Photo by David Fontaine, Range Pond State Park

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In This Issue

-LakeSmart Highlights from Northern and Downeast Maine

-Water Chestnut Confirmed in Cobbossee Watershed

-Sow Your Native Seeds!

-The Magic of No Mow
-2026 Lake Conference Save the Date

LakeSmart Highlights from Northern and Downeast Maine

Jon Ippolito (right) was the first LakeSmart award winner on Phillips Lake. Congratulations, Jon! And many thanks to Tim Whitney (left), one of four LakeSmart evaluators on the Phillips Lake team.

Credit: Tom Drummond

Water Chestnut Confirmed in Cobbossee Watershed

Photo by Cheryl Soucy

Edited from the Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed Press Release: 


The first occurrence of Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) has been identified in Jug Stream, Monmouth, part of the Cobbossee Watershed. This past summer, Cobbossee Lake Association (CLA) plant survey volunteer Cheryl Soucy discovered a suspicious floating plant. Her discovery was followed up with additional surveyors from Watershed Friends, Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) staff, and CLA, who confirmed the presence of Water Chestnut. Three plants were found and subsequently removed by the Watershed Friends’ Plant Control Coordinator, Em Russell. The detection of Water Chestnut in Jug Stream marks the Cobbossee watershed’s fifth known aquatic invasive plant species. 


Water Chestnut is a rooted, floating-leaf and submersed-leaf plant, native to Europe, Asia, and tropical Africa. It is on Maine’s “watch” list of Aquatic Invasive Species but had not been found actively growing in the state until this discovery. 

Water Chestnut has the potential to spread rapidly as its barbed fruit can readily attach to boating gear and wildlife. The fruits dangle beneath the rosette of floating leaves, which commonly detach and float to new areas. Each seed can produce 15 to 20 new rosettes, and each rosette can generate up to 20 seeds. At the end of the growing season, the fruits fall and sink into the sediment, where they can remain viable for up to 12 years, though most germinate and form new plants within two years. Water Chestnut infestations can produce large, thick mats that impact water quality and impede boating and recreation. FMI about Water Chestnut, click HERE  This invasive species has not been documented in any other waterbodies in Maine. 

This discovery highlights the importance of volunteer survey efforts. Lake Stewards of Maine (LSM) leads Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) workshops, trainings, and certifications for volunteers from regional organizations and lake associations. Cheryl Soucy began volunteering as a CLA plant surveyor in 2022 and became Tier 2 IPP-Certified after attending an LSM Plant ID Workshop in July 2025. Soucy has also attended a number of educational and plant identification workshops hosted by Watershed Friends.  


WHAT YOU CAN DO: 


Clean, Drain, Dry Your Boat: Always clean your boat, especially propellors, and your trailer when leaving a waterbody, and double check that all plant material has been removed before moving your boat to a new waterbody. Open all drainplugs to let the boat dry completely to kill any microscopic hitchhikers. It is illegal to travel in Maine with plant material on your boat or trailer, and all drains must be open. 


Become an Invasive Plant Patroller: Invest in your lake by becoming a certified Invasive Plant Patroller for your lake. For more information, visit LSM’s aquatic species page HERE.


For more information about Water Chestnut click HERE.  

Sow Your Native Seeds!

Photo: Conference Seed Packets

If you joined us at the Maine Lakes Conference, you hopefully received a packet of native seeds, part of our Shoreline Native Seed Collection. After waiting through the long, hot, dry summer, it is finally time to sow those seeds! 


A short synopsis of the sowing process is to find some small pots, soil and a source of sand. Fill the pots with soil. I like to soak the soil thoroughly before I sow seeds. Seeds should be sowed on top of the soil, then covered with sand to a depth that equals their thickness – a very shallow sprinkle for small seeds like Lobelia and deeper layers of sand for larger seeds. Water the pots but don’t soak them as that may “float” the seeds on top of the sand. Pre-soaked soil helps reduce the likelihood of “floaters”. Click here for full seed sowing instruction and more on storing your pots outdoors over the winter our friends at the Wild Seed Project.

See below for more information about the seeds included in the Shoreline Native Seed Collection, and good luck with your native sowing adventure! 

