OSSIPEE LAKE REPORT Volume 7, Issue 2 • Spring – Summer 2008 ALLIANCE MARKS FIVE FOR FIVE FREEDOM — Ossipee Lake Alliance is mission and Green Mountain Conservation marking its fifth anniversary this summer Group, and copies of Schloss’ book will be KEY DATES: with continued efforts to involve more peo- available for purchase. ple in charting the lake’s future. For its annual fund-raising campaign, the • Saturday, June 21: “Landscaping On Saturday June 21 the group will sponsor Alliance has created the theme “5 for 5” to at the Water’s Edge.” Calumet a presentation by lake landscaping expert reflect the group’s achievement of five ma- Jeff Schloss, co-author of the book “Land- jor goals in five years, according to executive Conference Center, Freedom. scaping at the Water’s Edge,” which details director David Smith. Breakfast 8:30, presentation at ways to spruce up lakeside areas without “Through our website, newsletters and email 9 AM. Free. Info @ 914-588-3280. harming the environment. news service we have become the foremost The presentation, which is free and open source of news and information about Os- • Saturday, August 9: “Big Birds,” to the public, will be held at Calumet Con- sipee Lake,” he said, adding that the group’s with Eric Masterson. A Tales of ference Center in Freedom at 9 AM, with a services reach the lake community, state and Ossipee Lake presentation for light breakfast served at 8:30. Co-sponsors local officials and regional media. Freedom Old Home Week. Calumet of the event are Ossipee Conservation Com- Continued on page 3 Conference Center, Freedom. 8 PM. Free. Info @ 914-588-3280. CONTACT US: OSSIPEE LAKE ALLIANCE PO Box 173 The Alliance’s Susan Marks and Ward’s Boat Shop owner Barry Rollins, center, present Ossipee Freedom, NH 03836 offi cials with checks supporting the Lake Host program. Story on page 3. Larissa Mulkern [email protected] DEEP, DEEPER AND DEEPEST Phone: 914-588-3280 FREEDOM — If you’re a boater you know The conventional wisdom is that the big www.ossipeelake.org where the lake’s shallow areas are – prob- lake is shallow because so much of the wa- ably based on the painful experience of a ter around the perimeter is less than 10 feet OSSIPEE LAKE, THE BAYS, THE RIVERS damaged prop. deep, including popular gathering places at the Bearcamp River and Long Sands. But AND CHANNELS, DANFORTH POND, But do you know where the deepest spots that impression is wrong. LOON LAKE AND ROUND POND are and which part of the lake has the deep- est average depth? Even if you’ve plied the In fact the big lake actually has the highest waters of the lake and bays for years, the an- average depth of any part of the lake sys- David Smith, Executive Director swers might surprise you. tem. At an average depth of 28 feet it beats Susan Marks, Development Director You can find them in a series of maps pub- Broad Bay by a nose – or actually by a foot. Board Members: Howard Bouve, Perry lished by the N.H. Fish & Game Department So much for conventional wisdom. Fine, Barre Hellquist, David Smith, that are posted on their website and, now, on In comparison, the average depth of upper Susan Marks ours at www.ossipeelake.org/deepspots. Danforth Pond (confusingly labeled Middle Continued on page 2 Page 2 Ossipee Lake Report LOOKING FOR DEEP SPOTS? MAPS CAN HELP Leavitt Bay is the focus of one of 400 bathymetric maps produced by the state. The maps for Ossipee Lake and vicinity are now posted on the Alliance’s website. Map: N.H. Fish & Game Continued from page 1 Danforth on the State map) is 15 feet and in Broad Bay, however, is deeper still. Its deep Berry Bay it’s 12 feet. spot is in precisely in the center of the bay, The part of the lake with the lowest average southwest of the northern end of Bay Point depth is Leavitt Bay, at 11 feet. Not that you Road. At that location you can plunge to a would call Leavitt Bay shallow, however, es- depth of 73 feet. pecially since its deep spot, located in front of What will you find at the bottom? Other than OSSIPEE LAKE REPORT: Camp Marist near the channel to Berry Bay, is frigid water, there’s no telling. From Deer Cove 42 feet. to Huckins Pond to Ossipee River, Broad Bay’s deep spot is the lake’s deepest. Writer & Editor: David Smith Bathymetry But perhaps not so deep statewide. Putting Creating maps that measure the depth and Design Services: Design Monsters our lake in perspective is the state’s fifth larg- contour of lakes, called bathymetry, is part of est body of water, Newfound Lake, located in an ongoing process at Fish & Game that has