[Image credit: Peter Taber]
Lake-of-the-Month
About Mill Pond:
The Basics...
Mill Pond is a small waterbody located in Searsport. It is approximately 2 hectares (5 acres) in size and supports some warmwater fish species. It was historically a larger waterbody, but sediment deposition -- in part, due to beaver dams slowing down the water -- has transformed its northern end into marshland (as seen in photo by Peter Taber). It is a freshwater system although it is located only 9 m (29.5’) above sea level and in close proximity to the ocean. A significant reason for this is the small impoundment, which State of Maine records indicate was constructed in 1900 and is owned by the Town of Searsport. The impoundment is ~4.9 m (16’) high and has a ~4.3 m (14’) hydraulic height. This substantially separates the pond from the tidal cycles that could result in a saltwater intrusion, which, in turn, could dramatically change the water quality and habitat of the waterbody. While the processes of gradual sediment deposition and beavers damming at the northern end can be considered natural eutrophication, human manipulation of the environment is also at play here, even in the possibility of Mill Pond as an existent pond and not a saltwater marsh. The issues associated with impoundments, and of their removal are often complex and require significant understanding of the changes that could occur to an ecosystem, both what is gained and what is lost.
What's New?
Bird's Eye Views of Maine Lakes
We have collected some spectacular aerial videos of 26 Maine lakes, all captured by drones and published on Youtube or Facebook.
To view this collection, click on the image below.
Click here for previous What's New
Did You Know?
The Cooper Lake Surveys
The year is 1937. Across the Atlantic, the Spanish civil war is raging. Somewhere over the Pacific, Amelia Earhart is last heard from. In the US, FDR opens the Golden Gate Bridge; the Hindenburg airship is destroyed at Lakehurst NJ; Spam is first sold in food stores. And, in Maine, Gerald Cooper, a faculty member at UMaine, begins the first systematic survey of the water quality and biology of Maine lakes (and some streams). During this first year, Cooper focuses on streams and a few lakes in York and Cumberland counties. Over the next 7 years (with a break during the war year of 1943), Cooper and colleagues survey over 200 lakes, ending up with Moosehead and Haymock Lakes in 1944.
Lots of Data: Many Sources
The Maine DEP Lakes Assessment Section works in a strong partnership with Lake Stewards of Maine/Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (LSM) in the collection and management of water quality data collected from Lakes throughout Maine. LSM coordinates the initial gathering and quality assurance process for more than 1,300 individuals and many lake associations that monitor individual lakes across the state.
Current Conditions
Click here to view current water quality conditions on a representative sample of Maine lakes during summer, or view which lakes have experienced ice-cover in the fall and ice-out in the spring.
Get Involved
The majority of data on lakesofmaine.org comes from certified volunteer citizen scientists. If you are interested in finding a monitoring opportunity, please visit Lake Stewards of Maine or contact our office at 207-783-7733. Email is stewards@LakeStewardsME.org
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