Celebrate Clean Water

Vol. 7, No. 2 Provided free of charge to our monitors and affiliates Fall 2002 Celebrate Clean Water On October 18, 2002, the nation will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Clean Water Act. To commemorate the anniversary, the day has been declared National Water Monitoring Day. In celebration, volunteers throughout the country will collect and submit water quality data to the National Water Monitoring Day database. This is a great opportunity to show the country what lake stewardship means to Mainers! We hope all our volunteer monitors (who haven’t migrated to warmer climates) will participate on October 18th. Since the weather doesn’t always coop- erate, all data collected between October 12th and October 27th will be submitted. If you would like to join in the celebration and monitor your lake or pond, contact us prior to October 18th to ensure that your site is regis- tered for the event. The deadline for submitting data is October 27th, so please relay your results to us before then. What’s Inside Thoughts from Your President Autumn hues... 2 By: Peter Fischer Two New Faces 3 There is one particular joy of summer for me, and that is jumping in the Lake Side Notes 4 water. My wife, dog, and I try to make a habit out of going swimming Lake Lingo 5 at the pond (the one I monitor – Boyd Pond) near our house everyday. When we fail, don’t that dog give us the evil eye! I’ve always said that Maine 2002 Lakes Conference 6 jumping in the water is like starting a new day. In fact, I have started a Volunteer Recognition 7 tradition where, on my way home from the VLMP annual meeting in June, I find a pond and jump in. This year it was Echo Lake (or Croched Will you know an aquatic invader 8 Pond) on the Fayette side. It made my day. That’s why you’re out there when you see one? monitoring – so I can have the joy of jumping into lakes with great water Pioneering LakeMAP 9 quality. Hey, thanks! Foraging New Partnerships 10 Guess what? We now have our own day of recognition. October 18th Acknowledgements 12 has been declared (by whom, I don’t know, Mother Nature maybe?) New Volunteers 2002 13 National Water Monitoring Day. That’s us! So, I declare that on that day, you pat yourself on the back for the valuable grassroots environmental work that you all are doing. Autumn hues... The leaves are beginning to show a hint of color, mark- ing the transition from summer to autumn. This past VLMP Staff weekend, I walked the meadow paths and woodland Scott Williams trails of our saltwater farm in Boothbay, and I pondered Executive Director the concept of stewardship. The farm has been in my husband’s family since Stasia Savasuk 1860, and we feel strongly that we are stewards of the property, with a duty to Program Assistant protect and preserve it for future generations. Becky Welsh Development Coordinator Roberta Hill My Microsoft Word thesaurus defines a steward as a keeper or guardian. That Special Projects Coordinator attitude is at the core of the VLMP’s mission to protect Maine’s lakes and to Linda Bacon foster stewardship of the resources through education and outreach. Beyond QA/QC Advisor (Maine DEP) and above the concept of ownership or possession, stewardship goes to the very Board of Directors heart of Maine’s environmental ethic. Individually, we are compelled to protect the State’s resources to ensure their healthy continuation for generations to Peter Fischer - President come. Bristol Dick Thibodeau - Vice President Turner The strength of the VLMP community lies in this shared belief in the notion of Mary Hitchings - Secretary Augusta stewardship and in our commitment to a healthy environment. Maine’s 5,785 Jim Burke - Treasurer lakes and ponds are a valuable spiritual, economic, and recreational resource Lewiston George Cross deserving of our guardianship and protection. Sangerville Mary Jane Dillingham Auburn Enjoy the reflection of the brilliant autumn hues in the water this fall. Thank Phoebe Hardesty you for the work you do as a guardian and steward of Maine’s lakes. Lewiston Ken Holt North Turner Becky Welsh Steve Kahl Orono Development Coordinator Bill Monagle Winthrop Gerry Nelson Lovell Sharon Treat Farmingdale Wish List Visit us on line at: www.mainevolunteerlakemonitors.org For those of you who have spent any time in Contact Us: PO Box 445 the VLMP office this summer, you may have Turner, ME 04282 noticed the scent of rotten eggs wafting 207-225-2070 [email protected] about. That scent actually belongs to decaying plants. We desperately need a fridgerator to Editorial Staff store our plants in... full size preferred, but any size will do. Stasia Savasuk, Editor & Graphics Scott Williams, Editorial Comm. Funding for this