Send mailing address changes to the Hebron-Bristol area. resulted in more than 400 maps to date. [email protected] or PO Box In Newfound Lake, 73 feet is the average depth The information, which is gathered by a N.H. 173, Freedom NH 03836. of the water. Its deep spot is 182 feet below Department of Environmental Services survey the surface, making it one of the deepest deep crew, is important for the water quality tests spots in the state. Stay current with lake news year- the Alliance and other area groups conduct an- round by subscribing to Ossipee nually; a process that requires collecting sam- How Big? Lake News, our free e-mail news ples from the lake’s deepest spots. The State’s maps also calculate the size of service. Sign up at: For years, water quality monitors relied on lakes and ponds, and here again there are a www.ossipeelake.org/e-mail. word of mouth from previous monitors and few surprises for those who think they know fishermen on how to find the deep spots. the facts. The state’s maps, which also list each lake’s If you consider Freedom’s Loon Lake to be fish species, make finding the deep spots eas- small, think again. At 188 acres it’s bigger ier - but you don’t have to be a water quality than Leavitt Bay (176 acres) and Berry Bay monitor to enjoy looking at them. (145 acres). On the other hand, you can fit two Loon Lakes into Broad Bay, whose 464 acres of How Deep? water make it the lake’s second largest body Out on the big lake, when you get away from of water. the shallow perimeter the water drops off rap- The largest lake? Ossipee Lake proper, of idly. At a point almost directly in the in the course, with 3,249 acres of water according to The Alliance is a member of the middle of the lake you can dive to a depth of the map. It’s the big lake indeed. New Hampshire Lakes Association 61 feet. (www.nhlakes.org). Ossipee Lake Report Page 3 ALLIANCE PROGRAMS MARK FIVE YEARS Continued from page 1 available it’s our job to get some of it for our lake,” Marks said. “If it affects the lake, you’ll hear about it from us first,” Smith said, “thanks to the hundreds She and Smith also cited the Lake Represen- of financial contributors and volunteers who tatives Forum as one of the group’s most im- have helped make the Alliance a success.” portant accomplishments. The forum includes businesses and property owner groups from all Smith also pointed to the work of the lake’s parts of the lake and is held every two years. boat ramp owners, whose participation in the Alliance’s milfoil boater education program The Alliance recently announced it is looking has prevented a new infestation of invasive for a volunteer to become the group’s Wildlife weeds since the initiative began three years Coordinator. The Coordinator will be respon- ago. sible for gathering and writing news about wildlife in the area, on and off the lake, for the This summer Alliance members will be work- Alliance’s website and newsletter. ing on a comprehensive lake management plan, a new State requirement for obtaining “Think of it as a Smart Report on wildlife,” milfoil removal funds, according to the group‘s Smith said, referring to Bob Smart’s popular co-founder Susan Marks. Alliance reports on lake life. Those interested in the Wildlife Coordinator role should con- “The availability of state funds for milfoil tact the group by sending an email to info@ removal is hit or miss, but if there is money ossipeelake.org. ALLIANCE AND WARD’S SUPPORT LAKE HOSTS OSSIPEE — The Lake Host program will return dent Nick Paquette will return as supervisor of to Ossipee’s public boat ramp on Pequawket the program under the direction of Jean Han- Trail for a third year thanks to matching funds sen and Warren Walker of the Ossipee Conser- from Ossipee Lake Alliance and Ward’s Boat vation Commission. Shop in Center Ossipee. Mature high school and college students will The Lake Host program increases boater aware- be hired to work at the Ossipee ramp. During ness of milfoil and other destructive plants by the week boaters will complete a voluntary offering on-site boater education and boat and sign-in process at the town information kiosk trailer inspections on Memorial Day weekend at the Pequawket Trail site. and weekends from July 4 through Labor Day. In 2008, more than 250 Lake Hosts will staff The cost to implement the program in 2008 - 82 public access ramps on 66 New Hampshire estimated at $5,375 for this location - will be Lakes and Ponds to educate boaters about ex- supported by a $2,500 NH Lakes Association otic invasive plants.