by Zach Clayton • MPA board member
We’re wrapping up the third year of our Lake Section Captain Initiative
We’re wrapping up our third year of providing additional protection for Moose Pond with our Lake Section Captain initiative. As a reminder, we recruited 17 dedicated volunteers who scan “their section” of the lake twice each summer. The goal is to look for any invasive, aquatic plants that may have slipped by the Courtesy Boat Inspectors. If a suspicious plant is found, the Lake Section Captain photographs it, noting its location as well as the time and date of the discovery. These pictures are sent to the LEA for further inspection and, if the LEA is concerned enough, the plant samples are delivered to their offices.
As you may know, your MPA dues help pay the LEA to inspect several small sections of the lake with divers once a year. That said, the LEA’s examination is limited to areas near the two public boat launches, the narrows that divide the middle basin from the north and south basins and several private marinas adjacent to the larger neighborhoods on Moose Pond. This leaves a significant portion of our lake uninspected and vulnerable to undiscovered infestations. The MPA’s Lake Section Captain initiative closes that gap.
Although we’ve delivered many pictures and plant samples to the LEA over the last three years, we’ve fortunately not found any invasive aquatic plants to date. This is obviously great news. Given the infestations we’re seeing in nearby Arrowhead Lake, Long Lake and parts of Sebago, we cannot afford to relax when there’s so much at stake.
Please thank these yellow-vested volunteers when you see them out on the water next year, and please support the MPA by becoming a paying member of the Association annually.