More than 30 people showed up for the April 4th Special Membership Meeting to vote on purchasing the Clary Lake dam. The vote passed with overwhelming support. We also had over 100 proxy ballots on hand. Photograph by George Fergusson 04 April 2018

At a Special Clary Lake Association Membership Meeting held last night (picture at left) the Membership overwhelmingly voted to approve the purchase of the Clary Lake dam from the dam owner’s bankruptcy estate for $80,000 and has further authorized the Board to raise and spend the money necessary to make it happen. To that end, we have begun fund raising in earnest. Our current goal is to raise at least $90,000 by May 15th and hopefully much sooner. That figure includes funds for settlement costs and temporary dam repairs so we can start managing the water level to comply with the DEP Water Level Order. If for some reason the sale does not receive Bankruptcy Court approval, all donated funds will be returned, but the chances of that happening are slim. Let’s think positive and get to work!

The unbelievably good news is that we have an anonymous donor who will match donated funds dollar for dollar to go towards the purchase and repair of the dam! The value of a matching funds donor as part of a fund raising campaign cannot be overstated, and we are grateful for this person’s generosity and selfless commitment to helping preserve and protect Clary Lake. Still, even with matching funds, raising this kind of money is a significant challenge. It is however a challenge we must meet if we are to restore our lake to its proper water level, a level that supports our use and enjoyment as well as the fish and wildlife habitat that so many of us care about.

This morning we kicked off our fund raising campaign, sending letters to our Membership, to Clary Lake shore owners who are not Association members, and to a number of Friends of Clary Lake in and around the local community, and to local businesses. There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this post that you have received or will shortly receive a fundraising letter. We’re asking for your help raising the money we need to buy the dam. Perhaps you’ve tried to launch your boat at the State boat launch recently but were unable to because of low water. Perhaps you wanted to duck hunt in the great marsh last fall but couldn’t because there was no water out there. Perhaps you just wanted to take the family swimming for an afternoon but your favorite swimming hole was all mud and cattails. Whatever your connection to Clary Lake, the water level crisis of the last 7 years has no doubt changed it for the worse. We’ll all benefit from the lake being restored, and we hope you will contribute to help make it happen. Contributions of any size are welcome, and all will be matched, dollar for dollar. We are simply asking you to make as generous a tax-deductible gift as your circumstances allow, knowing that by doing so you are investing to preserve and protect Clary Lake.

You’ll notice there is now a Donation Thermometer with a link to our Donation Page near the top of the sidebar on most pages on this site to help track our fund raising progress. Please help us fund this exciting initiative! Simply download and print this donation form and send it along with your check to:

Clary Lake Association
PO Box 127
Whitefield ME 04353

Alternatively, you can go to our Donate to the Association page and make a contribution directly via PayPal. Easy! Finally, if you’re not already a Clary Lake Association member, please consider joining and by so doing, help us protect Clary Lake. Dues are $25 per member per year and multiple members per family is not just allowed, but encouraged. You can sign up on line on our Signup or Renew Your Membership page, or download a printable Membership Form and send it in with your check. We’re currently signing up new members for the upcoming 2018/2019 membership year.

With your help, we can do this!