Membership Newsletter June 2023 /Annual Membership drive
| chemo pond lake association |
The CPLA email address is: chemopondla@gmail.com
Annual Meeting: July 8, 2023
Eddington Town Office
11 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Hot dogs and refreshments served
Things are greening up and boats are on the lake again. And the loons have been providing quite a “concert” on the water. Hello summer!
As mentioned in previous newsletters, we are committed to providing periodic updates to our members regarding the state of the membership, the dam, and environmental opportunities to participate in protecting our lake and other topics that arise. So, here is our update as of June 2023:
- Membership. Currently, we have 45 members, which is down significantly from our high of 80 in 2018. In some ways this is not surprising. Once we formed our organization and started making progress toward creating more stable water levels, people feel less of a sense of urgency. At the same time, our organization has the ability to serve as a steward of Chemo Pond and its environs for the long term and, in that case, we need all the help we can get. So, please remain involved in CPLA and encourage others to join.
Regarding our membership, we thank those of you who have remained involved for your participation and support. Several people over the past couple of years have contributed significantly more than the requested $25. Your continued financial support and your dedicated commitment as a member of the Chemo Pond Community are essential to on-going participation with Maine Forest and Logging Museum (MFLM), and federal, state, and local agencies.
We know that snail mail is the most effective way to reach members and potential members, which is why this note has been sent out hard copy. But with an eye to managing the funds you have entrusted to us; we will send out periodic updates via email for the foreseeable future. Producing and mailing correspondence is very costly and time consuming, so hopefully this will work going forward. So, when you send in your membership form, please include your email address. In addition, we will be posting a link on the Chemoponder Facebook page to the CPLA website where this newsletter can be accessed.
- The dam: Melissa Doane, Bradley Town Manager, continues to oversee the project at Leonards Mills. We are grateful for her time, energy, and know-how. This is what has happened so far:
- All parties agree on a target level of 125.8. While this is weather dependent, this goal will help guide the final solution.
- DMR hired David Huntress, an engineer who completed a study of both dams to determine where $$s should be spent to manage the water level. Based on his findings, the following recommendations were made:
- A stone weir will be placed upstream of the left gate at the Leonard’s Mill Dam. This weir would create more stable water levels in the Pond during the summer, weather depending. It would require no maintenance and could last up to 100 years.
- The wooden crib in the left gate (where the board is currently placed) would be replaced with a pre-cast concrete one. The current wooden structure is in poor condition and is at risk of failure.
- The last step would be to remove the roll dam as it presents a barrier for alewives leaving the pond in the fall if the water is low.
- What has happened so far: The left spillway has been replaced, the roll dam has been partially removed, the weir in front of the left gate has been built but is 2 inches too short. This will be fixed later this summer. According to Dave Huntress, the weir is working properly. The improvements to the fishway have not been made so far. Sometime between July 16, 2023, and August 31, 2023, the project will be completed. In addition to the fishway repairs, fabric needs to be added to the weir, the weir height needs to be corrected and the weir needs to be chinked. The contractor added rocks downstream of the left gate creating a nice smooth spillway. This was not in the construction plans although DMR wanted them. The dam is still leaking at the base, to the left of the left gate. The leakage is much less than before construction.
- Additionally, CPLA has committed $1,000 toward the project and $1,000 annually going forward once the project has been completed. A like amount has been secured from the towns of Bradley, Clifton, and Eddington which will all go toward ongoing maintenance once the project is completed. Melissa Doane’s vision is the creation of a Dam Commission to oversee the maintenance of the water level and the overall condition of the dam. The commission would have representatives from the three towns, the Logging Museum, the state, and CPLA.
We know that the process of resolving water level management on Chemo has been painfully slow and frustrating. We have been working on this for 5+ years. And the pandemic did not help. We hope that with involvement of the three towns, cooperation from DMR, DEP and LM, this long running issue will now be managed for the benefit of all. We appreciate your on-going patience and support.
- Annual Meeting. It will be held Saturday, July 8 from 11-1 at the Eddington Town Office. Hot dogs and refreshments will be provided. In addition to the most recent updates to the dam project at LM, we have the pleasure of hosting Caroline Murray from Maine Lakes to discuss the LakeSmart program. She will be discussing what is involved in getting your property certified with the LakeSmart designation and how it benefits property owners and the Pond. So please come and show Caroline our committed and enthusiastic group of Chemoponders!
Included on the agenda is an opportunity to elect new members to the board. 8 out of our 9 board members have served from the beginning of CPLA—6 years ago! Pete Roach has volunteered to join our board and we welcome a new person with new ideas! Now that the dam issue is being resolved, we have been able to settle into a less frequent schedule of meetings. Now, we meet 4 times per year, and we schedule meetings based on board members’ availability, so we are flexible. We would love to have you participate.
- Results of the second annual Frost “Bite” Fishing Derby. Last year we weren’t quite sure what the response would be, but as they say, if you build it, they will come—-and you did—again! It was bigger and better than the year before—though it was a bit “nippy!” Overall, the weather was good, the fish were biting, and people bought plenty of tickets. We were able to give away $$$ in fishing awards, $400 in gift cards, and the following prizes: 50” TV, 2 camp chairs, ice ax, 2 fish traps, travel grill and Yeti mug. Thank you again to all our sponsors: Darling Chevrolet of Ellsworth; Eddington Store; Clifton Country Market; Williams Family Farms; Loon Acres Realty; Peavy Manufacturing; and Heritage Fish Traps. And a special shout out to Nolan and Megan Webber providing the trailer as our headquarters and Shelia’s Maine Treats for keeping us fed. Our plan is to hold it on the same weekend, the last weekend of February. Stay tuned for details as we get closer to the event. We will also welcome any help that you can provide.
- Past Projects Summary:
Not everything that CPLA does is related to the dam. In the long run, CPLA exists to help protect and preserve our little piece of heaven, Chemo Pond. CPLA members have participated in the Maine Audubon annual loon count. One of our members is responsible for collecting water quality data from Chemo Pond and submitting it to Lake Stewards of Maine, a non-profit organization of citizen scientists who collect data from lakes all over the state. They tabulate that data and work with MDEP to monitor the health of hundreds of Maine’s lakes. We had our first Invasive Plant Paddle training class. The good news is for the small sample of shoreline we were able to investigate; we found no invasive aquatic plants. As a result of this class, we have started up an IPP team for Chemo Pond!
We will continue to participate in this year’s loon count and collect water quality data. Our IPP team will be back out on the lake this summer. If you see people out in canoes, kayaks or small boats looking down into the water, that’s us. Come on over and say hi and we can show you what we are doing. We can always use more volunteers for this effort so we can eventually have a team that can cover the entire shoreline. If you are interested, send Kathy Trenholm an email at chemopondla@gmail.com.
- Website Development
The CPLA website is fully functional. We will use the website to keep members posted on developments, share news on activities and have educational sections that are relevant to our environment. We welcome contributions from anyone concerning Chemo Pond. Photos are always welcome. The website address is: www.chemopond.org. If you have ideas or suggestions, please email us at chemopondla@gmail.com. We periodically check this email. If you have information regarding activities or events in the greater Chemo Pond area, we can add them to our calendar and news sections. And speaking of new activities……
Pete Roach has very generously sponsored our first “on the water” music event June 30, 7 p.m. Thank you, Pete!!