31March 2013: End of Month Summary
Category Archives: News
30 March 2013: A lot like spring out there today, and other thoughts
Gorgeous day out there today, I’d say most of the north side of the lake is ice-free, perhaps about 1/4 of the lake total- enough so that open water is now easily visible on the web cam from over here on the south shore.
I’d like to thank those of you who corresponded with me about the recent article in the Lincoln County News. No, I don’t think Butch’s plan to have the dam removed stands a chance of happening; it’s just silly, as is his idea of “farming” the meadow. In the old days folks likely pastured some cows out there part of the year when it wasn’t flooded, and we know they cut meadow hay during a short window of opportunity in the early summer, but that’s about the extent of the “farming” that took place in Clark’s Meadow. We all know why Butch would like the water level kept low- his reasons are purely selfish. I will be sending a letter to the editor next week.
Some of you may have noticed that I went ahead and converted all the old legacy photo albums to new WordPress NextGen albums. I hadn’t planned on doing that but it turned out to be pretty easy. They offer more utility and convenience and do a better job of displaying pictures. Sadly, they don’t handle documents like PDF files of which there are a boatload on the site. I’ll have to look for another solution to manage and maintain those.
Finally, I stopped by the dam this afternoon to measure the outflow from the lake; came up with a figure of 35 cubic feet per second which is about what is expected with the lake level 40″± below the top of the dam. Have been wondering if there’s a way to estimate Clary outflows with any degree of accuracy using flow data from the USGS Sheepscot river gauging station located at the bottom of Grand Army Hill. More on this when I find some spare time.
Reminder: This coming Wednesday the 3rd DEP is supposed to distribute the results of the bathymetric survey they performed last September. Stay tuned 🙂
27 March 2013: Landowner opposes raising Clary Lake level
Butch Duncan has gotten himself in the paper. This article appeared in today’s Lincoln County News on page 16. Thanks to Jack Holland for bringing it to my attention.
23 March 2013: Branch Pond Petition, Odds and Ends
I got an email today from Brandon Kulik, the petition contact person for the Branch Pond water level petition. He said that DEP has scheduled a Public Hearing on their petition for Friday June 28th, time and place to be determined. Thought I’d pass that along for those of you who might want to go- I plan to attend to lend my support to their effort.
I’ve added that event and those that are now scheduled on our petition to the Association’s Event Calendar so that you can follow along. In a little over a week, things start up again and the next couple of months promise to be busy. Starting on April 3rd we receive the results of the bathymetric survey DEP performed the field work on last September 21st, and the new data resulting from that survey: a revised contour report, minimum flows recommendation, and maximum annual fluctuation. I have to believe that this new data and lake model based upon it is more accurate and better reflects the environmental impact of water level fluctuations on Clary Lake.
14 March 2013: Whitefield Town Meeting This Coming Saturday
The Whitefield Town Meeting is this coming Saturday the 16th of March to be held at the Whitefield School. Polls open at 8 am and close at 12 noon so if you’re a Whitefield resident and you want to vote, plan accordingly.
Our own Association member Sue McKeen told me the other day that she’s running for the Whitefield Planning Board as a write-in candidate. Sue has been on the planning board in the past which of course begs the question why on earth she wants to be on the PB again. I can only assume she feels there is work left to be done. I’ll be voting for her.
13 March 2013: Spring Rain, Canceling Newsletter Plans
The Winter 2013 edition of the Clary Lake Clarion Cancelled
I’ve always been a firm believer in the value of a hard-copy newsletter and 2 issues a year if at all possible, but no surprise, I’m canceling plans for the Winter 2013 edition mainly because it’s already spring and I’ve got more than enough on my plate to keep me busy without trying to crank out a newsletter too. Besides, this web site is doing a pretty good job of keeping people informed and in touch. We’ll send out a newsletter this June with a notice about the annual meeting, a dues notice and membership subscription form, and what have you.
Spring Rains Bring Welcome Lake Level Rise
Yesterday’s 0.78″ of rain combined with snow melt was enough to bring the lake up over 9″ so far (see today’s water level chart) and I expect it will rise a few more inches over the next 24 hours. Colder weather later this week will likely slow down the rate of runoff for a while. As nice as it is to see the lake come up, we should be prepared for exceptionally low water conditions this spring and into summer. This should not come as a surprise to anyone: the dam’s gate is still wide open and there is no significant snow pack left. This situation no doubt suits Kelley who wants to keep the lake from rising to the level of the breach in the dam. For what it’s worth, we’re now at that peculiar lake level where additional runoff causes the lake to mostly spread out over the shallow water areas, increasing the surface area without significantly raising the lake level so the lake is in a position to absorb considerable runoff for a while without rising that much. If you recall last year’s water level chart you’ll remember the large rain events we had in late April and again in very early June which brought the lake up to -19″ below the top of the dam- the highest it got last year. I might add that such water level fluctuation turned out to be disastrous for nesting water fowl, including the loons. I wonder what this season will bring?
