Woods Pond Lakefront Property Owners and the LEA Keeping Milfoil Out

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November 18, 2009

Woods Pond Lakefront Property Owners and the LEA Keeping Milfoil Out


Woods Pond in Bridgton, Maine maintains good water quality while having sufficient size and depth for locals and visitors alike to enjoy multiple recreational activities. The combined efforts of local lakefront property owners and the Lakes Environmental Association have managed to keep the water quality and clarity good while keeping the dreaded invasive aquatic plant, milfoil, OUT!
Eurasian Milfoil was never meant to be found outside of freshwater fish tanks. It is not a culinary treat for our lake creatures. Once established, it propagates quickly, forms a dense mat below the surface and crowds out native aquatic plants. Thus fish, small marine animals, mammals and birds have a reduced food supply.
The matted plants also reduce the amount of wind reaching the water, which lowers the oxygen levels, giving algae a chance to grow. Here in the Lakes Region, the Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) works hard to harvest the plant, but the best way to control it is to prevent it from being introduced in the first place.
In 2002, the Woods Pond Foundation had the foresight to install a boat washing station for this very reason. Working in conjunction with LEA, they built a 50 x 15-foot platform of crushed gravel on land leased from South Bridgton resident, Reg Fadden.
According to Peter Lowell, Executive Director of LEA, “Crushed gravel will absorb water and sediment so it doesn’t wash into the Woods Pond outlet.”
A high-pressure hose is used by boat owners to spray their boats. This $5,000 project was the first built in Maine. Since then, other boat washing stations have been built in Bridgton and throughout the state.
To date, Woods Pond has remained free of milfoil. But it only takes one boat to bring it in, so residents and visitors need to remain diligent about checking their crafts.
Woods Pond provides a good habitat for warm water fish and is home to smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, white perch and chain pickerel. It is also regularly stocked with brown trout.
The water quality of Woods Pond is considered to be average and stable. This 462 acre pond has a maximum depth of 29 feet. The southern end is easily accessible from Route 117 and is home to the boat launch, boat washing station and town beach, where many area children take swim lessons each summer.
The pond is located about three miles southeast of the center of Bridgton and eight miles from Shawnee Peak ski area.
This long, narrow pond is a great place for fishing, kayaking, water skiing, sailing and enjoying beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
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