WOODSTOCK — The Community Lakes Association held its annual meeting on 9 July at the old Greenwood town hall. The Community Lakes Association (CLA) protects and improves the ecosystems of our lakes and ponds and promotes respectful stewardship among all users of the waterways in Greenwood and Woodstock.
We accomplish this by:
• Educating ourselves and others on issues and practices that help preserve our ponds.
• Supporting activities that assure maintenance of high environmental standards.
• Fighting the introduction or spread of invasive species.
Membership is open to everyone who loves these ponds and lakes.
CLA efforts for the past year were presented by the board of directors and included:
1. Treasury report was provided by Karyn Franks, CLA Treasurer, and included the 2021 budget and expenditures as well as the planned 2022 budget.
2. Ed Leonard, Lake Reps Chair, reviewed the role of lake representatives and the importance of having representatives on each pond to help the CLA to better serve the landowners and users of our lakes in our mission to protect and improve the ecosystems of our lakes and ponds and promote respectful stewardship among all users of the waterways in Greenwood and Woodstock.
3. Water quality test results (to date) for the ponds in Woodstock and Greenwood covered by the CLA were presented by Carl Plassmann, Water Quality Chair. Water clarity testing is ongoing with results in line with past year averages. Carl also provided an overview of the newly purchased dissolved oxygen meter which will be used to test the ponds later this summer.
4. Ongoing efforts for the control of invasive plants were covered by Jim Chandler, Invasive Species Coordinator. New England Milfoil is working on milfoil removal in the Lake Christopher outlet pond during the week of 11 July. Also, there are ongoing efforts to remove the few plants remaining in Lake Christopher.
5. Education Chair, Cheryl Shattenberg-Plassmann, provided information on Invasive Plant Patrols (IPPs) planned for this summer, dangers of algae blooms and how to prevent them, and results from 2021 loon count for the State of Maine. IPPS are scheduled for Lake Christopher at 10 on 10 and 23 July and for Round Pond at 10 on 13 August. For more details, please visit our website at https://www.communitylakesassociation.org.
6. Communications Chair, Tom Franks, provided updates on the CLA website and recent additions for online payment of CLA membership dues and donations.
Guest speakers were Dustin Dorr from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Kingston Brown, Code Enforcement Officer for the Town of Woodstock. They presented information about the Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA) and answered questions on DEP and town lake regulations and permitting.
Presentations were followed by the annual election of officers. This year Jim Chandler, the CLA president for the past two years and one of the founders of the CLA, has decided to step down from this role. This role will be filled by newly elected president Cheryl Shattenberg-Plassmann. The other elected positions include Vice President (Carl Plassmann), Treasurer (Karyn Franks), and Secretary (Martha Kelley).
For more information on the CLA, please visit our website at https://www.communitylakesassociation.org and our Facebook page: Western Maine Community Lakes Association.
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