Sebago Lake Milfoil Action Cooperative by Nate Whalen
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Photo by Rich Antinarelli Photo by Rich SPRING 2016 Portland Water District ● 225 Douglass Street ● Portland, Maine 04104-3553 ● 207.761.8310 ● www.pwd.org 10 Year Rain Events What’s Making Watershed Sebago 3 Anniversary 4Gardens 5 2016 6 Waves? 7 Prioritization 8 Lakescaping Sebago Lake Milfoil Action Cooperative By Nate Whalen Can milfoil be eliminated in Sebago Lake? With the cooperation of homeowners, local town governments, and lake protection groups such as the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP), the Lakes Environmental Association, Raymond Waterways Protective Association, the Portland Top: LEA crew deploying a benthic barrier. Photo: LEA Water District (PWD) and the Maine Left: Variable leaf milfoil. Photo: LEA Department of Environmental Protection working together as the Sebago Lake Milfoil Action fragments are set adrift to possibly infest areas. Infestations can affect Cooperative, the answer is new lakeshore areas. recreational opportunities such as it’s possible. The good news is that much of the swimming and fishing, and can have Variable leaf milfoil was first lake shore around Sebago Lake is rocky a negative impact on property values discovered in Sebago Lake in the and sandy, which is not ideal for aquatic for homeowners. early 1970s. This aquatic plant is vegetation. Milfoil prefers back water In 2002, the Maine Department not native to New England and coves that have soft mucky bottoms. The of Environmental Protection (DEP) is considered “invasive” because bad news is that some of these backwater it lacks natural enemies to keep places on Sebago Lake are already Continued on page 2 its growth in check, allowing it to heavily infested out-compete other aquatic plants. with milfoil. Sebago Variable leaf milfoil forms a dense Cove in Naples, the canopy of growth at the water’s canals in Bayview surface, making swimming, fishing, Estates in Raymond, and boating difficult. Since the plant the Northwest River can spread through fragmentation, outlet in Sebago, and every time a boat propeller goes the Sticky River in through a patch of milfoil, the plants Standish are some are chopped up and hundreds of tiny of the most infested created a “milfoil sticker” program to help fund early detection and mitigation efforts across the state. The milfoil sticker adds an additional $10 fee to a Maine resident boat registration. In 2014, a Raymond resident with property on Sebago Lake named Dianne Potvin lobbied the Maine legislature for more money to fight the milfoil battle in lakes with existing infestations. As a result of her advocacy, recent legislation allocated a larger portion of the milfoil sticker revenue to removal of invasive plants. With this new funding source, the Sebago Lake Milfoil Action Cooperative (the Cooperative) was Top: Milfoil removal. created to take action. Photo: LEA Bottom left: Variable milfoil. Past success provides Photo: LEA optimistic outlook Bottom right: Working as part of the Cooperative, LEA diver removing milfoil. the Lakes Environmental Associa- Photo: LEA tion’s Milfoil Control Team made significant progress harvesting milfoil in three locations on Sebago Lake in 2015. They worked around Frye Island in the Long Beach Marina, by blocking sunlight. While hand-pulling, Quail Circle Marina, and Moose Cove deployment of benthic barriers, and using for eight days with a Diver-Assisted specialized equipment to suction harvest Suction Harvester boat (see photo) the plants can be fairly expensive, these and removed 185 twenty-five pound methods have proven to be extremely Every summer PWD hires a boat bags of milfoil. They worked in Pick- effective. After using the methods over launch attendant that inspects boats erel Cove in Windham for four days, several years, the Lakes Environmental and trailers as they enter and leave removing 72 bags, and in Lake Se- Association successfully eliminated the Sebago Lake at the Standish Boat bago Estates in Naples for two days, milfoil infestation on the Songo River and Launch. Preventing boaters from removing 20 bags. According to the in Brandy Pond. unknowingly carrying hitchhiking end-of-year report to the DEP, each The use of chemical herbicides is invasive plants into Sebago Lake of these locations was “sufficiently prohibited in Maine lakes and ponds or transferring plants from Sebago mitigated, with additional monitoring unless the application is approved and Lake to other lakes is key to keeping and maintenance control warranted.” overseen by the State. From a drinking milfoil and other invasive plants These locations will be checked for water standpoint, the use of herbicides from spreading. PWD also provides any signs of regrowth this year. We might be the biggest threat that variable technical assistance and grant funding are excited to have the LEA milfoil leaf milfoil poses to the lake. The Portland for milfoil removal projects.Removing team working on Sebago Lake again Water District provides