Greetings from Moose Pond! As another year comes to a close I would like to thank our board of directors and all the volunteers that make the Moose Pond Association happen. Our new website is on line. We are still looking for a webmaster to assume the duties of postings and updates. Please contact me if interested. The MPA Facebook page has been very busy this year. Lots of postings of loons, wildlife and sunsets, etc. We appreciate all that contribute. Nancy Campbell, who has been posting some beautiful pictures of the loons on Moose Pond on our Facebook page, has put together two calendars for 2020. The calendar sales will benefit the MPA. Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing one. The calendars and our Moose Pond Hats make wonderful holiday gifts.
Our efforts to protect Moose Pond this past year have been great. Our boat inspectors did not find any invasive plants on the boats entering and exiting the lake. We conducted our annual invasive plants survey with the assistance of LEA. We inspected the boat launch areas and larger marinas and found no suspicious plants. Our water quality buoys in each of the three basins continue to be monitored. Moose Pond continues to be a water body at risk because of ongoing threat of phosphorous entering our lake and depleting the oxygen for the cold water fisheries such as salmon and lake trout. We will conduct a limited watershed survey this coming spring on those camp roads and other locations that permit the phosphorous to enter the lake. We had a number of volunteers sign up to assist us in survey but more are needed. Please contact me if you are interested in helping out. Training will be provided. We plan to conduct the survey over a couple of weekends after ice out.
Bill Dexter is heading up the Lake Smart program on Moose Pond. He and his sister Elizabeth went through the training. They will conduct assessments of your property and confirm if you are eligible for a lake smart award. Please keep in mind, this is not a policing program. It is intended to be an educational one to confirm lake owners are doing all they can to protect the water quality of the lake. Contact Bill if you are interested in participating.
We had a productive annual meeting this past August. It was well attended. We received an update from LEA on the water quality and invasive plant survey. There was much discussion regarding the loon population. Some concern was expressed about the wake boats on the lake and their effect on the shore land and it’s erosion. Please maintain the 400 feet buffer from the shores when operating the larger boats. Our financials were presented by Laurie Vance, our treasurer. We have a healthy balance in our operating account in case we have to react to a serious threat of invasive plants. The cost of mitigation of milfoil can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our diligence in protecting Moose Pond is extremely important.
Our membership has remained static this year. We send out almost one thousand letters to the lakefront owners and association members who border our Moose Pond. We did not make our budget in terms of membership income. We hover around 20-25% membership. We can do better. Some area lake associations exceed 80%. We appreciate the road associations that donate but individual contributions are key to a healthy lake association.
Chip Wendler has leading an effort to save Caruso Island. Caruso Island is located on the northern shore of the middle basin. It can be seen off the Route 302 causeway. Attempts to slow down the erosion and deforestation of the small island have experienced mixed results. Chip has met with a landscape architect and contractors to develop a plan to shore up the island and revegetate it. These efforts will take donations from those that want to protect the picturesque island. A number of donations have been received. Please contact Chip if interested.
The town of Denmark will be investigating some maintenance work that needs to be completed on our dam at the bottom of the southern basin. The town of Bridgton is working on a plan to make repairs to the route 302 boat launch.
Again, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of the Moose Pond Association. Remember our Mission, To maintain and improve the quality of life on Moose Pond for all to enjoy for generations to come.
Mark Patterson, President