On Labor Day, our lake association successfully completed an invasive plant survey of a small area on Androscoggin Lake.  We surveyed the areas around the boat ramps both at the Yacht Club and on route 133.

There were six volunteers in all.  We started around 8:30am.  It was a beautiful morning to be out on the lake and to learn something about identifying potentially invasive plants.

The most important news is that no invasive plants were identified by this survey.

There are eleven invasive plants which have been identified as a threat to Maine lakes.  This is a lot of plants.  So, one of the best ways to be able to spot the potentially invasive ones is to first become familiar with what is native to our own lake.  Yesterday, we all enjoyed learning how to identify some of Androscoggin’s native plants.  Among others, this list included the following:

large purple bladderwart
coontail
little floating heart
large leaf pondweed
fragrant water lily
common waterweed

The website for the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP) has a host of information on both invasive and non-invasive plants.

If you have any questions at all about any plants that you might find on the lake, do not hesitate to contact our lake association (ALIC) at  info@androscogginlake.org.

Of course, we will be conducting more surveys next summer, and we encourage everyone to get involved in helping to keep invasive plants out of Androscoggin Lake.  Watch the Androscoggin Lake Improvement Corporation (ALIC) website next spring and summer for more information about classes, seminars, and opportunities to get involved.  And, don’t forget to subscribe to our new Yahoo Group.

Reserve Friday evening, August 13, for an educational and awe-inspiring program on loons, presented by Susan Gallo of Maine Audubon and hosted by ALIC.    The multi-media presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Ladd Center on Gott Rd. in Wayne.     Come learn more about these fascinating water fowl and how you can help them on Androscoggin Lake.    ALIC  will also have their new t-shirts and lake charts available for sale that evening.    We look forward to seeing you!

Several area contractors have signed on with ALIC as participating vendors for the upcoming Septic Seminar to be held Friday evening, July 23, at the Ladd Center in Wayne.    The goal of the program is to inform folks in the lake community on how best to use and care for their septic systems in order to obtain maximum longevity and also have minimum impact on lake water quality.   To encourage action by Androscoggin Lake property owners whose septic systems may be in need of significant attention, ALIC is offering three prizes of $700 each towards system replacement or major upgrade.  In addition, several area contractors have signed on as participating vendors, contributing vouchers for major discounts on services including site evaluation and system design, perc tests, and installation of a chambers system.    All prizes will be awarded through a drawing held at the July 23 event.

For more information about becoming a participating vendor or qualifying for a prize, click on Contact Us on the website homepage and send ALIC an e-mail.      

The Board of ALIC is excited about offering two informative seminars to our lake community this summer.    Both will be held on Friday evenings, July 23 and Aug. 13, beginning at 7:00, at the Ladd Center  in Wayne.   The events are free of charge and will include refreshments.    The focus for July 23rd. will be on septic systems and how to best maintain them for maximum longevity and minimum impact on the lake.   There will be a speaker from the State Dept. of Environmental Health and at least one local plumbing inspector on hand to answer questions.   In addition, ALIC will be offering some incentive drawings, both cash and in-kind services, to property owners around Androscoggin lake whose septic systems are in need of significant attention.    Watch for more details in this blog and in a flyer to be distributed around the lake.      The Aug. 13 seminar will bring Maine Audubon’s multi-media presentation on LOONS, which depicts a year in the life of a Maine loon and includes photos that will both awe and inspire you.     

We hope you’ll attend these seminars whose intent is to inform the lake community of pertinent issues and encourage good stewardship.    We look forward to seeing you at these gatherings!  

Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 10 for the ALIC annual meeting at the Androscoggin Yacht Club in Wayne.   We’ll have our always-delicious potluck brunch beginning at 8:30 a.m. followed by our business meeting.     Come greet your lake neighbors and learn what ALIC has planned for this summer season!

ALIC has created a new online Yahoo! Group to allow us to better communicate with the entire membership throughout the year.   If you have an e-mail address, you no longer need to keep checking www.androscogginlake.org or to wait for the annual newsletter for ALIC news!

We know that you probably already get a lot of e-mail, so in order to keep a cap on e-mail traffic from this group, we have set it up as a moderated group.  This means that messages can only be posted to the group by members of the ALIC board of directors.

When you sign up, you have two easy options to choose from.

• You can sign up to just get e-mail postings from the group without actually joining the group.

• Or, you can become a full member of the group itself.  Members of the group are able to browse through past postings, but Yahoo! does require that you create a Yahoo! account for yourself, if you do not already have one.

To sign up, just send an e-mail to AndroscogginLake-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  Please include your full name and, optionally, your address, in the body of your e-mail, so that we know who are are.   Or, if you prefer, just give us your e-mail address when you sign in at the upcoming annual meeting, and we’ll handle the details for you.

Once you have indicated to us that you want to sign up, you will receive an e-mail with further instructions for either joining the group or just receiving e-mail posted to the group site.  If you want to have complete member access to the group, you will need to either supply your existing Yahoo! account information or to create a new Yahoo! account.  Alternatively, to opt for e-mail updates only, without creating a Yahoo! account;  just click on “join the mailing list instead” snuggled away near the bottom of the message.

If you have further questions or experience any problems, please send e-mail  to info@androscogginlake.org.

This photo from Frenchman’s Cove was taken by Debbie late last Spring.  Now, late April 2009, the boulder shown is almost completely submerged by the high water level.

Our long-time water quality monitor Beth is in need of some help this season in order to get out to her test site on Androscoggin Lake.    She’s been using loaned equipment for several years and the motor is no longer available.    We’re looking for a 15-25 hp motor, either donated, loaned, or for sale at a good price OR someone willing to “chauffeur” Beth in their boat on her bi-weekly early morning jaunts (when the lake is calm) to the deep hole.       Please respond using the Contact Us link on the website.     Thanks.

The ALIC annual meeting will be held a bit earlier this season.   Please reserve Saturday morning July 10 for the always-delicious potluck brunch followed by our business meeting.  We look forward to seeing you at the Yacht Club in Wayne.   More details to come!   

April 1:   No joke.    I heard the first loon calls of the season this morning.    Later in the day, the peepers and bullfrogs formed an evening chorus which resonated from the flooded shoreland of our property.    Welcome back, lake creatures!