OSSIPEE LAKE REPORT Volume 9, Issue 4 • October – December 2010
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OSSIPEE LAKE REPORT Volume 9, Issue 4 • October – December 2010 seeking answers on the ‘naTURAL’ level KEY DATES: By Jean Marshall which could raise or lower Ossipee Lake Editor’s Note: The author is a volunteer re- and its tributaries by 6’ during high power • Wednesday, October 27: GIS mapping searching historic information on the natural demands by the industrial users. An 1859 Workshop with UNH Cooperative level of the lake relative to the state’s ‘410 Rule.’ deed shows a Quimby family sold their land on the western side of Pine River and pre- Extension. $20 fee. Info from GMCG Her latest report, on the impact of damming the lake, highlights the challenges of the search. served the right to flood or drain the land @ (603) 539-1859. “with a dam at the outlet of Ossipee Pond.” FREEDOM — Historical research suggests that a forge was built at the head of the Os- By the mid-1870s, however, the Saco River • Friday, October 29: Conserving sipee River where there were two very steep Water Power Company began buying up all Your Land Workshop. Freedom Village rock falls. An industrial village grew up of the land on what is now “Long Sands,” by Store, 6:30-8 PM. Info @ (603) around this location, called Iron Falls, and the Bearcamp River, and in parts of Broad, 539-3077. by 1860 two dams had been built. Leavitt and Berry Bays. The deed from Janu- ary 9th, 1880 from Ephraim Knox to the Saco In 1879 a John Demeritt built an 800’ canal Company says “…the above being all the • Thursday, November 18: Ossipee and constructed a six-gate dam at its head, Continued on page 3 Watershed School Presentation and Open House, 6-7:30 PM. Info online @ www.gmcg.org. CONTACT US: OSSIPEE LAKE ALLIANCE PO Box 173 Jim McElroy of Freedom’s Aquatic Invasive Species Committee (center) prepares for a milfoil survey Freedom, NH 03836 on Danforth Pond with Marc Bellaud of Aquatic Control Technology and DES limnologist Amy Sma- gula. Part two of our series on Freedom’s milfoil control program starts on page 5. Photo: R. Oram [email protected] Phone: 914-588-3280 A PERFECT DAY FOR WATER SAMPLING Fax: 509-271-3838 By Allan and Gale Riley perfect day for deep-water testing. At 9:00 Editor’s Note: The Alliance provides volunteers, a.m., as promised, our NH Department of Environmental Services biologist, Liz, ap- OSSIPEE LAKE, THE BAYS, THE RIVERS boats and funding for DES’ annual deep water tests. The authors are volunteers and have been peared in our driveway along with Sara. AND CHANNELS, DANFORTH POND, LOON Berry Bay residents since 1997. They unloaded the mass of equipment nec- LAKE AND ROUND POND essary to conduct the deep-water tests for FREEDOM — Thursday August 19th, 2010, Berry Bay, Leavitt Bay and Broad Bay. Sara was a picture-perfect, Chamber of Com- David Smith, Executive Director headed off to do the testing for Danforth and merce day on the lake, or better yet, an Os- Ossipee Lake. Susan Marks, Development Director sipee Lake Alliance day on the lake! Directors: Howard Bouve, Perry Fine, My wife Gale and I volunteered to provide The bays were smooth as silk, there was just the boat and some manual labor for the day. Jean Hansen, Barre Hellquist, Susan a gentle breeze, the temperature was perfect We began by helping Liz carry all of the gear Marks, Bob Reynolds, David Smith and boat traffic was at a minimum. It was a Continued on page 2 Page 2 Ossipee Lake Report A PERFECT DAY FOR WATER SAMPLING Continued from page 1 from the front yard down to the boat. As it varying levels and each level has different turned out, our boat, a 21’ Tracker Party Deck, characteristics, just for the biologists! was a perfect platform for the work we had to Our second task was to lower a Kemmerer do. After stowing the gear we gave Liz a pre- bottle down to various levels to collect water flight about the boat and the lake. She is a re- samples specific for each desired depth. These cent UNH graduate and this was her first trip samples were transferred to plastic bottles, to our bays. marked and stored in a large ice chest we We decided to begin our testing on Broad Bay brought aboard. and then proceed to Leavitt Bay and end up on Our third task was to lower a long, inte- Berry Bay close to our dock. Liz had maps and grated, 1 5/8” diameter, clear plastic hose to a depth gauge so we could locate our testing a designated depth, pull up a “core sample” spots. All three spots required the same tests and empty it into a bucket. Part of the mixed and approximate depths were at 60’ for Broad sample was poured into another plastic bottle, Bay, 43’ for