2020 7 Lakes Alliance annual report
In 2020, the Town of Belgrade’s support was critical to the success of 7 Lakes Alliance’s erosion control and invasive plant (variable milfoil) prevention work, helping to leverage funding from other sources, including the state and private donors. Lake shorefront properties represent 60 percent of Belgrade’s property tax base. An investment in lakes is an investment in keeping taxes low and in maintaining local jobs. Healthy lakes support the region’s economic infrastructure. Highlights of invasive plant (milfoil removal, control and prevention) in 2020 included:
11,362 courtesy boat inspections (CBIs) between May and September at five public boat launches and one private launch in the Belgrade area. Of those inspections, 5,079 were at Long Pond and 2,664 at Great Pond. Since 2003, the CBI program has performed approximately 15 percent of all boat inspections in Maine. CBIs help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive plants into and throughout the lakes. In 2020, zero invasive plants were recovered, but inspectors removed 90 native plant fragments from boats at launches on Great and Long ponds.
20 students were employed as courtesy boat inspectors, protecting the lakes and learning about lake ecology, the value of Maine’s lakes and the risk of invasive plants.
In partnership and with funding support from the Town of Belgrade, Belgrade Lakes Association, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and state and private contributors, 32,976 gallons of variable milfoil were removed from Great Pond, including Great Meadow Stream. This number has decreased since 2012, when 50,000 gallons were removed, due to our aggressive removal efforts.
52 miles of shoreline on Great and Long Ponds were “adopted” by volunteers through the Adopt-AShoreline program. At-risk areas of both lakes were surveyed.
$245,658 was spent on invasive milfoil programs. Funds were received from lake associations, towns, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and private donors. Volunteers also contributed 831 hours of time to this effort.
With respect to erosion control programs (to prevent algae blooms and improve water quality), 7 Lakes Alliance’s Youth Conservation Corps (YCC):
- Has, since 1996, completed 1,625 projects, the largest such program in Maine.
- Hired six high school and college-aged youth in 2020. They completed 25 erosion control projects within the Belgrade Lakes watershed, including 20 on Belgrade town lakes.
- Benefited from funding provided by homeowners, towns, lake associations, private donors and businesses, and Maine DEP.
Respectfully submitted,
Laura Rose Day, 7 Lakes Alliance President and CEO