newsletter is made possible by grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Becky Welsh, Editorial Comm. Maine Department of Environmental Protection, through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Roberta Hill, Editorial Comm. Printed on Recycled Paper By: Curry Printing & Graphics - Auburn, ME Vol. 7, No. 2 Page 2 Two new faces at the VLMP Although I’ve met or spo- I’ve long been drawn towards the outdoors, and it’s ken to many of you, I not doubt that this attraction is responsible for my thought I would take this interest in the natural sciences. It was during my last opportunity to share with year of school that I took a course in Aquatic you why I applied for (and Biology, where every week we spent a day on the accepted) this position at the lake doing water quality monitoring - it was perfect! VLMP. Upon graduating from the University of Along with my new found interest in limnology (the Maine at Farmington with a study of lakes), I of course wanted a position where degree in Spatial Ecology, I dreamed of my favorite I could utilize one of my best qualities... the gift of things, bundled them into one little package, and gab. decided that what I “did” would somehow include a component of each... I’ve found my niche here at the VLMP. My first three months here have been wonderful! With each My fondest memories as a child are those of my phone call or email, I’m in awe of your commitment brother and me swimming, fishing and catching to protect Maine’s lakes. It is truly a gift to have the leeches on Mayfield Pond. Those days I’ll never for- opportunity to work with such motivated volunteers! get! As an adult, my interests have changed a bit. I now enjoy listening (and talking) to the loons, I look forward to chatting with you all. observing the mating behaviors of dragonflies and damselflies while paddling the lake shores, and sim- Stasia Savasuk, Program Assisant ply enjoying the solitude of the lake. Roberta Hill is an aquatic ecologist and environmental educator. She has had extensive experience with lake water quality protection and community outreach, serving as Education Coordinator and Assistant Director of the Lakes Environmental Association and, more recently, as the Environmental Education Coordinator for the Portland Water District. Greetings! I am honored and thrilled to be part of the VLMP. Honored to be working once again with volunteers, a special category of people whom I have long held in the highest esteem, and thrilled to be reconnecting with old friends and meeting many wonderful new people. Right now, my work for the VLMP is primarily focused upon invasive species. I first became involved in this issue when I was at the Portland Water District. As part of the lake protection arm of the District, I initiated PWD’s invasive aquatic species program, an effort that included mapping and monitoring known locations of variable watermilfoil in Sebago Lake, and providing education outreach to the lake communities. I also had the privilege of representing the District at the 2001 legislative hearings and helping to draft the Maine Water Utilities position paper on aquatic invasives. Most of my time here this summer has been divided between two very interesting and rewarding tasks: identi- fying plants that have been collected by an increasingly wary and vigilant public, and providing Invasive Plant Patrol workshops to train volunteers to identify, and screen their lakes for, invasive plants. (Please see “Will You Know an Aquatic Invader . ?” on page 8.) I look forward to working with many of you in the months and years to come. I am here to serve you and assist you in your important work in any way I can. Please do not ever hesitate to contact me when the need arises, or, if no need arises, just to say hello! Vol. 7, No. 2 Page 3 Lakeside Notes VLMP staff changes than 75 plant specimens that were brought or sent to the Turner office. At one point in July, the office was Two new staff have filled with bottles and baggies of plants from all joined the VLMP parts of the state. We even received one unsolicited team. We are pleased plant specimen from North Dakota (and it was an to welcome Stasia invasive species)! Savasuk (Program Assistant), who began All of this work was provided as a public service working with us in because we know that ultimately volunteers will not June, and Roberta Hill (Special Projects only provide us (you, me, our communities, the Coordinator). Both Stasia and Roberta are high- DEP, the USEPA, and many others) with invaluable energy individuals who bring a lot of experience and data for Maine lakes and ponds, but they will also enthusiasm to the program.

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