Updated: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 11:45 AM

Ah, the pleasures of camp ownership in spring. A time for the raking of last fall's leaves, the hooking up of the water system, the putting in of the dock, the touching up of the paint, the planting of gardens and the launching of the boats. It is also a time for renewing old acquaintances and for establishing new friendships. We all face these tasks but the summer to follow makes them all acceptable. Hopefully, you are all well along on these annual chores and are looking forward to the new season as we are. Hopefully, too, your roads didn't suffer too much damage from the winter's weather and spring run off.

Please take special note of the announcement on this page of the newsletter of the plan to distribute, free of charge, plantings for creating a buffer strip on your water frontage to reduce pollution caused by runoff. This project is being administered by the Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District and we thank Dave Porter of that organization for his assistance in making it possible. It is but one step in ongoing programs to maintain the quality of the lake. You will be hearing from other projects e.g. the Watershed Study - Follow Up Committee that was approved at out 1998 annual meeting and initiated in October of '98. Keep in mind that the quality of Branch Pond is impacted by all of us and requires that we all take an active part to assure that it is maintained at the highest level.

The officers and Directors of your Branch Pond Association (BRA) are working with the City of Ellsworth, County and State agencies to assure the continued improvement in water quality, the fishery and the ambience we have all come to enjoy around the lake. Your membership in BRA supports these efforts and your participation in these ongoing programs is solicited. For information about how you can best be involved contact your individual road representative. We look forward to seeing you around the lake and at the BPA annual meeting on July 23.

The City of Ellsworth, in cooperation with the Hancock County Conservation District and the Branch Pond Association, has received a grant from the Maine Department of Human Services to purchase and distribute trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers to Branch Lake shorefront property owners. These plants will be used to create vegetative buffer strips on lakefront properties to filter storm water runoff, reducing sedimentation and taking up excess nutrients that would otherwise reach the lake.

Plants will be provided to member of the Branch Pond Association and other lakefront property owners free of charge. Pick up dates are Friday, May 28th and Saturday, May 29th at Merrill's Apple stand on Rt. 1 A between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Each member of the Branch Pond Association or property owner may receive $10 worth of plants. Pick up times are all day Friday (8-2) and Saturday morning (8-12). All remaining plants will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis after noon on Saturday. If you would like to volunteer to help with distribution, or would like more information, please contact the Hancock County Soil & Water Conservation District office at 664-7496.

The races are sponsored by the Branch Pond Association and everyone on the lake is invited to participate. If you wish any further information regarding the races, contact Paul Wight, Commodore. Winter telephone number:

A representative from the Maine Congress of Lake Associations (COLA) will speak to those attending the BPA annual meeting which will be held in the Ellsworth High School auditorium al 7:30 PM on Friday, July 23. The speaker will share some thoughts about cola's state wide efforts on behalf of the lake associations which make up its membership, ongoing programs sponsored by COLA, how the BPA relates to COLA, and how our organizations can maximize our efforts by working together.

The BPA has been a member of COLA for several years. Some members have raised questions about our membership and what COLA does for us. Mark your calendar to assure that you don't miss this enlightening presentation and take this opportunity to participate in BPA program decisions.

At the request of the Congress of Lake Associations (COLA) Anne Hayes has agreed to serve as the BPA’s legislative liaison. In this capacity she will receive advisories from COLA and will disseminate this critical information to the officers and directors of the BPA. It is hoped that this system will better assist lake associations to be informed and proactive as it relates to legislation and regulations impacting on association.

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A year ago, 20 volunteers from Branch Lake attended training sessions in the Watershed Stewards Program, then conducted a Watershed Survey covering 23 square miles around the lake. One hundred fifty eight sites were identified as areas contributing to the degradation of Branch Lake, primarily through erosion and storm water runoff. Technical assistance in designing corrective measures was provided by Maine DEP, Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service. Laura Wilson, Americorps volunteer leader on the project, produced an excellent write-up of the survey and is now organizing the documentation of the problems and recommended solutions for each Road Association.

To date, three grants have been awarded which can be used to upgrade many of the problem sites. Each has an education component as well. Projects are encouraged which serve to inform residents of road maintenance procedures which are both cost effective AND lake-friendly, for example.

The first grant was awarded under the Clean Water Act and provides $27,000 of federal funds over two years. The goal is to complete repairs to 5 or 6 demonstration sites using Best Management Practices. Educational tours of these sites will be conducted after completion. Sites designated in the grant include areas around Rocky Pond Stream and John Gray Brook; sections of the Cove Road, Phillips' Way, and Wilson Way; and a few individual properties including Hanson's Landing and Camp Jordan. Engineers have evaluated the Phillip's Way site and work is expected to begin there in early June. Contractors hired under the grant have been trained and certified under the DEP's Non-Point Source Training Center and will demonstrate techniques to minimize erosion and phosphorous loading from the sites.

