Lakes Environmental Association, Bridgton, Maine, Proposes Lake Science Center

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Lakes Environmental Association, Bridgton, Maine, Proposes Lake Science Center

Reflecting Waters of Panther Pond, Raymond, Maine

Lakes Environmental Association envisions a Lake Science Center to bring water quality research to the forefront.



In the 70s, the Maine Legislature made a dramatic commitment to Maine’s lakes when it mandated shoreland zoning.
According to Peter Lowell, executive director of Lake Environmental Association (LEA), “It was not until 1990 that the next generation of lake protection came along. The Maine DEP developed a method to estimate the phosphorus pollution impact that a specific development would have on a lake. This significant breakthrough allowed for consideration of cumulative impact from all land uses in a lake’s watershed. LEA wrote a companion handbook for the DEP that outlined a process for producing a watershed inventory.”
Though these efforts have been readily accepted by most lakefront property owners, Maine lakes–a natural resource many of us value–have continued to degrade. Throughout the state, our economy depends on good water quality.
To date, Lowell says there is no comprehensive method to determine the rate of decline in our lakes. Many are monitored across the state, but “monitoring standards have not kept up with science and statewide, we have done a poor job of educating decision makers and interest groups. Protecting lakes means fully understanding what is going on in their watersheds and their waters.”
To this end, LEA has announced its proposed plan for a Lake Science Center–”The science of lake protection needs to be harnessed to allow us to protect water quality for future generations and our economy. In addition, education and a positive experience in the natural world compliment scientific knowledge in promoting the changes that will be needed,” says Lowell.  Lowell and the Board of Directors have set a goal for the center to be in completed by 2020 to commemorate LEA’s 50th Anniversary.
In the past year, through an anonymous donation, LEA was able to fund a researcher who introduced three new parameters to the water testing they were already conducting–gloeotrichia or “gloeo,” a blue green algae; the ratio of aluminum to iron in lake sediment; and measuring the lake temperature profile with HOBO temperature sensors. Researcher Amanda Pratt is still in the process of compiling information from these tests. She did learn, however, that gloeo was present in several lakes in the Sebago Lakes Region during late July and early August. Fortunately, the amounts were not significant, but the question now becomes–what about the future? Amanda’s research will serve as a baseline for future research.
In addition, LEA has developed a Lake Science Advisory Board consisting of ten research scientists who will help determine what the questions are that need to be answered. Several of these researchers have already indicated that they would be interested in using a facility, should it be built.
Though LEA has an actual property in mind for this proposed center, the plans continue to morph. Ultimately, the goal is to attract researchers, provide housing, create networks for information exchange and continue to educate the public.
“Ironically, the more we have learned about water quality, the more we realize we must still learn in order to truly protect Maine’s lakes,” says Lowell. “LEA has come full cycle to address a new age of lake science and the innocuous but sinister threat of cumulative impact.”
To learn more about lakefront properties for sale on Panther Pond, click on the green box above.
To learn more about the Raymond area, check out the blog links below.
Classic Maine Cottages For Sale on Panther Pond in the Sebago Lakes Region of Maine
Raymond, Maine Offers Plenty of Water for Lake Adventures
Nestled Between Panther Pond and Sebago Lake, It’s The Good Life Market in Raymond, Maine

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