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In This Issue

1. Videos from the 2024 Lake Conference
2. Leave the Leaves!
3. Putting your Boat into Winter Hibernation
4. Native Plant Spotlight: Wild Bergamot
5. Workshops and Training

Videos from the 2024 Lakes Conference

Did you miss the 2024 Conference? Or maybe you were there but weren’t able to attend all of the fabulous talks. No worries! We have six of the presentations uploaded to both the conference website (scroll down to the speaker section) and also on the Maine Lakes Vimeo page. Direct links are included below. Look for more in the next e-news issue!  

• Valuing the Economic Benefits of Maine’s Great Ponds in the 21st Century

Keynote Address: Adam Daigneault and Melissa Genoter, University of Maine 

• The Emerald Ash Borer and the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik

John Daigle, University of Maine 

• Managing Trees in the Shoreland Zone

Julie Davenport, Maine Forest Service  

• Maine’s Rivers and Lakes: 430 Towns, 30 Plantations

Lloyd Irland, The Irland Group  

• Addressing Existing and Emerging Invasive Species Challenges

Gary Fish, State Horticulturist 

• Lake Monsters, Water Beasts and Creatures of the Shores

Christopher Packard, Maine author of "Mythical Creatures of Maine" 

Looking for more videos? In addition to the videos stored on the Conference webpage, we have many helpful videos on our new Vimeo page. Look for “how to” videos for some of our most common Best Management Practices, speakers from past “winter webinar” series, and much more. 

Leave the Leaves!

Photo: Dave Wendelken

We say this every fall, but it bears repeating! A great way to help your lake (and critters like this Luna Moth Caterpillar) is to build up the layer of duff - the spongy layer of decomposing organic matter on the ground including leaf litter, woody debris, and dead plant material – on your property. Duff, along with other layers of vegetation, including trees, shrubs and ground cover, help hold soil in place, prevent erosion, and intercept and absorb rainwater and water runoff from upland areas, filtering out pollutants. They also create more biodiverse and resilient ecosystems that cycle nutrients and support wildlife.

See this PBS News piece for more about the benefits of "Leave The Leaves".

Putting your Boat into Winter Hibernation

All good things must eventually come to an end. At the end of each  summer, there will come a time for those of us who boat to conclude our boating season. Then comes the inevitable ritual of closing camp and putting the boat into hibernation. Our colleagues at NH Lakes have some information to share about implementing lake-friendly boat cleaning and engine winterization processes that help our lakes stay clean and healthy while putting your boat to sleep until next year’s boating season. Read more here.

Native Plant Spotlight:

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

This amazing plant, a native beebalm, attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and a host of beneficial insects. A clumping, spreading perennial, Wild Bergamot grows to be 3-6’ tall and has beautiful purple, two-lipped, tubular flowers. A member of the mint family, it has fragrant leaves and can exhibit some of that family’s hardier tendencies to thrive in poorer soils and in areas that range from full sun to partial shade. Blooming can be prolonged by deadheading. A good plant for vegetative buffers, plant in uncrowded areas with good air circulation to avoid powdery mildew. This plant is relatively easy to find at local nurseries. Look among the many cultivated varieties for the native species Monarda fistulosa. It can also be grown fairly easily from seed. Look for seeds from a reliable source such as the Wild Seed Project. FMI, check out Maine Audubon’s plant datasheet, and happy planting!

Workshops and Trainings

From Our Partners

Trainings at Lakes Environmental Association in Bridgton:

Basic and Advanced Erosion Control Training

8:00 am - 4:00 pm Thursday, October 31st

This course, taught by Maine DEP’s John Maclaine, is necessary to become a Contractor Certified in Erosion and Sedimentation Control Practices. The course is of primary interest to excavation contractors but is also helpful to municipal code enforcement officers, consultants, engineers, public works employees, and interested members of the public. Includes lunch. Please register here.

Winter Erosion Control Best Management Practices

8:00 am - 12:00 pm Thursday, December 5th

This program will explore the options available for performing soil disturbance in the winter, as well as highlighting the regulations that contractors need to comply with when performing winter work. Please register here.

"Know Your Plants" Webinar hosted by Lake Stewards of Maine  

Know Your Milfoils

9:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 6

Join the Aquatic Invasive Species Team at Lake Stewards of Maine for this program that will consider milfoils, a famously tricky to identify groups of plants. This program will show how to determine Maine's six native species of milfoil from three invasive species found in the state. Please register here.

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