Membership Newsletter January 2022

chemo pond lake association

The CPLA email address is:  chemopondla@gmail.com

Winter is trying to show up and for those of us who love winter activities, it can’t come soon enough!

As mentioned in previous newsletters, we are committed to providing periodic updates to our members regarding 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 January 2022:

  1. Membership.  Currently, we have 37 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 help we can get. So, please remain involved in CPLA and encourage others to join. We have moved our annual membership drive to May 1, so it will be connected to announcements regarding our annual meeting which is tentatively scheduled July 16, 2022. Stay tuned for correspondence then.

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 the on-going negotiations with Maine Forest and Logging Museum (MLFM), and federal and state agencies.  As you will see below, we making progress toward reaching a viable resolution to the dam. 

We know that snail mail is the most effective way to reach members and potential members, but with an eye to managing the funds you have entrusted to us, we will be sending correspondence via email for the foreseeable future.  Producing and mailing correspondence is very costly and time consuming, so hopefully this will work going forward.  If you know of anyone who did not receive this email or someone who would like to, please send a note to Kathy Trenholm:  trenholm2014@gmail.com.  In addition, we will be posting a link on the Chemoponder Facebook page to the CPLA website where this newsletter can be accessed.

  1. The dam: Negotiations regarding resolution of the dams impacting water levels on Chemo are continuing, having gotten back on track due to delays created by the pandemic.  Melissa Doane, Bradley Town Manager, continues to spear-head discussions with DEP, DMR and Leonard’s Mills.  We are grateful for the time, energy, and know-how she is bringing to the discussions.  What has happened so far:
    1. All parties agree on a target level of 125.8. While this is weather dependent, this goal will help guide the final solution. 
    2. DMR hired 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:
      1. A stone weir will be placed upstream of the left and right gates at the Leonard’s Mill Dam.  These weirs would create permanent stable water levels in the Pond, weather depending.  They require no maintenance and could last up to 100 years.
      1. 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.
      1. 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.
  1. It will take approx. 1 year to design and create an implementation plan.  An additional 1-2 years would be needed to secure funding and complete the project.  There is a possibility that this timeline will be accelerated.  Funding may be available from several sources: Brookfield Renewable Energy, funds collected from a lawsuit settle with PERC (Penobscot Energy Recovery Co.), and funding from the federal infrastructure program.  CPLA has committed to $1,000 toward the project and there may be a need for additional private funding—TBD.  In addition, the towns of Bradley, Clifton, and Eddington have budgeted $1,000 each toward maintenance and the formation of an advisory board to oversee water level management once the project is completed.  For more information, please see the article published by the Bangor Daily News online, February 2, 2022.  It has been posted on the Chemoponder FB page and on the CPLA website.

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 4+ years.  And the pandemic did not help.  We hope that with involvement of the three towns, cooperation from DMR, DEP and LM, the agreed upon plan will come to fruition.  We appreciate your on-going patience and support.  It is not easy to stand by and wait, but we ask you to continue to do just that.  We have made great progress and believe that all parties involved are now committed to a workable solution.

In case you would like a review of where we have been, we are providing a summary of the dam negotiations over the past 3 years.

  1. In December 2018, we submitted a proposal to Leonard Mills to purchase the roll dam.  LM met with federal and states agencies who encouraged them to have that dam removed in return for improvements to the LM dam these agencies claim they will fund.
  • Establishment of the Blackman Stream Advisory Committee (BSAC).  After several discussions with MFLM and state and federal agencies, it was determined that a committee should be formed to reach a resolution to the roll dam that will meet the needs of all parties.  March 2019, we had our first meeting which included representatives from:  US Fish and Wildlife, Maine Dept of Marine Resources, Maine Forest and Logging Museum and CPLA. It was a productive meeting where we agreed that our purpose was to resolve lake water levels and to maintain water levels that meet the needs of the LM, fish and wildlife, and Chemo Pond residents.  This first meeting allowed participants to air concerns and articulate needs—and to agree on how to work together going forward. 

Throughout the summer we continued to meet.  We agreed upon a water level target of 125.8 (the height of the roll dam) and began to discuss how CPLA and MFLM would work together to manage this target at the Museum if the roll dam is removed.  And this is where we have run into difficulty.   MFLM was uncomfortable utilizing a mechanism that would achieve the agreed upon water level target and we were not willing to enter into an agreement that is guaranteed to give us less. 

Consequently, we decided to engage expert advice and counsel.  Andy Hamilton, an environmental attorney from Eaton Peabody, provided invaluable support and guidance in a process that had gotten increasingly complicated.  We had several productive discussions with representatives from several state agencies and investigated a variety of options.  Our goal was to find a solution that met the needs of all parties:  1)   CPLA:  maintain a water level of approx. 125.8 in the lake, weather conditions permitting; 2) DMR:  uninhibited fish passage during critical times of the year and resolution of maintenance/management issues; 3) limited responsibility for maintaining water levels in the Pond for MFLM.  Unfortunately, the process fell apart in October 2019.  Even though there was common ground we all shared, a common resolution was not achieved which was frustrating since we had 10 meetings from March-Oct.

