The Maine Lakes Society has mailed their Spring 2020 Newsletter and it’s been made available as a PDF for online viewing. Enjoy. It’s a very nice newsletter with several very interesting articles including one on Snapping Turtles and another on Toxic Algal Blooms. Totally worth perusing this newsletter:
Maine Lakes Society’s This Week’s Hero
I blame my father. I’m not one to seek attention but I suppose this is news and if I don’t share it here, no one will 🙂
From the Maine Lakes website’s 50 Lake Heroes for Our 5oth Anniversary post:
George Fergusson, Clary Lake
In 2011, Clary Lake and its Association were in trouble. A dispute with the owner of the dam controlling the lake level was leading toward seven years of unswimmable, unboatable water and significant environmental damage to the natural resource. Only 28 of 100+ littoral owners were members. Now in 2019, thanks to the unwavering efforts of George Fergusson, the Association’s long-time Secretary, the CLA has purchased and repaired the dam, the water level has been restored, and 148 (!) members can once again enjoy the benefits of a healthy lake.
George has lived on Clary Lake his entire adult life, and has been its prime steward for decades. He instigated the 2012 petition to DEP for a Lake Level Order, and then bore the brunt of legal harassment by the dam owner that prevented the Order from being implemented for five years. This included endless hours compiling and drafting documents for court, attending innumerable hearings, and managing fund-raising for legal expenses. His personal solicitation of new members meant that when the dam fell into bankruptcy, the Association could raise $120,000 for purchase and repair. George is a certified Water Quality Monitor, and has measured and maintained daily records of the lake level for years, information that was crucial to DEP’s recent approval of CLA’s Water Level Management Plan. He has been tireless in meeting with town officials, state agency staff, the press, contractors, and attorneys to keep the effort moving forward, and continually encouraged the Board of the CLA even when the quest seemed hopeless and endless.
Lake Stewards of Maine Informational Webinars
I will post updates as new webinars are announced.
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Matt Scott is the founding father of Maine’s “Lakes Program”. He was the first biologist hired through Maine DEP in the early 1970’s, at which time he established a lake-focused research and protection unit that soon gained widespread recognition and respect. Matt was the driving force behind the formation of the first statewide citizen lake monitoring program, which continues to this day as Lake Stewards of Maine (formerly Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program). He currently lives in Belgrade.
Lloyd Irland has served in Maine state and local government, as a consultant, and is an author writing on a range of topics concerning Maine’s natural resources. He has recently advanced the research regarding changes in the phenology of ice cover on Maine lakes. Lloyd is currently writing a book on Maine’s wildland rivers, and lives on a tributary to Androscoggin Lake in Wayne.
Roberta is an aquatic ecologist and environmental educator. She has been active in the field of lake protection and community outreach in Maine for thirty years and has been instrumental in the creation and development of some of Maine’s most successful and long-standing lake education programs. Currently the Invasive Species Program Director for Lake Stewards of Maine, Roberta is the originator and coordinator of LSM’s internationally recognized Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) program, through which close to 5,000 individuals (volunteers, professionals, agency personnel, students, teachers and others) have been trained to screen Maine waterbodies for the presence of invasive aquatic plants. Roberta is the principal author of the Maine Field Guide to Invasive Aquatic Plants and co-author of Citizens’ Guide to Invasive Aquatic Plant Management.
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Hatha Yoga Classes at Clary Lake Bed & Breakfast This Summer
Looking for something to do this summer near Clary Lake? There will be Hatha Yoga classes held at Clary Lake Bed & Breakfast this summer! The classes will be held outdoors on Saturdays from 10-11 am. Classes will start June 13th, and continue all Saturdays throughout the summer until the end of August, with the exception of the 4th of July.
This is the second year these classes have been held at Clary Lake B&B. For more information please contact Kathryn Jensen or Linda Gallion.
