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Weekly News & Updates

Inside This Newsletter

October 26, 2026

Winter Office Hours

Holiday Potluck - RSVP

LSM Calendar

Water Quality Program

WQ Community Technical Discussion

Winterizing your Meter

Help Track Lake Ice

Autumn Cyanobacteria

Water Quality Data Due

Aquatic Invasive Species Program

2027 Workshop Planning

Office Hours

Next Community Water Quality Technical Discussions 

Our next session will be held on

October 29th at 1 pm.

Winterizing Your Meter

Protect Your Equipment for Spring 🌡️🛠️

Autumn is here and it’s important to properly winterize your meter and probe to prevent damage until next year's use. Proper care and storage help protect sensitive components and extend the lifetime of the probe and meter.

📋Please refer to the winterizing guidance documents included in your training packet for detailed instructions regarding your meter.

If you’d like assistance or prefer to have your meter winterized by LSM staff, feel free to drop it off at the LSM office during normal business hours or arrange a time to meet with staff working around the state. Taking this small step now helps safeguard your investment and supports a smooth start to next year’s monitoring season.

Help Track Lake Ice

As fall transitions into winter, please be on the lookout for changes in ice cover. Lake Stewards of Maine invites volunteers and lake communities to help document these seasonal shifts by submitting ice-in observations for their lakes.

Tracking ice cover is a key part of understanding how Maine’s lakes are responding to changing climate patterns and what that means for water quality and ecosystem health.

Resources can be found on the Ice Tracking page of our website.

If your lake isn’t currently part of this effort, we encourage you to begin this winter. No certification or lakefront residence is required for this and we encourage anyone interested to submit sightings.

Your observations help build a critical long-term record of lake conditions across Maine.

Link to ice reporting for or submit by email to Stewards@lakestewardsme.org.

🍂 Autumn Cyanobacteria

Autumn brings water-column mixing to most Maine lakes. While temperatures are cooler, we can still have warm, sunny days. These changing conditions can create opportunities for cyanobacteria to appear in lakes that have not experienced a bloom yet this year, or where cyanobacteria had previously diminished. Increased autumn rainfall can also carry nutrient-rich runoff into lakes, so this is a good time to make sure gutters, rain gardens, and drainage ditches are clean and working properly.

Please keep an eye out 🔎 for suspicious green water, surface scum, paint-like streaks, or an overall greening of the lake. If you think you've spotted a bloom, report it using the form below. You can also check the dashboard to see reports submitted from around the state.

Every report matters. Your observations help us better understand cyanobacteria activity across Maine and help keep Maine's lakes safe.

Water Quality Data Due⏰

If you still have water quality datasheets to send in, please get them to LSM as soon as you can. Getting datasheets in early helps us avoid a large backlog and gives us enough time to review and digitize the data before submitting finalized batches to Maine DEP.

💙 Thank you, as always, for another season of careful monitoring and for the tremendous contribution you make to understanding and protecting Maine’s lakes.

Planning the 2027 Workshop Season

With the 2026 workshop season all wrapped up, it is time to begin working on the schedule for next year! If your group is interested in hosting a Plant Paddle or Live Plant ID workshop in your area, please reach out to be added to our workshop request list. Email: Stewards@lakestewardsme.org

Winter Hours

Monday and Wednesday

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

or by appointment.

We recommend calling ahead

(207) 783-7733

If you would like to support Lake Stewards of Maine,

kindly click on the button below. Thank you!