LakeSmart Living - A New Shoreland Homeowner Resource for You

Welcome to LakeSmart Living!

As a shoreland homeowner, you know how important it is to engage in lake-friendly practices to help protect water quality and the health of Maine's lakes and ponds.

We hope you will find this inaugural edition of LakeSmart Living helpful to your lake stewardship efforts.

In this newsletter, you will find resources to help build a community of informed and engaged homeowners who care deeply about protecting Maine's lakes and watersheds for generations to come.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Andrea Stevens

LakeSmart Program Manager

Five Actions You Can Take

To Improve Fish Habitat Along Your Shoreline

by Josh Tait, LakeSmart Seasonal Assistant

What you do along your shoreline doesn't just affect the lake, it also influences your property's value and experience with wildlife. Research shows that clearer, healthier lakes are linked to higher property values. Natural shorelines support more fish, birds, and wildlife, creating better opportunities for fishing and wildlife viewing right outside your door. In Maine, shoreline (riparian) areas are especially important, with up to 85% of the state's vertebrate wildlife species using these areas at some point in their lives.

Small LakeSmart changes can make a big impact.

Let your shoreline stay natural. Native trees and shrubs provide shade that keeps nearshore waters cool and supports aquatic food webs. Natural shorelines consistently support more wildlife than cleared or manicured shorelines.
Maintain a vegetated shoreline buffer that offers shade. A buffer of native plants filters runoff, stabilizes soil, and reduces erosion. Multi-layered vegetation slows stormwater and traps nutrients like phosphorus. Shrubs and trees offer shade to keep water cool. Aim for a buffer that is at least 25 feet deep (the deeper the better).
Leave fallen trees and woody material. Downed trees and branches in the water provide critical structure for fish, offering shelter, feeding areas, and protection from predators. Leaving trees and woody material along the shore and in the water creates essential fish habitat by increasing cover, supporting feeding opportunities, and improving survival for juvenile fish. These natural structures also help to stabilize shorelines and support a more complex and productive near-shore ecosystem. When woody material is removed, shoreline habitat becomes simplified and often results in fewer fish and reduced biological diversity.
Minimize disturbance at the water's edge. Clearing shoreline vegetation, adding sand, or installing hard structures can increase erosion and degrade habitat where fish feed and reproduce.
Reduce runoff from your property. Limit lawn areas near the shore and replace them with native vegetation to absorb rainfall and filter pollutants.

These LakeSmart Best Management Practices (BMPs) help protect water quality and support healthy lake ecosystems.

Learn more by visiting our website www.lakesmart.org.

Photo: U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Lakeside Lighting: Finding Ways to Reduce

Light Pollution Impacts on Local Wildlife

by Caroline Seibert, LakeSmart Coordinator

Did you know that Maine is home to the largest contiguous area of dark skies east of the Mississippi River?

This night-time treasure is part of what makes our experience ‘up to camp’ so incredible. Besides our own enjoyment of the stars, there are many benefits to keeping our skies pitch dark – local wildlife! Reducing the use of artificial lights at lakeside camps is critical for the migratory movement of some birds and amphibians, as well as the pollination efforts of many insects. Many moths in particular, are nocturnal, often specialist pollinators, that can easily become disoriented by outdoor lighting. Other nocturnal pollinators that are affected by light pollution are bats, and some species of beetles and bees. Many amphibians rely on dark nights for reproductive signaling (think peepers!).

You can improve wildlife's survival chances by incorporating some of the practices below!

Easy steps to lessen your light pollution impact:

Shoreland lights matter! Reflections of lights on the lake surface can be seen for miles. Reduce or eliminate dock lighting where possible.
Use downward facing lights with opaque reflector shades.
Consider motion detectors for security lighting.
Replace blue-toned (cooler) light bulbs, with warmer-toned lights.

For more information visit Dark Sky Maine.

Highbush Blueberry. Photo: Shawn Jalbert, Native Haunts

Building a Resilient Shoreline Buffer:

Tips for Success

by Andrea Stevens, LakeSmart Manager

A vegetated shoreline buffer is the "last line of defense" for slowing and infiltrating nutrient-laden stormwater runoff before it reaches a lake.

Resilient buffers offer many benefits for lakes, wildlife, and people, including:

Improving water quality
Moderating air and water temperatures
Providing habitat, shade, and nutrients for terrestrial and shallow-water wildlife
Reducing erosion by stabilizing soils and intercepting rain
Maintaining property values

Planting a new buffer or restoring a compromised buffer is the most effective improvement you can make on your shoreland property. Here are some tips for success as you plan and plant a shoreline buffer.

Where do I start? Learn what plants are growing well on your property. These plants would make a good addition to your buffer palette.

What should I plant? Decide which areas and conditions along your shoreline will be planted. Choose the "right plant for the right place", meaning you should choose plants best suited to the conditions on your property. These conditions include moisture (wet or dry). Wet shorelands are closest to the water, often with fluctuating water levels. Dry shorelands are upslope and well drained. Other conditions to consider include light (sun and/or shade) and soil type (sand, silt, clay, or a mix).

The LakeSmart Program recommends adding diverse layers (trees, shrubs, groundcovers) of native plants to your buffer. Native plants are well adapted to local soils and changing climate conditions.

Examples of native plants that grow well together include: (a) in wet shorelands with full to part sun, highbush blueberry, blue flag iris, and marsh fern are good choices. Witch hazel can be planted upslope but adapts well to different moisture levels, and (b) in dry shorelands with full sun to part shade, try lowbush blueberry, black chokeberry, and Pennsylvania sedge.

Highbush and lowbush blueberry are Keystone Plants because they host a high diversity of caterpillars and native bee pollinators, and they are critical to food webs in healthy ecosystems. More ideas for plant companions can be found in Native Plants for your Shoreland.

Where can I buy native plants? See link below in New Resources of Interest to access an interactive map of native plant nurseries and sales in Maine.

Planting! Fall is a great time to plant. Cool air temperatures and warm soil favor root growth, rain is more consistent, and there is less weed competition.

What about after planting? Water new plantings weekly in the first year. Once established, plants will only need watering during droughts.

Good luck building your new buffer!

Feel free to email me if you have questions along the way.

New Resources of Interest

Less Lawn More Life is a national campaign to combat biodiversity loss and climate change by empowering individuals to transform traditional turf lawns into vibrant, ecologically rich native habitats.

Our Shore Program is being developed by Maine Department of Environmental Protection to provide guidance and training for using nature-based design practices to protect against shoreline erosion.

Native Plant Nurseries and Sales is an interactive map showing locations of native seed-growing nurseries and spring/fall plant sales across the state. Click on the symbol under a nursery or plant sale name to learn more about the supplier. This is a living document and will be updated on a regular basis. If you know of a native plant nursery that is not listed, feel free to let us know and we can add it to our map.

The Maine-based Wild Seed Project offers information about buying plants in their Navigating the Nurseries: A Resource Guide.

LakeSmart is a volunteer-driven, community-based program of Maine Lakes that educates homeowners about how to manage their lakefront properties in ways that protect water quality and lake health. For more information, contact Andrea by email or visit our website.

Maine Lakes is a statewide nonprofit that works to protect lake water quality and wildlife habitat through outreach, education, and action. To learn more, visit the Maine Lakes website and subscribe to the monthly newsletter, which includes lake news, research, and events from around the state. You can read the most recent issue HERE.

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