Leavitt Bay and 41’ for Berry Bay. labeled and put in the ice chest. As we were leaving the canal from Leavitt Bay Our fourth task was to lower a plankton net heading into Broad Bay, we encountered the to various depths and collect little microscopic famous “2010 Ossipee Lake Loon Family” next critters! These were emptied into special bot- to Camp Robin Hood. tles containing iodine and put in the ice chest. I immediately cut the motor and coasted to a The iodine prevents the big critters from eat- stop. One of the “chicks” approached the bow ing the little critters before NHDES can com- of the boat and swam within a foot of us…to- plete testing in their lab. tally fearless. We could hear the low chatter The final test was lowering and measuring the between the mother and the two chicks, who depth of a Secchi disk, an 8” diameter metal are now almost the size of the parents. disk, divided into quarters and painted black The two chicks have a brownish color with and white just like the ones used on test dum- mute loon markings that resemble an adult mies. We lowered these to test the clarity of the sporting their winter coat. We have seen the water. It usually disappeared at about 5’ to 6’. OSSIPEE LAKE REPORT: chicks practicing their runway moves by “run- After finishing our work on Broad Bay we pro- ning on the water” as they will soon be taking ceeded to Leavitt Bay and Berry Bay and did flight. This was an unexpected pleasure added ditto, ditto! As we finished up with Berry Bay Writer & Editor: David Smith to an already beautiful day. I received a call from Sara on my cell phone. Design Services: Design Monsters As we reached our first and deepest test site She was finishing her work at Danforth and on Broad Bay, I lowered the anchor with a bit Ossipee Lake and was heading for our house Send mailing address changes to of anticipation; do I have enough rope to reach to meet Liz. We docked the boat, unloaded the [email protected] or PO Box the bottom? I did and we began the tests. gear and carried everything to the front yard. Sara arrived in ten minutes - perfect timing! 173, Freedom NH 03836. Our first task was to lower a sensing unit by a graduated chain to various metric depths All of the data and samples will be carried back and then record the temperature readings and to the NHDES lab for lots of testing and analy- OSSIPEE LAKE NEWS delivers oxygen levels as displayed on an equipment sis. It was another perfect day on the lake. I’m up to the minute information screen in the boat. I do not remember the name sure Liz will be back to Ossipee Lake…either about the lake by email, as of the piece of equipment, but it also comput- on official or non-official business! events warrant. Sign up @ ed a third bit of data I shall call the saturation The Alliance thanks the Rileys and this year’s other www.ossipeelake.org/email. level…I think! water testers: Marcia Murphy, Dave Maidrand and Liz then took the clipboard, reviewed the data Bob Reynolds. Test results are at www.des.nh.gov/ and divided the information into “three lake organization/divisions/water/wmb/vlap/annual_re- levels”. I found out that the lake has three ports/2009/graphs/index.htm. HANSEN JOINS ALLIANCE BOARD Ossipee resident Jean Hansen has been named In 2005 she helped revive the inactive prop- to Ossipee Lake Alliance’s Board of Directors. erty owners group Long Sands Association, Hansen, an RN by profession, is a decorative where she championed DRED’s Ossipee Lake arts designer, teacher and businesswoman. Natural Area management plan and helped The Alliance is a member of the After spending a number of years vacationing win $2 million in property tax abatements for the Long Sands community. She is a member New Hampshire Lakes Association on the big lake and Broad Bay, she became a of the Alliance’s Lake Representatives Forum and Loon Preservation Committee member of the Ossipee Lake community in 1983 and a year-round resident in 1996. and the Ossipee Conservation Commission. Ossipee Lake Report Page 3 Seeking answers on the ‘naTURAL’ level Continued from page 1 land I own in Ossipee Waters which will be of flashboards. (In 1978 the structure had a damaged by flowage or drainage by the dam maximum height of 5’, which when combined and Canal at Iron Works Falls in Effingham…” with the 2.5’ height of the flashboards and the Evidently the Saco Company was not only streambed height at the center line of the dam buying up the land to protect its own rights for of 400’, suggests that this 407.5’ was the maxi- power generation at the falls, but also possibly mum level which could be maintained at this as some kind of compensation for the flooding dam.) of lands.