Greetings from Echo Lake!



We hope you are enjoying the summer. With potentially record breaking heat upon us it's a great time to be on the lake. Happy 250th!

In this Summer Newsletter 2nd Edition:

July 4th Echo Lake Boat Parade

Upcoming July Events

Trekking Thursdays - Dave Fuller

Committee Reports

Invasive Plant Patrol - Alison Smith

Dam - Dave Fuller

ELA Launches New Website

Camps are Open!

Congratulations to Camp Vega on their 90th year and to Camp Laurel for 60 years on Echo Lake.

IRS awards ELA 501(c)3 Designation

Night Outdoor Lighting Affects Lake Health; Don't Be a "Light Trespasser"

By Stephanie Flanagan

Need Stories and Photos

Call for Membership Dues

JULY 4th ECHO LAKE BOAT PARADE RETURNS IN 2026!

🎉 Ahoy, Mateys! 🚤⚓

Last year’s July 4th Boat Parade was great fun with many participants.

Join us some family fun and community spirit on Echo Lake again this July 4th! Last year we had 16 power boats, let's see if we can beat that this year!

If you are not participating in the parade, you can have some fun cheering us on from your lakefront.

Here's the scoop:

What: July 4th Echo Lake Boat Parade

When: 10 AM sharp on July 4th

Where: Starting at Browns Point

Come rain or shine (let's hope for sunshine!), we'll be gliding around Echo Lake in style. 

Decorate your boat, deck yourself out in your most festive attire, and let's make waves together!

Details:

• Route: From Browns Point, cruise past Vega and along Echo Lake Rd, head over to the Point Drive, loop in at Camp Laurel and the public landing, then parade south along the east shore. See Map below.
• Non-boaters, Cheer us on!
• Pace: No-wake speed (about 5mph) for a leisurely cruise.
• All motorized boats welcome. We learned last year that non-motorized boats cannot keep a 5mph pace. 

See you there! Anchors away!

Map of the route

JULY COMMUNITY EVENTS

7/2 Oak Hill Trek

10AM. Details below

7/4 JULY 4th BOAT PARADE!

10AM Brown's Point. Details above

7/7 Parker Pond Trek

7/8 Courtesy Boat Inspection Training

9-11 30 Mile River, Mt Vernon. Meet other CBI volunteers throughout the watershed, learn more about the threats of aquatic invasive species (AIS), the importance of CBIs, how to properly inspect a boat for AIS, using Survey123 for data entry, and more. Click here for details

7/9 Live Plant Identification workshop

9-12; ELA co-hosting at Kent's Hill Ski Lodge. Details in IPP below.

7/11 Mt. Vernon Craft Fair

9-2 Mt. Vernon Community Center. Support local artisans and connect with our community.

7/16 Hales Pond Trek

7/25 30 Mile Paddle Trek

The 30 Mile River Watershed Association hosts an Annual Paddle Trek in July, traveling along many of the lakes and streams that together form the “30 Mile River.” Join for all or just a part of this 15 mile guided paddle from Mt. Vernon Village to Wayne Village. Finishers get a free ice cream cone from Tubby's! Volunteers also needed to assist with logistics, portages etc.

Click here for details

7/26 Hidden Gems of Mt. Vernon

This is a self guided tour of nine unique locations in Mount Vernon. These hidden gems include unusual stonework, gardens and landscaping, historic sites, an art gallery and visits to artisans' workshops to see quilting, woodturning, iron and forge work. This event is to raise funds for improvements to the Community Center. A delightful, seasonal box lunch prepared by Scapes is available by preorder.

Get Tickets Here

7/30 Torsey Pond Trek

Save the Date!

2026 ELA Annual Meeting

Camp Vega 8/14/26 4PM

TREKKING THURSDAYS, by Dave Fuller

We’ve decided to change Trekking Tuesdays to Trekking Thursdays (except July 7, which is a Tuesday) this summer and to extend it into August, if there’s sufficient interest. There are plenty of nearby Kennebec Land Trust trails! The hikes will start at 10:00. All sites are kid-friendly and also dog friendly (except Hales Pond). We will provide weekly email notices about the upcoming hike, including a description of the property, directions, and description of the trails. The schedule is as follows:

July 2: Oak Hill Conservation Area (Fayette)

This beautiful property is along a ridge line just above Echo Lake and features phenomenal scenic views of Echo Lake, Fayette Mill Pond and Kents Hill.

Directions: From the Fayette general store, continue north on Route 17 for 2.5 miles. Turn left on the Fayette Corner Rd. and then take an immediate left on Norton Rd. Continue for half a mile to a temporary parking area marked with a KLT sign.

Trails: The easy one-mile Sedge Ridge Loop Trail starts between the Wing

farmhouse foundation (circa ~1820) and the maple sap lines maintained by Ron Hewett, whose family owned the parcel before being acquired by KLT. The trail then climbs the ridge to a view looking over Echo Lake, Mill Pond, and Kents Hill. This is an easy trail, with a couple of short moderate stretches. It is kid and dog friendly. We hope to see you there!

