Milfoil workshop

To the Editor:

This is a message to all who live on or are emotionally connected to one or more of our eleven ponds in Woodstock and Greenwood plus Songo Pond. Do you know if:

1) Anyone on your pond is trained to identify an invasive weed and is looking for it on a regular basis?

2) Anyone doing a secchi disk test for the Vol. Lake Monitoring Program?

3) Anyone on the lookout for potential water quality problems?

4) Anyone doing a loon count for Maine Audubon on the third Saturday in July?

5) Are there educational posters (Jet Skis are Banned, Boating Safety as well as Milfoil and Look Out for Loons) visible at your boat access or anywhere?

During the annual meeting of the Community Lakes Association on July 10 at the Woodstock Town Office there will be a vote on a proposal by the Board of Directors to change the by laws. We believe that going from two representatives from each town to one representative from each of the ponds will better insure that the above quality issues are addressed for each pond. Currently, there are only three of the eleven ponds represented on the board, Christopher, North and Round.

The Association is sponsoring a workshop on June 26, given by Jim Chandler, our expert on fighting milfoil, at the Maine 4-H Camp in Bryant Pond from 9 to 12 a.m. We encourage people who are concerned about water quality, the protection of wildlife, invasive weeds and boating safety to attend if possible. It would be especially nice to have at least one person from each pond willing take a leadership role.

To enroll in the free workshop or pay $15 annual dues per family contact Betsey Foster, 36 Knoll Road, Greenwood, ME 04255. To learn more about the Lakes Association, go to our website: www.communitylakesassociation.org or our Facebook page Western Maine Community Lakes Association.

Nancy Willard,

President, Community Lakes Association