by Bill Dexter • Middle Basin resident • MPA board member since 2019 • 50+ years on the lake
As the local LakeSmart reps for Moose Pond, my sister and I often receive questions about this important program from curious neighbors such as:
What is the LakeSmart program?
- How do I sign up to have my property reviewed?
- Is participation free or does it have a cost?
- Are there any downsides to participating?
- Who do I contact for more information or to schedule
a site visit?
Fortunately, many of the answers to these questions were provided in a recent article in The Bridgton News from back on November 25, 2021. It said,
“The Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) serves as the regional hub for the state-wide LakeSmart Program. The program educates property owners about the best practices to reduce or eliminate erosion and storm water runoff into their lakes and ponds.”
And, there are lots of relatively simple things that property owners can do to mitigate this issue and a great way to learn what you can do to reduce runoff is to have a LakeSmart evaluation performed on your property.
It turns out that run off is the single biggest source of phosphorous that flows into our lake, thus, reducing the quality of the water in Moose Pond!
If your property does not initially qualify as LakeSmart, you (and only you) will get a list of suggested projects that you might consider taking on to improve the run-off situation on your land to make it more lake-friendly. Once those projects are successfully completed, you will be qualified to receive your LakeSmart award.
Importantly, the MPA now offers a matching funds program where we will match a property owner’s qualifying expenditures related to these remediation projects $1-for-$1 up to $1000.
The following points about LakeSmart program are worth highlighting:
- Is voluntary
- Evaluations take about an hour
- Is educational for the property owner
- Is FREE
- There are NO downsides (LakeSmart reps are not code enforcers)
- If your property qualifies as “LakeSmart”, you get a lovely plaque to display on your property (and bragging rights, of course!)
There are several ways to find out more about LakeSmart. You can always reach out to the LakeSmart program through the State of Maine or the LEA – there are all kinds of resources/pamphlets/brochures that are available on their websites. Also, MPA Board member Bill Dexter, along with his sister Elizabeth Stockwood, are the Moose Pond representatives to LakeSmart and would be delighted to set up an evaluation for you. You can contact Bill by text/phone (cell 207-232-0726), or email at dexathome@gmail.com.
Please consider having a LakeSmart evaluation done – let’s all work together to protect our wonderful lake!