an average of milfoil is a time-consuming and labor this coming summer, likely spending 22 million gallons of drinking water intensive process but by working most of their time in Sebago Cove as each day to about 200,000 customers in together as a cooperative, milfoil it is the most heavily infested area of Greater Portland. The long term effects elimination in Sebago is possible. the lake. on humans of herbicide application in a The only approved methods for drinking water supply is unknown and Nate Whalen is a water resources removing aquatic invasive plants the mere possibility of herbicides ever specialist at the Portland Water are manual harvesting by DEP- being used on Sebago Lake is concerning. District. He can be reached at [email protected] certified divers and the use of benthic That is why the Portland Water District barriers. Benthic barriers are dark plays an active role in supporting manual colored tarps used to cover plant and mechanical means of controlling infestations and smother the plants milfoil on Sebago. 2 The Sebago Lake Land Reserve Celebrates 10 Years By Laurel Jackson The Portland Water District (PWD) maintains ownership of about 3,000 acres of land around the lower bay of Sebago Lake in order to protect Left: PWD security staff with the quality and security of the water equestrians who frequent the supply for nearly 200,000 people in Sebago Lake Land Reserve. the greater Portland area. This land is known as the Sebago Lake Land Reserve. While some drinking water utilities protect their water supplies by making the land around them completely off-limits to the public, PWD has taken a different approach. Though the most critical land right around the shoreline of Sebago critical to the water supply and Lake is fenced off, we promote allowing low-impact recreation environmentally friendly recreation on land outside the most critical on the majority of our land. By zone. Fences were installed to inviting the public to use the land delineate the most critical no for such activities as hiking, biking, trespassing areas around the hunting, fishing, and snowmobiling, shoreline, and a set of rules was we have built a network of friends established for public use of and neighbors that use the land the remaining areas. To make regularly and act as extra eyes and public access to the land simple ears for our security staff. and non-intrusive, yet maintain Prior to the creation of the some level of accountability, a Sebago Lake Land Reserve in 2005, permitting system was created the District’s watershed protection that utilized self-service permit land was technically designated as kiosks. Ten permit kiosks were “no trespassing” by state law but deployed in the most convenient some areas were historically used access areas and outfitted with by people for walking, hunting and trail maps, land access permits, fishing. The rules for access and use and other information. were not always clear. By 2005 the People who had historically the Otter Ponds area, providing need for increased protection of our used the land were still able to, and those guidance to visitors using the spider- nation’s infrastructure, including who previously felt unsafe or unclear on web-like trail system in that area. water supplies, was clearly apparent rules for access started exploring the trail Additionally, previously overgrown and the PWD Board of Trustees was system. Now there are many people who trails have been rehabilitated to charged with deciding how the land use the Land Reserve on a daily basis. usable conditions - offering new would be managed into the future. This is beneficial to PWD because even views of the ponds and more area One of the options the trustees with security staff patrolling year-round, to explore. Last year new benches considered was to fence off the land we can’t be everywhere at once and our were installed in a few key locations completely and enforce the existing land reserve patrons serve as extra eyes to provide rest areas for those on no trespassing law like some water and ears on the trails and on the lake. adventures on the Land Reserve. utilities have done and continue to They appreciate the ability to use the land Also, a hillside amphitheater was do. After significant deliberation and want others to be respectful of the built to accommodate outdoor and a series of public meetings, the rules as well. educational lessons and other events board decided to find a balance The Land Reserve’s popularity has near the Sebago Lake Ecology Center. between prohibiting any and all grown steadily and the past few years In 2016 the wetland boardwalk activity, and creating a system that have seen many other improvements. prioritizes and protects the land most New trail signs have been installed in Continued on page 4 3 Continued from page 3 will be fixed and will offer visitors a Reserve map is currently being developed Laurel Jackson is a water resources unique opportunity to observe wet- to help guide visitors while they are ex- specialist at the lands plants and animals up close.