WILTON — Friends of Wilson Lake will hold its annual meeting July 19, offering updates on water-quality monitoring, lake protection programs, loon activity and watershed planning.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Lions Club building, 364 Main St. in Wilton.

The Friends of Wilson Lake, or FOWL, will hear reports on its courtesy boat inspection program, water-quality monitoring, the latest Audubon Loon Count for Wilson Lake and developments from the 2024 watershed survey.

Holly Windle, secretary, said the watershed survey is guiding an updated 10-year protection plan intended to set short- and long-term goals for water quality, recreation and watershed health.

The survey identified erosion at sites, including inadequate or failing culverts and ditches, unstable road shoulders and entrances, and eroding camp roads, driveways and footpaths leading to the water.

“The annual meeting is an opportunity to discuss strategies for controlling drainage, protecting vulnerable slopes and for stabilizing shorelines, especially where there is heavy use,” Windle said.

Potential approaches include improving shoreline buffers, mulching and stabilizing slopes and using the LakeSmart program to reduce erosion.

Friends of Wilson Lake has supported water-transparency monitoring through the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program for about three decades. Volunteers use a Secchi disk and scope to measure water clarity.

Windle said average transparency declined from the 1990s through 2016 before readings began to improve. She said the change may be tied in part to restoration efforts that followed a previous watershed survey.

“It is hoped that the current effort will continue that trend,” Windle said.

Heavy runoff from intense storms, warmer temperatures and invasive species remain concerns for Wilson Lake and other Maine lakes, according to the friends group.

The group’s courtesy boat inspection program began Memorial Day weekend at the Canal Street boat ramp. Rainy weather limited some early inspection days, but no invasive species have been found so far this season. Inspectors checked 854 motorized and nonmotorized watercraft last year.

Residents and visitors also should expect work along Lake Road this summer after the town awarded contracts for retaining-wall work and related infrastructure. The project is expected to create temporary inconvenience in the area.

Water-quality monitoring will continue throughout the ice-free season. Boaters are asked to stay clear of the red buoy in the middle of Wilson Lake, which supports scientific equipment collecting temperature and dissolved-oxygen readings at different depths.

The buoy is part of a long-term collaboration between Friends of Wilson Lake and the University of Maine at Farmington. Faculty and students analyze the data to track water quality and changes in the lake over time.

“The red one is preferable” during the summer because it is more visible, Windle said. “It should never be used for mooring, however, as even small boats tying up to it could damage the research equipment below.”

The large, red summer buoy replaces a narrower winter buoy designed to remain in place through freezing and thawing conditions. Friends of Wilson Lake said the buoy hardware was upgraded this year to help prevent tangling.

A short business meeting will follow the presentations. The air-conditioned building has on-site parking, and light refreshments will be available. Attendees are invited to bring an item to share.

Those interested in joining or volunteering with Friends of Wilson Lake can email [email protected] or visit friendsofwilsonlake.org. Family memberships cost $12 and include invitations to the annual meeting and the group’s spring and fall newsletters.

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