09 March 2013: Comet Panstarrs to put on a March show
There’s a comet in the early evening sky these days, Comet Panstarrs. It should be a binocular object. I’m going up to Highland Cemetery this evening about sunset (5:30 pm) to see if I can spot it. The following NASA web site page has information about the comet, as well as a finder chart. You’ll need to find a location with a low western horizon because it’s faint and pretty close to the sun.
07 March 2013: Lincoln County News Article
An article by Shlomit Auciello is in this week’s Lincoln County News. Here’s a link to the online version:
Regulator Denies Motion To Dismiss Clary Lake Dam Petition
It’s a good article, all things considered- certainly more fair and balanced than a few previous articles by Ms. Auciello. It appears she contacted Tony Buxton for comment though she made no attempt to contact me.
I’ve downloaded a copy in PDF format and posted in the Newspaper Clippings directory:
04 March 2013: Department of Environmental Protection Procedural Order #5
The wait is over! Beth Callahan has sent around Procedural Order #5 and an Updated Service List. I haven’t finished reading the Order but I wanted to get it posted ASAP. I’ll update this post and the Petition News page shortly.
Update: Pleasant Pond Mill’s motion to dismiss the petition was denied on all grounds. This doesn’t come as a surprise as I have been saying all along that the allegations in the motion to dismiss were outrageous and unfounded, but still it is a relief to see the decision in writing. As a stalling tactic it was first class but I dare say it did not have the intended effect. It would also appear that Mr. Buxton’s reputation with the Department has been somewhat sullied as a result of some unfortunate and unsavory interactions he had with DEP staff over this. Too bad. Going forward that will not help their case.
DEP has yet to rule on my motion to supplement the record with additional information. They will do that with another Procedural Order in the near future and I fully expect that motion to be GRANTED and if it is not, I’m sure they’ll have a VERY GOOD REASON.
What’s next? Well the results of the September 21st Bathymetric Survey performed by the department will be made available to all parties on April 3rd and by this I take it they mean both the survey itself as well as a revised minimum flows recommendation and contour report. This will be followed by a comment and question period. There was no mention of when the Findings of Fact will be requested.
04 March 2013: KJ Article in Today’s Paper
The long-awaited article by Paul Koenig, reporter for the Kennebec Journal is in today’s paper and it’s also available online at this address:
Accusations, legal briefs fly in battle over future of Clary Lake dam
There’s an opportunity to comment at the end of the article. Please do! I’ll offer my own review and comment later today.
Update: The article has also appeared in the Morning Sentinel, but without pictures:
Gloom prevalent tone on Clary Lake future
Can’t say as I like the title much. Gloom may be what Paul Kelley is feeling about now, but I’m quite elated 🙂
I’ve posted a PDF copy of the article.
28 February 2013: Water Level Measurements, Pictures, Server Issues
I’ve updated the Water level Chart for the first time in a week, and seeing as how it’s the end of the month, I’ve posted the February 2013 Water Level Chart which shows that the lake level stayed within a tight range the entire month, fluctuating only about ±1.5″ and ending the month just 1/2″ lower than it started. We received a total of 1.82″ of precipitation for the month.
Boy I’m ready for spring. I managed to crack a rib last weekend so I pretty much gave up on shoveling snow and chopping a hole in the ice to check the water level but when I checked today, there was actually some open water right along the shore so I was able to get an accurate measurement with no shoveling and no chopping.
I haven’t yet had a chance to scan the pictures that Jane Chase gave me last week, but I’ll get a round tuit as soon as I can- perhaps this weekend. I also still plan to put together a gallery of pictures Colin Caissie took during a cross country ski jaunt down the channel to the dam. I’ve spent most of my copious spare time recently working on the server that hosts this (and other) web sites. Some of you may have noticed the site either being slow to respond or not responding at all for a while. This resulted partly from a miss-allocation of resources and partly due to a lack of routine maintenance. These issues have been rectified so you shouldn’t see any more problems.
26 February 2013: DEP Decision and KJ Article Pending!
Senator Chris Johnson called me today to let me know he was told that the Department has drafted a decision on the motion to dismiss and that it is currently under review, presumably by folks in the Attorney General’s office. I say presumably because Chris didn’t give me any details about whom he spoke to or what they told him. Obviously, he couldn’t tell me how long it will be before we hear something either. I’d like to think it will be sooner rather than later but having waited this long, I’m content to wait a little longer. It is good to know that the long wait is finally almost over.
At this point I’d rather not speculate further on what to expect, but assuming the DEP has decided NOT to dismiss the petition then processing of the petition will resume where it left off. This would include ruling on my motion to supplement the record with additional information, and setting a deadline for submission of our findings of fact.
I also spoke with Paul Koenig of the Kennebec Journal today- it looks like he will be writing an article that may appear in the KJ as early as this coming weekend. He said he’d let me know if/when he knew more, so stay tuned.