The City and Branch Pond residents are asked to contribute volunteer time, materials, equipment, or matching funds to the project. Examples of resident contributions might include: attending meetings and workshops; taking and mounting pictures of sites before and after the work is done; providing refreshments for workers; making phone calls or signs notifying neighborhoods when road work is likely to impede traffic; spreading grass seed and mulch in ditches; or working on write-ups of the project for press releases and grant summaries. The city might provide manpower or equipment to work on various sites. A steering committee has been organized to help coordinate these efforts along with David Power of the Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District who is directing the project.

A second grant for $72,000 (to be funded over four years) has been awarded to John Jemison of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service. The purpose of the grant is to support Lake projects by hiring an individual to assist landowners or associations with watershed surveys and education, as well as remediation efforts. We might submit problem sites identified in our Watershed Survey, which are not being corrected under the Demonstration Grant, but are too expensive for road associations to tackle on their own. John is looking for projects in the $300 to $500 range with matching funds or services from road associations or individuals. Technical help in designing the work or writing up the project can be supplied from Jemison's office. He also asked to be informed of any watershed survey sites that have been corrected independently by the road associations. These efforts could be written up to help support his requests for annual renewal of this grant.

The third grant is one awarded to the City of Ellsworth under a program to protect drinking water supplies. Laura Wilson wrote the proposal and is overseeing the project. The $2500 will be used to provide buffer zone plants to every landowner around Branch Lake who wants them. These plants are especially good for stabilizing banks and filtering phosphorous from storm water runoff.

As Chairman of the Watershed Steering Committee, I will be distributing information from the Survey to each Road Association in late May. It is my hope that each association can incorporate one site repair per year in their budgets. Each little fix buys a little more time for our lake. If you need technical assistance with culvert depths, angle, lengths, or sources of materials for a project, contact the Soil and Water Conservation District. If you would like help submitting a project for grant funds, contact John Jemison at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service. If you would like any of these experts to address your Road Association meeting, they are very willing to come.

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The week of June 26, 1999 to July 4, 1999 has been designated as Lake Week. Historically, the BPA has sponsored such activities as a boat parade, roadside cleanup and a children's art contest. The BPA board of directors solicits your suggestions for this year's Lake Week celebration. Contact your road representative if you would be interested and willing to work coordinating Lake Week activities or if you have ideas which would make this event more interesting for all.

A little history: Our road and camp lots were laid out by a developer who arranged with the city to provide road maintenance on our private way. The developer included a statement to this effect in our deeds. The city plowed and graded but over a period of years the road deteriorated. No gravel was added, rocks were protruding, culverts weren't working, and brush had grown into the road.

This caused us to go through a period of fighting with city managers to get what we felt was due us. The situation came to a head when the city threatened to cut off all maintenance. Our BPA negotiated with the city, which resulted in them passing a Road Ordinance. This Ordinance specified the city would provide limited maintenance provided residents on camp roads would form Road Associations and meet certain road standards. We complied and the results overall have been gratifying.

Our road has been improved, we are no longer at odds with the city, and a side benefit of our Road Association is that we have gotten to know our neighbors and have become a friendlier community.

The city's road commissioner, Mr. King, inspects our road each spring and comments on things needed to be done. The past two years we have had problems getting contractors to do this work. This is not critical as the road is reasonably safe and useable. In fact, Mr. King has suggested some years we should save up our annual assessments to accomplish major improvements.

Our Road Associations now face a new challenge. Last summer the Hancock County Water and Soil District sponsored a workshop on how camp roads should be constructed and maintained to keep the lake's quality from deteriorating. Phosphates from road dust and run-offs are the main causes of the algae, which can ruin a lake. We already have enough algae in our lake to cause concern. They also gave instruction, with manuals, on how camp roads should be properly constructed to last longer with the least maintenance

Up until now our maintenance has been at the level of cutting brush, ditching, removing protruding rocks, repairing culverts and unfortunately there is more of that work needed to be done. However, over 30 years our roadbed has worn down to the point where summer grading stirs up rocks and it needs to be resurfaced. This is where we should strive to do it properly.

Other Road Associations around the lake are faced with the same situation and it is therefore suggested the Branch Pond Association become involved in supporting our efforts.

Cove Way Survives Winter Well

Cove Way, Tannery Brook Way, and Jones Point Way came through the winter of '99 without any major road bed problems. "There were a number of factors that contributed to this: a limited amount of snow for spring runoff, no major rain storms, and the continuing efforts being made to keep ditches cleaned out and culverts open," said President Bud Lee. The Cove Road/Orchard Road Association will hold its annual meeting on Sunday afternoon, July 18, 1999, at a time and location to be announced.