July 7 (Tuesday): Parker Pond Headland (Fayette)

July 16: Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area (Mount Vernon)

July 23: Hales Pond Woodland Preserve (Fayette) – very kid-friendly, but no dogs! 

July 30: Torsey Pond Nature Preserve (Readfield) – very kid-friendly

August 6: Surry Hill Conservation Area (Fayette)

August 13: MacDonald Conservation Area (Readfield) – dogs on leash

August 20: Howard Hill Conservation Area (Augusta)

So, mark your calendars and plan to join us on these wonderful hikes!

INVASIVE PLANT PATROL by Alison Smith

Join the 2026 Invasive Plant Patrol!

The Echo Lake Invasive Plant Patrol Team (IPP) would love to welcome you to the world of aquatic plants.

We are a dedicated group of volunteers, part of a state-wide volunteer network that aims to provide early detection of any suspicious plants growing in Maine lakes and ponds. Our IPP conducts an annual survey of aquatic plants in Echo Lake, Taylor Pond, and the Echo Mill Pond. 

We work closely with 30 Mile River Watershed Association and Lake Stewards of Maine, two great resources for educational materials, training, plant identification, and volunteer support. No special skills or experience are necessary to join the IPP, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of the many free training programs, including hands-on workshops, offered by these and other allied organizations. 

With ever more infestations in area lakes and ponds, we’ve been incredibly fortunate to remain invasive-free. But we can’t take that status for granted.

Our fellow volunteers, the Courtesy Boat Inspectors, provide the first line of defense against infestations by checking boats at the public boat launch for plant fragments and talking with boaters about the importance of keeping unwanted invaders out of the lake. This prevention is critical, but there are still opportunities for unwanted plants to find their way into every waterbody.

That’s where our annual survey comes in. If an infestation can’t be prevented, then early detection is critical in order to have the best chance to control the outbreak or, ideally, eradicate the plants.

It takes several dozen of us to cover the 14-mile shoreline of Echo Lake plus the smaller ponds, and we truly value new members. With some training and a bit of time on the water, anyone can learn to differentiate the native plants from the lookalike invasives.

This summer the ELA is cosponsoring a Live Plant Identification Workshop with the Lake Stewards of Maine. Mark your calendar for Thursday, July 9th from 9 to noon, and join us at the Kent's Hill Ski Lodge.

There will be more than 40 native and invasive plant samples which participant will work together to identify. There’s nothing more valuable than hands-on training! This will be a valuable event for all of us — novice and experienced patrollers alike. Sign up here!

If you like to spend time on the water, are curious about what grows here, and are willing to sharpen your observational skills for the good of our lake, please join the IPP team!

For more information, please contact coordinator Alison Smith at alisoncleanelections@gmail.com.

Check out this helpful site:

https://30mileriver.org/aquatic-invasive-species/

DAM COMMITTEE REPORT, by Dave Fuller

The ELA Dam Committee closed one gate on April 11. The lake level was about eight inches below the top of the dam. The lake rose gradually until it was a little above mid-summer normal. We closed the second gate on June 7, when water level was a couple of inches below the top of the dam. Optimum level is one to 2 inches over the top of the dam.

We will, of course, monitor lake level and weather forecasts and open and close gates as necessary. We want to maintain a “full” lake for boating, but we want to avoid flooding loon nests and docks. 

We also have to open at least one gate at least three times this summer to assist Camp Winnebago campers. 

The lake level has not been a problem all winter and spring. We opened both gates on November 11. Lake level quickly dropped and remained very low all winter. Ice-in was December 10, and ice-out was April 9, so ice coverage was 14 days longer than the winter of 2024-2025.  

Your dam committee members are Dave Fuller, Jon Beekman and Bill Beaulier. Jon and Dave are 78 and Bill is 80. We’d welcome some younger members!

We are also responsible for the Taylor Pond slide gate. Last fall we greased the two Echo dam slide gates and the Taylor dam slide gate, and they are all in good working order.

As usual, we plan to open the Echo dam gates on November 11, Veterans Day, and leave them open all winter to draw the lake down to avoid ice damage to the shoreline and low-lying structures. 

So, enjoy your summer, but get your boats and docks out by Veterans Day!

ELA LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

ELA Board Member Kim Sigman has done a terrific job updating the ELA website to make it more user friendly, with a new Mission Statement and useful and more intuitive links to key sections and information. It is a continued work in progress so we appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

See the new website HERE

CAMPS ARE OPEN!

With the campers from Laurel, Vega and Winnebago all arriving last weekend it's a sure marker that summer has officially begun. When you think of all the tens of thousands of kids who have spent their summers at Summer Camps on Echo Lake over the years, it's hard not to believe that some of Echo's special spirit comes from all those children's love and enjoyment of the Lake.

Congratulations to Camp Laurel, celebrating 60 years on Echo Lake, and to Camp Vega celebrating their 90th year! (With Camp Winnebago clocking in on their 107th summer - since 1919!)

If you have not recently visited their websites you are encouraged to do so--the values they work to instill in their campers are inspiring.