03 June 2020: Floating Loon Nest Found After 21 Years
Back in the spring of 1999 Bob Antognoni and Art Enos built a floating loon nest platform and installed it at the back of the deep cove on the north shore where our loons have traditionally liked to nest. There is no record of whether or not the loons ever used it for a nest site though it’s entirely likely. I’ve looked for the nest off and on over the years and have figured it was long gone. Imagine my surprise when I was out and about yesterday evening to see if I could find where the loons are nesting this year, and spied something floating. I rowed closer and sure enough, the loon nest is still floating after 21 years! Even the wire screen that supported the nest area is still intact. I believe it was constructed out of dry peeled cedar and bolted together with galvanized carriage bolts. Clearly it was built to last! Bob would no doubt be glad to know it has survived this long. Continue reading
May 2020 Water Level Chart Archived
May 2020
I have archived the May 2020 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing about May was how stable the water level was, hovering right around the top of the dam and varying only a little more than 2 inches (0.18 feet) over the course of the entire month. This was by design of course. We started the month at the low of 150.79 feet, hit a high of 150.97 feet on the 22nd, and ended the month at 150.82 feet, only a fraction of an inch higher than we started. This was by design of course: the WLO specifies that after ice out in the Spring we should raise the lake to it’s “full capacity” and keep it as close to that level as possible through the end of July. We consider the lake is at “full capacity” when the water is lapping at the top of the dam, despite the fact that the elevation of the “High Water Mark” is roughly 3 inches higher; we obviously can’t be expected to maintain a lake level where water is running over the top of the dam. Continue reading
CLA 2020 Summer Newsletter Mailed
The Clary Lake Association’s 2020 Summer Newsletter went in the mail a few days ago. If you live in Whitefield or Jefferson it has probably already been delivered. If you’re out of Town or out of State, it’ll probably take another day or two to reach you. The biggest news item is that the CLA Board at their regular May meeting a few weeks ago decided out of an abundance of caution to cancel this year’s Annual Meeting, originally scheduled for August 7th. It was not an easy decision to make, we considered just postponing it and also how we could hold a meeting while trying to maintain social distance and cancelling the pot luck supper but in the final analysis, given the uncertainty of what this summer may bring and given that pretty much all other public events have been cancelled this summer that we needed to follow suit. Dave Knight in his “President’s Message” does a good job of explaining our thought process around this issue. The health and safety of our Membership is of paramount importance. The newsletter discusses our deliberations around this issue. Continue reading
29 May 2020: AQF Files Brief in WLO Transfer Appeal
On May 27th Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] by their counsel Dennis Carrillo finally filed their brief in their ongoing appeal of the Maine DEP’s December 2018 Order transferring the Clary Lake Water Level Order [WLO] to the Clary Lake Association [CLA]. To remind everyone how we got here: when the CLA purchased the Clary Lake dam in October 2018, DEP rules required we file an application with the Department requesting the Order be transferred from Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (in whose name it was originally issued) to the CLA. We did that, and the DEP approved the transfer request in early December 2018. Later that month AQF appealed the DEP transfer order to the Board of Environmental Protection [BEP] who subsequently denied their appeal at a hearing held in Augusta in June 2019. AQF then appealed the BEP ruling to Kennebec County Superior Court in July 2019. In early February 2020 the Kennebec County Superior Court judge granted a motion to change the venue to Lincoln County. In early March of this year, a scheduling order was issued and AQF has finally filed their brief, which brings to now.
Here’s the AQF brief:
25 May 2020: Courtesy Boat Inspection Program Under Way
Our 2020 Courtesy Boat Inspection program is underway and our first (long) weekend is behind us. The big surprise was the lack of traffic for Memorial Day weekend! Over three days our volunteers conducted only 24 inspections (we inspect water craft both entering and leaving the lake) many of which were kayaks or paddle boards. Perhaps the sub-zero temperatures this weekend has had something to do with the lack of traffic 😯
Another surprising thing: many of the motor boats did not have 2020 registrations! The main reason people cited were closed town offices and in most cases they said they’ve registered their boats online but haven’t received the stickers yet. Not particularly surprising was the pile of trash (and a full diaper) that our intrepid volunteers collected and hauled off on Saturday. Good grief. What is wrong with people? Many people use my field in Jefferson to access the lake, and they generally do a pretty good job of keeping it clean and respecting the land. If I found a fraction of this amount of trash on my property I’d close down access in a heartbeat. Why do people think they can treat the State boat launch this way?
Last year we recorded data on paper forms which we scanned and emailed to Midcoast Conservancy who did the data entry for us. This year our inspectors are entering their own data at the boat launch directly into the DEP database using a cool phone app developed for the purpose. This is much much more efficient. The data is immediately available for review on the 2020 Maine Courtesy Boat Inspection Dashboard. Cool technology.