21 February 2013: Resumed Water Level Measurements, Etc.
With the warming trend and melting snow of late, I resumed making water level measurements yesterday but with the snow storm due in this weekend I suspect I’ll knock off again for a while. I had to remind myself the other day why I’m making water level measurements: primarily I am interested in modeling the complex hydrological system that is Clary lake. With its variable inflows from runoff and ground water and variable outflows depending on the status of the dam’s gate, how the lake rises and falls at any given time is anything but obvious. There’s a lot to ponder and a lot to learn.
More pictures
Jane Chase has given me some more pictures that I will scan and add to the Chase Family Archive when I get a chance. Also, Colin Caissie has given me a CD full of photographs he 
took last week while cross country skiing down the channel to the dam. He is particularly concerned about the impact that ice flows are having on the shoreline: as result of the historically low water levels, ice flows are plowing up soil, sediments, and sensitive wetland vegetation around the lake. This has already resulted in erosion and sedimentation of the waters of Clary lake as well as the Sheepscot river, a serious condition that will accelerate this spring when ice and snow melts and outflows increase. If you will recall, I expressed similar concerns in a recent post with accompanying photographs in the Winter 2013 album. I’ll post some of Colin’s pictures soon.
18 February 2013: Suspending Water Level Measurements
I’m suspending water level measurements for a while- I went down to the lake this afternoon and just didn’t have it in me to dig through 3′ drifts of snow for 40′ to get out to where the water is. I’ll resume when it warms up a little and some snow melts. At last measure 2 days ago, the lake was down to 145.94′ or -56.40″ below the top of the dam.
Still no word from the DEP on a decision. It’s been 14 days since Senator Chris Johnson talked to Jerry Reid at the District Attorney’s office. It was suggested at that time that if we might hear something “in a couple of weeks.” I’ll look into getting an update later this week if we haven’t heard anything.
09 February 2013 Blizzard
Hope everyone is faring OK in this blizzard, it’s about as bad out there as I can remember- white out conditions, wind chill somewhere around -20° and 3′ drifts in the road. For contrast, there’s no snow in my yard or on my deck- it’s blown clean. I managed to get my cars started and moved after my neighbor blew a hole in my drifted-in driveway. The advice from a Maine Emergency Management Agency spokesperson on Channel 6 this morning: “Stay at home, hunker down, and hope for the best.” 🙂
3′ drifts in my driveway made it a little hard getting my car out.
08 February 2013: Snow storm, a few new pictures.
From the way the main stream media is hyping this storm, you’d think we’d never seen a big snow storm before. That said it does sound like the biggest snow storm we’ve seen in some years. The NOAA Graphical Weather site gives a pretty good picture of what to expect late this afternoon and tonight: blizzard conditions, high winds, and snow. Lots of snow. Stay safe.
I accompanied David Hodsdon on a jaunt up into the (DRAINED) meadow at the northwest
end of Clary lake yesterday afternoon to check it out and take some pictures. I took pictures of David as he used his Gigapan Robotic Camera Platform to take pictures of the meadow. The Gigapan is designed to take multiple images with a regular digital camera which are then combined into a panorama. It was neat to watch as it panned around the horizon snapping pictures without intervention. The camera is a Nikon D7000 digital camera and a wide angle lens (want one). The wide angle lens resulted in a 360° panorama only 1200 x 240 pixels (mine is more than twice that size). The other one he sent me I’ve cropped slightly and added it to the random pool of pictures used as site banners. Both have been added to the Winter 2013 album.
In other news… the lake level has again fallen to -60″ below the top of the dam. I’m not entirely happy with the page layout of the Water Level Chart, the chart is really too small when constrained to fit in the primary column. So when I get a chance I’ll dig into the CSS (Cascading Style Sheets, supposed to make web page design simpler?) and design a better looking page.
Proposed Legislation to Ban All Soft Bait in the State of Maine
Jack Holland brought this matter to my attention. On January 17, state Representative Paul Davis introduced H.P. 37/L.D.42, legislation that would prohibit the use of all “rubber” lures. The legislation seeks to ban “rubber” baits but does not define the term. Even so, the intent of the legislation is clear – to ban the soft baits that Maine anglers use every day.
To add your voice to the growing list of people opposing this legislation, point your browser to http://keepamericafishing.salsalabs.com and fill out their form with your name, address, and email address and click send. Easy. I did it.
Keep America Fishing is recommending that rather than simply passing knee-jerk legislation to regulate something that may not even be a problem, that a real study be conducted to determine if there really is a problem with soft, so-called “rubber” bait.
30 January 2013: Storm coming
It sounds like the next couple of days are going to be pretty nasty. The NOAA weather site suggests we’re looking at 3/4″ to 1″ of rain tonight through tomorrow along with high winds. We don’t have any snow pack to speak of but still, runoff from 3/4″ of rain should bring the lake up at least 6″ to 8″. After the rain it is supposed to freeze up hard, tomorrow afternoon.