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly milkweed): Benefits caterpillars, butterlies and pollinators. Prefers full sun and a variety of soil conditions. Blooms in July and August. 1-3’ high. Can be more challenging to grow. Germination requires 30 days of cold, moist stratification. FMI visit Maine Audubon’s Native Plant Finder. (Photo credit: Maine Audubon's Native Plant Finder)

Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed): Hosts up to 100 different caterpillar species. Prefers full sun and a variety of soil conditions. Blooms in July and August. 3-6’ high. Germination requires 30 days of cold, moist stratification. FMI visit Maine Audubon’s Native Plant Finder (Photo credit: Maine Audubon's Native Plant Finder)

Eupatorium perfoliatum (Boneset): Blooms in midsummer with bright white flower cluster. Enjoys wet/fertile garden soils. Grows up to 3’ high. Can grow in partial shade to full sun. Germination requires 30 days of cold, moist stratification. Seeds require light to germinate. FMI, visit the Wild Seed Project. (Photo credit: Wild Seed Project)

Eutrochium dubium (Coastal joe-pye weed): A great plant for beginning sowing. 3-6’ plant with large pink clusters of flowers that bloom in August and September. Prefers full sun, and a variety of soil types. Germination requires 30 days of cold, moist stratification. FMI visit Maine Audubon’s Native Plant Finder. (Photo credit: Maine Audubon's Native Plant Finder)

Lobelia siphilitica (Blue lobelia): A stunning plant with tubular flowers that attract many pollinators. Tolerates a variety of light conditions (full sun to partial shade) and many soil types. Grows to be 3-6' high. Germination requires 60 days of cold, moist stratification. FMI visit Maine Audubon’s Native Plant Finder. (Photo credit: Maine Audubon's Native Plant Finder)

The Magic of "No Mow"

This photo was taken in 1998 when the area was mowed regularly by the homeowners. 
Photo: Pam Wilkinson

This photo was taken in 2025, after the small patch to the left of the dock and behind the buoy had not been mown for more than 20 years. Photo: Susan Gallo

Many of you have probably heard about “No Mow May”, when you allow early spring plants and grasses on your lawn to grow for the month of May, providing habitat and food for pollinators who are active early in the season. But what happens when you continue with a “no mow” regime? The answer is very good things!

I was recently inspired by a visit to a LakeSmart homeowner’s property on Little Sebago Lake. Pam Wilkinson (president of Little Sebago Lake Association) and her husband Dan have a beautiful property in Gray and are committed to doing all they can to protect the lake, its water quality, and quality wildlife habitat. They are currently working with the Maine Lakes’ LakeSmart team to create a new buffer of native plants on their shoreline property, and I went on a site visit to their property in September, along with LakeSmart manager Andrea Stevens, to learn more about what they were planning to do.

I was inspired by a little piece of their shoreline that was chock full of native plants. Given Maine Lakes' interest in adding native plants to lakefront landscapes, I was curious how this area came to be. Pam had a photo of the property from 1998 (see above) when it had been mowed regularly. She stopped mowing in part out of curiosity about what might happen. When the bees and butterflies showed up, she was committed to seeing what would happen next. Pam estimates it took about 10 years after the mowing stopped to have the structure, and species, that are there today.

Shawn Jalbert, an ecologist who owns Native Haunts was at the Wilkinson property with us to develop a buffer planting design. He says that the cessation of mowing is key to releasing native plants that may have been there already but were never able to take hold. It also creates conditions for natural seeds dispersed from nearby native plants to become established. In just a few minutes scouring the unmowed patch, Shawn found speckled alder (Alnus incana), winterberry (Ilex verticillata), boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), bulrush (not sure of species), sweet gale (Myrica gale), maleberry (Lyonia ligustrum), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), and blue flag iris (Iris versicolor).

All of these species will do a much better job helping “slow the flow” of rainwater, increasing infiltration and absorption of nutrients and pollutants, and ultimately protecting the resiliency of Little Sebago Lake. The patch was also alive with butterflies, bees, and other pollinators who need this kind of habitat to thrive in Maine.

And the nice thing about the “no mow” method is its simplicity. Just stop mowing and see what happens! If, like the Wilkinsons, your seed bank of native plants is full, you may get astounding results. Gary Fish, State Horticulturalist, who stopped mowing his fields a few years ago and was rewarded with an abundance of native flowering plants, recommends buying native seed “plugs” or adding seedlings if you want to speed the process of naturalization in your “no mow” patch. He also says to watch for aggressive invasive species which can become established when you stop mowing. You can also add native seeds to the site. Just stay away from “wildflower mixes” which more than likely contain invasive and nonnative species.

Interested in giving “no mow” a try? We would love to see photos of the progress of your “no mow” projects should you decide to pursue this easy and time-saving “best management practice” for healthy lakes. Send your photos and share your progress by sending an email to info@lakes.me.

2026 Lake Conference

Join us on the beautiful University of Maine Orono campus on Friday, June 12, 2026 for the annual Lake Conference co-hosted with Lake Stewards of Maine. Please stay tuned for more information about the theme, speakers, volunteer opportunities and registration in the coming months.

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