We’ll be conducing boat inspections at the State boat launch off the North Clary Road from 6 AM to 2 PM on Saturdays and Sundays through Labor Day and perhaps further into the fall. If you’re out and about stop by and say hello!
Memorial Day
The Clary Lake Association Board wishes everyone a safe, meaningful, and memorable Memorial Day on this Day of Remembrance, May 25, 2020. In these trying times, as difficult as they are, we still have much to be thankful for and many to thank. Be safe out there.
6 May 2020: Browntail Moth Season Ahead!
A Browntail Moth caterpillar with the 2 distinctive orange dots at one end of it’s body.
Any day now, over-wintered Browntail Moth caterpillars will start to emerge from their tree-top leaf nests and start eating. Last year they did a great job (?) of defoliating Oak trees around Clary Lake and spreading their poisonous hairs all over the place. The south shore of the lake by Hodsdon Lane was particularly hard hit. I haven’t seen near as many Browntail moth nests in the trees around my house this spring, making me think this year the infestation may be less severe than last year, but it still pays to be alert to the risk they pose to our trees and our health. According to the newly published Browntail Moth Risk Map (PDF | 2.44 MB) however, the towns of Whitefield and Jefferson still have a HIGH Browntail Moth Risk Rating. Continue reading
April 2020 Water Level Chart Archived
April 2020
I have archived the April 2020 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing about April (aside from the cold weather!) was the excessive rainfall we received which resulted in a short but intense period of extreme high water. Two back-to-back storms on the 9th and the 13th dropped a total of 3.65 inches of precipitation. In addition to a good charge of rain, the first storm also included about 8 inches of very heavy wet snow which completely melted during the second weather event, which was all rain. The resulting runoff from both storms caused the lake level to rise quickly, cresting at 151.75 feet or fully 0.58 feet above the High Water Mark, by far the highest we’ve seen the lake in a long time. The last time I saw more water going over the dam was during the Patriot’s Day storm back in 2007. According to our Dam Operation Log total outflows peaked around 230 cubic feet per second. We hurriedly opened the gate all the way the day before the storm and left it open for 5 days to help drain off some water, and the lake level quickly returned to where we want it this time of year: at or very close to the top of the dam.
We received a total of 6.25 inches of precipitation in April, fully 2.38 inches more than the monthly average of 3.87 inches. This brings us to 16.14 inches for the year to date or 2.70 inches more than the average of 13.44 inches. We’ll see if this trend keeps up in May.
Here are a few pictures from the April 14th high water event:
27 April 2020: Maine VA health care professionals deploy to New York City
Ms. Nora Hoesing (pictured at left) is one of the nurses headed for New York City to help out with the Coronavirus Pandemic and mentioned in this CentralMaine.com article. She bought a camp on Clary Lake a few years ago. I have never met her, but I sure look forward to meeting her some day and thanking her for her service. Good luck Nora!
04 April 2020: Clary Lake Full Once Again
A few days ago when I posted about archiving the March water level chart I said I expected the lake would fill soon, but that was before we received heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. That did the trick! This morning the lake had risen to an elevation of 150.96 feet and water was just beginning to flow over the top of the dam (picture at left). What a pleasant sight! While the current lake level is still 0.21 feet below the HWM, I consider the lake to be full when water is just beginning to flow over the top of the dam. Dave Knight and I went over this morning and installed the 6th and final stop log and opened the gate just a wee bit to tweak the outflows. Our goal now will be to maintain this water level (or close to it) through the end of July. The current minimum flows of 35.9 cfs drop to 8.3 cfs on May 16th.
Once More To The Lake
E. B. White
I remember my Mother reading me E. B. White’s short story “Once More to the Lake” when I was a child, it was one of her favorite stories, and one of mine. It’s been many, many years since I last read it, or anything by E. B. White for that matter. He’s one of my favorite authors. The other day a friend of mine sent me a copy with the comment “A big part of the story could take place on Clary lake and reminds me of my summers in Maine as a kid.” Well, it reminds me of my summers in Maine as a kid as well so I decided to post it on the website, for all of you who’ve never enjoyed “Once More to the Lake” and also for those who have. Enjoy. Summer is coming. Continue reading
03 April 2020: Clary Lake is Featured Lake on Lakes of Maine Website
Lake Stewards of Maine maintains several great websites including the Lakes of Maine site which provides detailed technical information about most lakes in Maine, including Clary Lake. They also feature a different Maine lake on their website every month including a picture and a brief write up about the lake. April’s Lake-of-the-Month is Clary Lake! The picture they’re using for Clary Lake was taken by David Hodsdon. Another cool site maintained by Lake Stewards of Maine is the Near Real Time Lake Data site.
