknowledgements Written by: Layout: Contributors & Reviewers: Scott Williams Jonnie Maloney Linda Bacon Roberta Hill Roberta Hill Database/Computer Technical Scott Williams GIS/Mapping: Assistance: Jonnie Maloney Linda Bacon Linda Bacon Christine Guerette John McPhedran Christine Guerette Doug Suitor Jonnie Maloney VLMP Staff VLMP Board of Directors Scott Williams, Executive Director Mary Jane Dillingham, President Roberta Hill, Invasive Species Program Director Bill Monagle, Vice President Jonnie Maloney, Program Coordinator Lew Wetzel, Treasurer Christine Guerette, Program Assistant Phoebe Hardesty, Secretary Kristian Muldoon, 2013 Spring Intern Malcolm Burson Felix Xie, 2013 Spring Intern Sibyl French Libby Davis, 2013 Summer Intern Paul Hunt Jamey Epstein, 2013 Summer Intern Norton Lamb Jason Walker, 2013 Fall Intern Marsha Letourneau Clyde Walton VLMP Advisory Board Linda Bacon, DEP Liaison Aria Amirbahman Dan Buckley Maine DEP Technical Advisors Holly Ewing Linda Bacon C. Barre Hellquist Paul Gregory Martha Kirkpatrick Karen Hahnel David Littell John McPhedran Judy Potvin Steve Norton Matt Scott Peter Vaux, Chair Ken Wagner Pixie Williams Karen Wilson Cover: Lake Auburn Photo by Jonnie Maloney Maine VLMP 207-783-7733 24 Maple Hill Rd [email protected] Auburn, ME 04210 www.MaineVLMP.org Copyright © 2014 Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program This report is printed on recycled paper. i 2013 Volunteer Coordinators Regional Water Quality Regional Invasive Plant Volunteer Coordinators Patrol Coordinators Regional Coordinators (RC) Invasive Plant Patrol Coordinators help organize volunteers and training RC’s organize re-certification workshops, respond to workshops in their region. Additional duties may include providing regional requests from volunteers and assist in the collection technical support, coordinating Invasive Aquatic Plant screening survey of data. activity, and managing data collection. Data Coordinators (DC) DC’s enter water quality data collected on volunteer data Region Coordinator(s) forms into the VLMP’s LakeData database program. Aroostook County Region Regional and Data Coordinators commit 25 hours on average Island Falls Lakes Association Sherry Pettyjohn, Charlotte Hallett per year to the program. If you are interested in volunteering for a Coordinator position, please contact the VLMP office. Hancock County Region Hancock SWCD / Hancock County Lakes Alliance Megan Facciolo Region Coordinator Androscoggin Dan Guerette, RC Kennebec County 30 Mile River Watershed Association Lidie Whittier Robbins VLMP Staff VLMP Board of Directors Alan Anderson, DC Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance Toni Pied Scott Williams, Executive Director Mary Jane Dillingham, President Aroostook VLMP Staff, RC & DC Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed Ken Smith Roberta Hill, Invasive Species Program Director Bill Monagle, Vice President Cumberland Charles Turner, RC VLMP Staff, DC Midcoast Region Jonnie Maloney, Program Coordinator Lew Wetzel, Treasurer Franklin Sue Motley, RC Acadia National Park Bill Gawley Citizens’ Association of Liberty Lakes Kerry Black, Linda Breslin Christine Guerette, Program Assistant Phoebe Hardesty, Secretary Lew Wetzel, DC Kristian Muldoon, 2013 Spring Intern Malcolm Burson Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association Garrison Beck Hancock VLMP Staff, RC & DC Lincolnville Lakes and Ponds Committee Paul Leeper Felix Xie, 2013 Spring Intern Sibyl French Kennebec Sue & Bruce Fenn, RC & DC Pemaquid Watershed Association Donna Minnis Libby Davis, 2013 Summer Intern Paul Hunt Knox Dave Preston, RC Jamey Epstein, 2013 Summer Intern Norton Lamb VLMP Staff, DC Penobscot County Region Baxter State Park Jean Hoekwater Jason Walker, 2013 Fall Intern Marsha Letourneau Lincoln Ed Knapp, RC Clyde Walton Steve O’Bryan, DC Piscataquis County Region VLMP Advisory Board Linda Bacon, DEP Liaison Oxford Terri Marin, RC Friends of Wilson Pond Area Kay Johnson VLMP Staff, DC Rangeley Lakes Region Aria Amirbahman Penobscot VLMP Staff, RC Maine DEP Technical Advisors Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust Anthony Colello, Ellie White Dan Buckley David Hodsdon, DC Holly Ewing Linda Bacon Piscataquis VLMP Staff, RC Southwestern Maine Region C. Barre Hellquist Paul Gregory Richard Offinger, DC Lakes Environmental Association Colin Holme Martha Kirkpatrick Karen Hahnel Sagadahoc Ed Knapp, RC Lakes Coalition Cheryl Welch Lovell Invasive Plant Prevention Committee Lucy LaCasse David Littell John McPhedran Steve O’Bryan, DC Judy Potvin Pleasant Lake and Parker Pond Association Pixie Williams Steve Norton Somerset VLMP Staff, RC Portland Water District Nate