The Department of Environmental Protection has issued the FINAL Branch Pond Water Level Order, effective today June 6, 2014. The Branch Pond water level petition was filed on December 9, 2008 but was put on hold by the Department for 3 years to give the dam owners time to effect repairs to the dam. Repairs to the dam were not made however, and processing of the petition resumed in December 2011. I have been following the proceedings since the summer of 2012, and I attended their Public Hearing in August 2013 and we’ve been hosting a few pages for the Branch Pond Association on our site for some time now. It is interesting to note that this Order was signed by Commissioner Patricia Aho herself:
Branch Pond is a beautiful little pond located in the towns of China and Palermo, at the headwaters of the Western Branch of the Sheepscot River. It is well worth a visit. It’s smaller than Clary Lake but it has numerous islands and large relatively shallow water areas. I’ve been up there a couple of times and but I 
haven’t been out on the pond. Yet. I plan to head up there with my kayak later this summer. With my fishing pole. Check out these photographs of Branch Pond. Those showing the impact of low water were part of the Branch Pond Water Level Petition.