02 April 2020: Local Woman Tests Positive for Covid-19
Many of you know Arlene Wing. Arlene is a Registered Nurse and went through CDC sponsored pandemic training about 15 years ago. She has continued to study microbiology and epidemiology and not surprisingly, she has a much better grasp than most people of what happens when epidemics and pandemics arise. Back at the beginning of March of this year she started a Facebook page called “About Covid 19.” Her intention has been to post helpful information about Covid 19 without the politics, spin, and hyperbole that accompanies so much 0f what’s out there, and to offer her unique perspective into this pandemic in the belief that being informed and prepared reduces fear and improves outcomes. I’ve been following her page since she started it, and have found her posts to be both helpful and informative. Continue reading
March 2020 Water Level Chart Archived
March 2020
I have archived the March 2020 Water Level Chart (at left) which for what it’s worth was labeled “Clary Lake Water Level February 2020” for the entire month of March due to an oversight on my part. Hope nobody was confused about what month it really was! The remarkable thing the March water level chart reflects is the relatively stable water level that lasted through the whole month, hovering right around 1 foot below the HWM for most of the month. Normally, long about the middle of March precipitation and rising temperatures cause the snow to start melting, and runoff starts to increase which usually more or less coincides with the change in minimum flows from the wintertime rate of 11.3 cfs to the springtime rate of 35.9 cfs. It’s about mid-March that we start to install some stop logs in the weir to start raising the lake level while at the same time opening the gate to produce the higher outflows required by a the change in minimum flows. This year however there wasn’t any snow to melt so that big charge of runoff that Continue reading
28 March 2020: We Have An Ice Out Contest Winner!
Linda Gallion
Finally! David Hodsdon has proclaimed this year’s ice out date to be March 27th. That was the day when all the ice was completely gone from the coves and inlets around the lake. That makes Linda Gallion (picture at left, from last year’s Annual Meeting) the winner of our 2020 Ice Out Contest! Her’s was the closest guess (March 24th) without going over. Linda has been a long time CLA member and served as Treasurer for ten years from 2005 to 2015. Congratulations Linda! Hope you enjoy your tee shirt! Many thanks to all who participated in our first Clary Lake Ice Out Contest. Here are their guesses:
2020 Ice Out Contest Guesses
Ice Out was determined to be March 27th. The closest guess wins!| Name | Guess |
|---|---|
| Jane Chase | 03/14/20 |
| Rick Gallion | 03/14/20 |
| Jack Holland | 03/17/20 |
| June M. Lordi | 03/23/20 |
| Linda Gallion | 03/24/20 |
| ICE OUT: | 03/27/2020 |
| Lee Prager | 03/28/20 |
| Paul Devlin | 03/28/20 |
| Steve Cowles | 03/29/20 |
| Malcolm B | 03/29/20 |
| David Knight | 04/01/20 |
| Carolyn Curtis | 04/02/20 |
| Gareth Bowen | 04/03/20 |
| Leslie Gillette | 04/04/20 |
| Terry Crummett | 04/07/20 |
| Kate Seba | 04/09/20 |
| Arlene Wing | 04/12/20 |
| Karen Stutzer | 04/14/20 |
| Dan Burns | 04/16/20 |
If you think it took a longer than usual for the lake to become ice-free this year it is because it did! I don’t think the ice was really ready to melt off, but a heavy rain event on March 13th which dropped 1.20 inches of rain followed by strong winds the next day got rid of a lot of ice on the north side of the lake. There were actually people ice fishing the previous weekend. After that initial melt-off, the ice seemed to take forever to melt out of the coves on the south side, and down by the boat launch.
22 March 2020: Ice Taking Its Time Going Out
This Clary Cam 3 video from this morning shows just how leisurely Ice Out is this year 🙂