POLAND — Selectpersons on Tuesday night scheduled a workshop next month to deal with the environmental and other issues involving Lower, Middle and Upper Range ponds.

Chairman Stephen Robinson proposed the session, which is set for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 29, at a location to be determined. He said the town needs to find out what can be done in terms of preserving clean lakes, implementing erosion control, safe boating measures and illegal parking.

The Select Board wants the workshop to include  local residents, town boards and state officials.

Robinson would also like the Range Pond Lake Association, the town Conservation Commission and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to participate. He said it’s not just a municipal problem.

Selectperson Nathan McNally suggested reaching out to Cyndi Robbins, owner of Cyndi’s Dockside, to attend as well.

Middle Range Pond is experiencing an algal bloom and a sharp decline in water clarity, according to Barry Kutzen, who conducts regular water quality tests on the pond.

Scott Williams, the retired executive director of Lake Stewards of Maine, visited the lake last week. He said the algal bloom is likely not a health concern at this time, although it could become one if the bloom continues to grow. Generally, toxic conditions can develop when water visibility hits 8 feet or less.

In other business, the board unanimously voted to rescind the All-Terrain Vehicle Use Permit to the Bog Hooters ATV Club to operate on the abandoned railroad bed from Mechanic Falls to Poland Corner Road and the land behind the Regional School Unit 16 Administration Offices at Poland Corner Road to Route 26.

Destruction and abuse of private property along the trail prompted the board to end the two-year trial,  which was to end in April of 2023.

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