Protecting or restoring your shoreland buffer is the most important tip for protecting your waterfront investment. If you have native vegetation along your shoreline, consider yourself and the local wildlife fortunate. A mature native buffer represents many years of nature at work and discourages undesirable, exotic plants and animals...
A clean lake is a happy lake. Here are some simple tips to consider to ensure your lake can be enjoyed by future generations. Posted September 25, 2009 by Freshwater Society If you live on a lake, stream or wetland, plant a buffer strip of native plants along the...
What Is A Blue-Green Algae Bloom? Blue-green algae reproduce rapidly in fresh water when the amount of sunlight, temperature and nutrients are adequate. Within a few days a “clear” lake, pond or ditch can become cloudy with algae growth. This is called a bloom. Blue-green blooms usually float to...
Why does the water quality of our lake seem to get worse throughout the summer? Lakes change a great deal over the course of a year. Changes are caused by seasonal weather patterns, watershed influences, and the life cycles of the lake’s biota. During the winter, ice and snow...
A Buffer of Native Plants Preserving a natural buffer of native plants is one of the best ways to protect a lake. Shoreline plants filter sediment and chemicals from runoff, provide food and shelter for fish and wildlife and can slow or prevent shoreline erosion. Shade from overhanging shrubs...
March 14th, 2012 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension I work with a number of lake associations throughout Maine. As I coordinate the Watershed Stewards Program Looking at Lake Water Quality (our lake education program), I get to know the people who care about their lakes – and most often,...
Loving Your Lake – 10 tips for keeping your waters clean and healthy– forever By Steve McComas, Published: August 1, 2005 People have a remarkable affinity for and attraction to water, so more and more of us are moving to the lake or dreaming about it. Maybe you have...
What is a Watershed? A watershed is an area of land in which all the water drains into a particular low-lying river or other surface water body. The boundaries of a watershed are determined by higher areas of land which separate it from adjacent watersheds. Since all the land...
Lakes age with time and have been going through a natural process of filling in over hundreds or thousands of years. Each fill in at different rates. The natural aging process in which a lake fills in with material (such as sediment and decayed organic material) and gets shallower...
If you are a lake and pond lover like me, you may want to learn more about lake ecology and lake management. The more educated you are, the more you will enjoy the lakefront living lifestyle! A publication by the MA Department of Conservation & Recreation Lakes & Ponds Division was...