And then the pandemic hit, which essentially eliminated the ability to move forward for the past year.  Now, as you have seen above, discussions have restarted and are progressing toward a viable resolution.

If you have any questions or want to provide input, please contact any of the CPLA board members.  We would appreciate your sharing your concerns and ideas with us rather than approaching the various parties individually.  It keeps our message clear and on point which, at this juncture, is critical in avoiding misunderstanding and confusion. Board members’ contact information is on the last page of this document.

  1. Annual Meeting.  We are planning on having our annual meeting this year. It will be held Saturday, July 16 from 11-1. Location TBD. Refreshments will be provided and additional information regarding progress on water resolution will be shared.  It is also an opportunity to elect new members to the board.  We would love to have you participate.
  2. New!!!  Family Fun Day!  We thought it would be fun to celebrate Chemo Pond in the winter with things that winter fans love to do.  So—we are announcing the First Annual Chemo Pond Frost “Bite” Fishing Derby, Saturday, February 26th!  This is a great time to bring your friends and family to enjoy the pond with some healthy competition.  For this first time out, we are keeping things pretty simple.  The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Registration will be at an icehouse in the vicinity of Scotts Point—more details on that in the near future. The fee will be $5.00 per person.  The goal of this event is to get people out on the ice, have some fun and raise funds for the Association.  With that in mind, 50% of the funds collected will be awarded for the longest fish in 3 species:  Pickerel, Perch and Bass.  More information will be posted on the Chemoponders FB page so stay tuned and put February 26th on your calendar!
  3. 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 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.

  1. 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.

  1. Our Facebook page:  ChemoPonders.  We launched this last year and already have 197 members!  And we get requests to participate every week.  So, please join!  You will need to submit a request to the group since this is a private group which we will then approve provided you have a connection to the Pond.  People are sharing information about the Pond, pictures, reaching out for advice.  It is an easy way to stay connected with one another. It is also an excellent way to quickly share information with each other! 
  1. Contribute your ideas and knowledge to help guide the Board in making decisions that will be in the best interest of the community and the Pond and the larger eco-system.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding the lake, please address them to one of the board members.  We are committed to representing all points of view.  The board members are:
    1. Charlie Clemons, Bradley:                           chemoponder@gmail.com; 207-299-2964
    1. Bonny Freeman:                                             bonnyfreeman@gmail.com; 207-944-0809
    1. Ron Colley, Bradley:                                      rcolley636@aol.com; 207-478-6242
    1. Carolyn Miller, Clifton                                  carmillr@live.com; 207-944-3655
    1. Leo “Butch” Robichaud, Eddington           butchrobichaud@gmail.com
    1. Rudy Shorette, Bradley                                 exilebear1@gmail.com; 207-843-5575
    1. Kathy Trenholm                                              trenholm2014@gmail.com; 508-450-0276
    1. Leslie Spencer, Clifton                                  takecaremassage@aol.com; 207-884-8603
    1. Leslie Sturzenberger, Bradley                     lsalgonquin@earthlink.net; 315-569-7990
  • Current Volunteer Opportunities

There are a number of options where you can contribute and share your knowledge and energy:

  1. Join the CPLA Board. The CPLA Board is responsible for advocating for Chemo Pond with the surrounding towns, state, and federal agencies. We also coordinate activities around the pond and work to make stewardship of the pond and its environs our top priority.  Please consider volunteering.  The 8 of the 9 people who originally signed up for the board in October 2017, are still involved, and while we appreciate the commitment they have had to the organization and the board, we would love to have new faces and new voices. Thank you, Bonny Freeman, for stepping up and joining us this year!
  2. Water Quality Monitoring. We currently have 1 person doing the water clarity testing monitoring every 2 weeks from May to October.
  3. Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP). The IPP team works on the day of their choosing for about 2 hours. Each 2-person team has a section of the pond for them to survey for invasive plants. Right now, we only have about 5 teams and can only survey about 1/3 of the shoreline. We can use many volunteers. Participation on and IPP team requires some training. Training is offered free of charge by Lake Stewards of Maine. Because of the coronavirus, in person training will not be scheduled this year. LSM has developed an online training class to become certified in invasive plant identification. The training is divided into 3 parts each with a quiz at the end. Go to www.lakestewardsofmaine.org/invasive-plant-patrol-workshops/ and look for IPP 101. If you complete your training, contact Kathy Trenholm so she can add you to our IPP teams.  Links to the training will be posted on the CPLA website or you can email Kathy Trenholm at chemopondla@gmail.com. Kathy Trenholm coordinates the IPP teams and will help with plant identification if needed. IPP is a very important service for our pond. Early detection of invasive plant growth is critical to eradication. This is a great way to spend a quiet morning out on the pond.

For more information and for back issues of our newsletters and other documentation, please visit our website:  www.chemopond.org.  And you can leave a message at:  chemopondla@gmail.com.

Again, many thanks for joining the Association last year.  And come out and enjoy the lake this winter!

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