Adopting a Shoreline and Practicing Safe Boating
The past week was really hot and humid. That has gotten a lot of people out in the water to cool off, including me. I am part of a 7 Lakes program called “Adopt a Shoreline.” I am a trained Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) volunteer, but you don’t have to be to participate in this program. 7 Lakes conducts multiple trainings throughout the summer at multiple locations, including Sundays at the Farmers’ Market. Visit their website for details or stop into the gallery to learn more.
Basically the program is to patrol your shorefront at least twice a summer, either from a small boat or by snorkeling, looking for new plants that weren’t there before. If you find something that looks suspicious, drop a marker buoy, grab a sample and bring it to 7 Lakes for an ID. My area is Tracy Cove on Long Pond, which has over a mile of shoreline. It is an area where I fish regularly, paying careful attention to the plants.
At least once a year during the heat of summer, I patrol by snorkel. It cools me off, is good exercise, and I can get an up-close look at all the weed beds and “large woody debris” where the fish hang out. I have found a lot of good fishing spots this way as well as a lot of fishing lures lost by other fishermen. All the plants I found were natives, including several milfoil “lookalikes” such as water marigold or coontail, which have the same “bottle brush” look as milfoil but have branching leaves instead of feathered leaves. I also spotted some large (about the size of a small football) freshwater bryozoans on some submerged tree branches. These are colonial animals with tentacles that look like a weird jellyfish and feeds on small invertebrates. It only grows in areas with good water quality.
As I was snorkeling the shallow areas, I noted many boats, usually towing tubers or skiers bearing down on me, many in violation of Maine boater safety laws. Maine has a mandatory water safety zone within 200 ft. of any shoreline, including lakes, rivers, streams, and islands. Boats should not exceed wake speed in these areas. Any boat towing skiers, tubers, wake boarders, etc. is required to have a safety observer at least 12 years old watching those being towed, who must wear life jackets.
For wake boat operations, new regulations passed last year require a 300 ft. water safety zone and at least 15 ft. water depth. Maine has mandatory boater safety course required for anyone operating a motor boat (25 hp or above) born after January 1999, including anyone supervising anyone under the age of 12 operating a motor boat. Anyone operating a personal water craft must be at least 16 years old and have completed a water safety course. These are just a very brief summary of the requirements. Please visit the Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife website for a more complete discussion. And always watch out for swimmers! Even in the middle of the lake.
I’ve been getting a few hikes in and am seeing a lot of kids out hiking with family. While hiking the “Long Pond Loop” on The Mountain, I met Eric and Tonya Bourassa hiking with their 11-year-old twins Henry and Vivian, as well as the family dog. The Bourassas have a camp on East Pond that Eric’s grandfather bought in 1937. They are frequent users of the 7 Lakes trails and appreciate the relatively new blue trailhead signs the Stewardship crew has been putting up lately. Eric and Tonya mentioned that they actually got engaged at the top of French Mountain in 2007. Vivian and Henry were campers at Camp Tracy recently and said they had a lot of fun learning about water quality aboard the 7 Lakes floating classroom. My neighbor, Eric Hasenfus, had his grandkids visiting and the girls caught some nice fish off the dock.
Check the 7LA website and Facebook page for upcoming events. Our Thursday afternoon, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Chewonki presentations are ongoing. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the wealth of recreational opportunities this area offers. Do like they used to in “the good old days” and take a kid fishing, or on a hike, or paddling in a canoe. It’s how memories are made. Or take a parent, so they can become a kid again.
Download Full Newspaper: High Res | Low Res (Details…)
<— Previous Article • Summaries
©2025 by Summertime in the Belgrades. All rights reserved.