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Inside This Newsletter
April 28, 2025
Grounds and Gratitude!
2025 Lake Conference Early Bird ends April 30th!
Water Quality Program
WQ Workshops Registration
DO Meter Inspection
Ice-Out is happening!
Join Us!
Aquatic Invasive Species Program
IPP 101
Survey123 for IPPers
Looking for Volunteers!
Recording Available: Manual Control Methods
Support LSM
Notices from our Partners
Office Hours
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We’re excited to announce a new way to connect - Grounds and Gratitude!
Our staff is often busy out in the field or deep in projects, and we don't always get the chance to slow down and connect with our incredible volunteers and supporters. That's why we are creating special times this summer for you to stop by the office, meet up, and catch up - no agenda, just a chance to connect.
Join us for one (or more!) of our Grounds and Gratitude gatherings at the LSM office on the third Monday of each month (May-August), beginning May 19th, from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM, for coffee (or tea), conversation, and community.
This casual gathering is a chance to:
🌟 Share your experiences
🌟 Learn more about LSM activities
🌟 Exchange ideas with fellow Lake Stewards
🌟 Chat with LSM staff
We can’t wait to see you and thank you for everything you do for Maine’s lakes. Just bring yourself—we’ll bring the coffee...and tea!
Warmly,
The LSM Team
| | Early Bird Registration ends this week - April 30th! | | | | |
Friday, June 13, 2025
8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
University of Maine at Farmington
Olsen Student Center
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Early Bird Registration end this week,
April 30th!
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🌿 Love Maine’s Lakes?
Summer is on its way—and what better way to celebrate than by giving back to the lakes that give us so much?
Join the movement to protect Maine’s waters by becoming a volunteer with Lake Stewards of Maine! Whether you're passionate about monitoring Water Quality (WQ) or keeping an eye out for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS), there’s a role for you in our stewardship family.
💙Not able to volunteer? You can still make waves by donating! Your support helps expand our programs, train more stewards, and protect more lakes across Maine. Every dollar makes a difference.
💧 Get involved. Make a difference. Be a Lake Steward.
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Water Quality Program
To learn more about LSM's Water Quality Program, please visit our website.
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There’s Still Time to Register for Water Quality Workshops!
Spots are still open for our FREE Water Quality Monitor Training Workshops! Learn how to monitor Maine’s lakes and contribute to vital long-term data. Whether you're brand new or due for recertification, we’d love to have you join us this season.
Upcoming trainings:
✅ Mousam - Friday, May 02
✅ Great Pond (Belgrade) - Tuesday, May 06
✅ Megunticook - Tuesday, May 13
✅ Anasagunticook - Monday, May 19
✅ Crescent/Rattlesnake Lake (#3696) - Wednesday, May 21
🗓️ Don’t wait—sessions are filling up fast!
🔗 Get more details and sign up in the button below.
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DO Meter Inspections
Did you miss MeterFest this year?
Don't worry!
Please reach out to stewards@lakestewardsme.org to schedule an alternative time to have your meter checked. It takes longer when not participating in MeterFest, but we want to make sure all DO monitors have the chance to have their meters inspected.
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Ice-Out!
Many Maine lakes have lost their ice cover, but a few are still holding on (especially in the North). Tracking ice-out is essential to improve our understanding of lake health, including potential impacts on anoxia levels, cyanobacteria blooms, watershed snowpack reserves, and maximum summer temperatures.
If your lake’s ice cover is changing, please let us know! You can help by reporting your observations to LSM through:
✅ Our online submission form
✅ Email: stewards@lakestewardsme.org
✅ Phone: (207) 783-7733
If calling or emailing, please include:
- Your name
- The lake name (MIDAS number, if available)
- The town and county where the lake is located
- The date of ice-out
- Your email (kept private, used only for follow-up)
To view current ice cover reports visit: Ice-In/Ice-Out Tracking Map
If you need help determining ice-out please check out our guide: Ice-In/Ice-Out Tracking
Thank you for contributing to this important effort!
Image: Portage Lake ice cover, April 25, 2025 (photo credit Bruce Laveway)
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Aquatic Invasive Species Program
To learn more about LSM's Aquatic Invasive Species Program, please visit our website.
| | For any questions related to IPP workshops, registration, or the aquatic invasive species program, please email stewards@lakestewardsme.org. | | | | |
Invasive Plant Patrol
(IPP) 101 Webinar
In this 3-hour online class, beginner invasive plant patrollers will learn about how to survey for aquatic invasive species (AIS).
Date: April 30th, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM
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Survey123 for IPPers
Date: May 15th, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM
Survey123 is a powerful geographic information system (GIS) tool used in tracking volunteer surveys. In this program, Becky Schaffner of Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) demonstrates the basics of Survey123, how volunteers can record aquatic invasive plant survey data, and how Lake Stewards of Maine’s AIS Survey Screening forms relate to how to use Survey123. The program will also cover new additions to Survey123 for 2025, and how the program can be used to more accurately record survey data.
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Looking for more volunteers!
Volunteers are needed to join LSM staff on a five-day survey expedition to Big Lake in Washington County from June 23 to 27.
LSM is returning to Big Lake in Washington County to assist the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township in surveying and mapping variable water milfoil, an invasive species threatening the lake’s ecosystem. This is a unique chance to contribute to conservation efforts, learn valuable field skills, and be part of an incredible team! Volunteers will be provided housing during the survey.
Next Planning Meeting Date: May 28, please email stewards@lakestewardsme.org for more info.
Survey Expedition Dates: June 23 - 27, 2025
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Recording Available:
Manual Control
Methods Training Pt 1
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Notice from our Partners, Colleagues and Collaborators
If you have any questions regarding the information below,
please contact the organization mentioned in post directly.
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Help Monitor for Zebra Mussels in Maine Waters
Our partners at Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife are doing important work to track the spread of invasive zebra mussels—and they need your help!
Volunteers are needed for the Zebra Mussel Settling Plate Project, which involves placing and monitoring simple tools called settling plates in lakes across the state. These plates help detect zebra mussels early, before they can spread and cause major harm.
If you live near or frequently visit Maine lakes, you may be able to participate. Volunteers check the plates every 2–3 weeks from May through October. Individuals, lake associations, businesses, and local groups are all welcome to join.
Priority lakes are located in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Kennebec, Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Somerset counties—with a few others across the state. Visit the MDIFW website for full details and to sign up.
We encourage all who care about Maine’s lakes to get involved. Just like plants, early detection is key—and you can make a difference.
Link to register to help: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=q6g_QX0gYkubzeoajy-GTsfKXei8wzZMibW5IE57cbxUMzNTMUhUUU84SDAxUEpYSVU4STkxOUw4VS4u&route=shorturl
Link to learn more about the project: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/fisheries/aquatic-invasive-species/zebra-mussel-monitoring.html
| | Maine DEP is pleased to announce the NPS Program will be releasing Requests for Applications (RFAs) for Planning Grants and Implementation Grants for the next project cycle (October 2025 start for Planning projects and January 2026 start for Implementation projects). | | |
Please be advised that once the RFA’s are released, all questions regarding applications must be submitted through the formal question process.
If you have general questions about this process please contact Alex Wong, alex.wong@maine.gov.
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Monday - Thursday
8:30 AM -4:30 PM
Closed Fridays
(staff working remotely)
We recommend calling ahead,
(207) 783-7733.
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If you would like to support Lake Stewards of Maine,
kindly click on the button below. Thank you!
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