One example of Camp Vega's Values:

CHOOSE GRATITUDE

Gratitude is a choice and it takes practice. We believe that happiness leads to success (not the other way around) and the research is mounting that gratitude makes you happier. Gratitude has an important role at camp because we learn to make the most of our short time together and not take anything for granted. From appreciating the beauty of the lake and the smells of pine, to acknowledging how lucky we are to spend our days with friends doing fun and exciting activities, we encourage each other to be mindful of the positive and focus on the good in our lives.

Click below to see the Camp websites:

Camp Vega

Camp Laurel

Camp Winnebago

Camp Vega opening day

IRS APPROVES ELA 501(c)3 DESIGNATION

As outlined in the ELA Fall Newsletter, at their September meeting the ELA Board voted unanimously to pursue this official non-profit designation, and we recently received official notification from the IRS that our application was approved:

To Echo Lake Association:

We're pleased to tell you we determined you're exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)3. Donors can deduct contributions they make to you under IRC Section 170.

As part of the application there are two required additions to the ELA By-laws: one describes what happens to ELA assets in the event of dissolution and the other is a standard Conflict of Interest statement. These additions were unanimously approved by the board but will need to be ratified by the membership at the Annual Meeting in August. We will send Members copies of these in advance of the Meeting.

Many thanks to Jon Beekman for assisting and shepherding our application through the laborious process.

OUTDOOR LIGHTING AT NIGHT AFFECTS LAKE HEALTH

by Stephanie Flanagan

Echo Lake is a treasured place as all those reading this newsletter know. In the past five years of living here full time, I have learned so much about lake quality and what it takes to be a good steward. It is not news that we need to do everything we can to keep Echo Lake the invasive-free and beautifully clean lake it is.  

I recently came across an article about light pollution and lake health I would like to share because, well, I had no idea and neither did others I mentioned it to.

Many of us think of light pollution as a land-based problem, but outdoor lighting goes beyond the shoreline: 

• Artificial light has been found to disrupt spawning behavior of fish and interfere with how they feed and mate.
• It also makes them more visible to predators, and thus more vulnerable, and causes them to become more — or less — active at night, which can change hunting patterns and interactions among different species.
• Artificial light extending into the water can throw off natural predator-prey dynamics. For instance, small fish and zooplankton rely on darkness to avoid predators; when exposed to bright lights at night, they are forced to alter their daily vertical migrations
• Prolonged exposure to artificial light at night promotes photosynthesis, which can supplement the growth of algae and cyanobacteria
• Bright, uncontrolled lights disrupt natural circadian rhythms. Shoreline and dock lights can disorient migrating birds and interrupt the breeding, feeding, and resting behaviors of nocturnal animals like loons and amphibians.   

I also learned that in 2025, Maine passed an Act to Promote Responsible Outdoor Lighting, applying to all public lighting. You can find it here:

https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1295&item=1&snum=132

And let’s not forget the Brown Tail Moth, who are attracted to nighttime lights when mating. While their impact has recently been waning, we know they will be back.

Don't be a "Light Trespasser"

While the biggest concern is lake health, the impact of our outdoor lights also affects our neighbors, and I even came across a new term, "Light Trespasser":

A "light trespasser" refers to a property or person sending unwanted, spilling light over their property lines onto someone else's space. This is a common form of light pollution, such as a bright security floodlight shining directly into a neighbor's window.

Fayette passed an Ordinance in 2024 that includes reference to lighting:

Dark Sky Compliant Lighting

1. All outside lighting fixtures must be shielded to provide only essential lighting for safety and security.
2. No illumination or glare may be directed upward or extend beyond the property boundary.

What can you do?

• Use night light only if there is a clear purpose for it
• Direct and shield light so it falls only where required
• Use only when it is needed; if security is a concern use motion detectors!
• Use the lowest level of light required.
• Use warmer color lights where possible to minimize blue light.

Thank you for reading this! 

Stephanie Flanagan

PHOTOS AND STORIES WELCOME

We want to showcase Echo Lake through your stories and photos.

Articles don't have to be long, e.g.: How did you come to be on Echo Lake and when? Any favorite Echo Lake memories?

Echo Lake has such a wonderful history, and we welcome your stories and photos for future newletters; just email us at president.echolake@gmail.com

CALL FOR MEMBERSHIP DUES

The Echo Lake Association relies on the support of its members and friends to fulfill its mission of preserving the beauty and health of Echo Lake. Membership dues and charitable contributions enable us to protect water quality, maintain the shoreline, and promote responsible stewardship of this treasured natural resource.

Whether you're renewing your membership or joining for the first time, your support makes a meaningful difference. Please consider becoming a member or making an additional donation to help ensure that Echo Lake remains a place of beauty and enjoyment for generations to come. Any donations above membership dues will go towards the Echo Lake Preservation Fund, our reserve for emergencies and other endeavors to help the lake and community.

Together, we can preserve the legacy of Echo Lake. Thank you for your generosity and support.

Click Here to Pay Membership Dues and/or Make Donations

Echo Lake Association

P.O.Box 322

Kents Hill, ME 04349

(207)-650-1289

Email us at: president.echolake@gmail.com