POLAND – A program that has helped keep Thompson Lake clean and has trained local high school students in conservation practices will be back on the town warrant this year.

The Thompson Lake Youth Conservation Corps will be asking the town for $2,500 to continue its efforts to improve the 35-square-mile watershed around the lake. The Poland Board of Selectmen agreed Tuesday to forward the group’s request to town residents.

Other towns involved and anticipated to provide funding are Otisfield, Oxford and Casco.

“All of the problems aren’t necessarily just on the shoreline,” said David Hankins of Otisfield, who serves on the corps’ steering committee. “And often the solutions are low-tech and low-cost.”

The program began two years ago with a crew of five teenagers and seed money from a federal Clean Water Act grant. The federal grant expired at the end of 2003, and the steering committee hopes to continue its efforts to keep the lake clear, said Hankins. The group is currently seeking corporate and private grants.

The corps and its steering committee cited deforestation and new home construction as primary causes of soil and other pollutants entering the lake. The committee is also concerned with the runoff of phosphorus, a nutrient for plant life but also a catalyst for overabundant algae.

Some of the youth corps projects last summer included shaping diversion ditches, providing landscaping and building open box culverts. The youths provide the labor, while property owners where site improvements are made finance the materials, said Hankins.

The program is budgeted at $33,918 for 2004 and has already identified 15 potential project sites. Last year, the youth corps completed 20 site projects and spent $19,218. The program had budgeted for a crew chief last year but was unable to find a qualified candidate, said Hankins. The position will be reopened and is included in this year’s budget.

Last year, Poland and Casco contributed $2,500 each, while Otisfield and Oxford kicked in $5,000 a piece. The program also received $500 from Wal-Mart and $15,718 in federal grant money.

In addition to a crew chief, Hankins informed the Poland selectmen that he anticipated having to hire new crew members, as well.

Anyone who believes that they may have a watershed problem on their property, or any high school student looking for a summer job may call the Thompson Lake Environmental Association at 539-4535.