News Archive

July 23, 2024

93479- WHEN: Wednesday August 14, 2024 5:00 pmWHERE: Bear Mountain Inn and Barn, 364 Waterford Rd, Waterford, ME Join us at the beautiful Bear Mountain Inn again this summer to meet LEA staff & board and learn what we’ve been working ...

June 19, 2024

93047- Wednesday, June 19th, 2024 Edes Falls Park, Naples, ME Press Release: for immediate release In a landmark achievement for environmental restoration and community enhancement, the Edes Falls Dam has been successfully ...

June 18, 2024

93026- Meet our seasonal staff for Summer 2024! We're so excited to work alongside these folks to protect the waterbodies in the Greater Sebago Lake Region. Land and Water Outreach Intern - Sara Carlson Sara Carlson is LEA’s Land ...

May 6, 2024

92912- Woodland Owner Appreciation Day 2023 In the Jugtown Forest in September 2023, we hosted our fifth Woodland Owner Appreciation Day. It was a day dedicated to the landowners who serve as stewards of the forests that act as ...

August 24, 2023

90629- Naples, ME - August 25th, 2023 In a continued effort to protect and restore Sebago-region waterways, Lakes Environmental Association (LEA), in conjunction with partner organizations, successfully completed a culvert replacement ...

July 24, 2023

90563- Last week, I went out to see for myself the extent of the milfoil in Cape Monday Cove. The head of LEA’s invasives control team, Michael Flannery, and our Long Lake divers had surveyed the area and the reports coming in were not ...

May 19, 2023

90264- We all witnessed the consequences of five inches of rain within a 24-hour period in our watershed last week. When such a significant amount of rain falls in such a short timeframe, particularly on already saturated ground, the ...

April 11, 2023

90166- Streams and wetlands serve as vital wildlife corridors, allowing various aquatic and terrestrial species to travel in and along these resources. Natural crossings, such as the woody debris shown in the video, provide safe passage for ...

January 26, 2023

89761- "This is an unusual year for ice formation. Between warm days and now decent snowpack, ice on the lakes has been slow to form and even slower to accumulate. Not only does the snow insulate the ice (slowing down ice accumulation), it ...

January 9, 2023

89696- Lake Researchers Gather in Bridgton Colin Holme, Executive Director, Lakes Environmental Association On January 6th, lake experts and researchers from across the state of Maine and beyond met in Bridgton to discuss the ...

December 22, 2022

89613- Fall/Winter 2022-2023 newsletter ...

November 30, 2022

89801- ...

November 14, 2022

15180- Have you ever wondered why some bodies of water are tinted brown or tea-colored? The answer isn’t always polluted water or excessive sediment from runoff. Frequently, water in streams and rivers becomes tea-colored from naturally ...

September 15, 2022

15063- Photos courtesy of Sebago Clean Waters On September 14th, Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) and partner organizations removed remnants of an old stone dam in Burgess Brook that restricted fish passage. Burgess Brook is ...

July 18, 2022

14888- We get calls all the time from folks concerned about loons; thanks for all your eyes and ears out there protecting them! If you are ever concerned for a loon's safety or see one in distress, please call the Maine Warden Service at the ...

June 2, 2022

14670- For the past three years, fifth grade students at Sebago Elementary have been working to create sections of a field guide for their nature trail. This year, thanks to a budding mycologist in the class, they were convinced to focus on ...

April 18, 2022

14470- Join AM Enterprises and a slew of community members for a rip roaring cleanup of Bridgton on the afternoon of Saturday, April 23 from 3-5 pm. If you cant make it on Saturday, try to make some time to pick up your neighborhood this ...

March 31, 2022

14395- Jan Santerre from Project Canopy and forest entomologist Colleen Teerling share their knowledge about the Emerald Ash Borer in Maine in this hour long recorded webinar. Signs of early detection and trap plots will be key in tracking ...

November 13, 2019

11488-It's that time of year again! LEA is collecting dates of ice-out for our area lakes. If you're a keen lake observer, we could use your help! Ice-out (or breakup) dates have been collected since the 1800s and have been used as ...

February 15, 2022

14241- Birding in Ecuador- lets take a virtual vacation! March 9, 6 pm. Register here! Clearly this bird will not be in the presentation... Big Night is coming! Big night is coming! Learn all about the stars of the show, March ...

February 2, 2022

14196- Although our wetlands here in Maine are quite... frozen... at this point, on February 2, 2022 wetlands are celebrated around the world (they're not all frozen right now, you know!) The World Wetlands Day website has a number of ...

January 7, 2022

14082- It's never too soon to start planning for the 2022 field season, and we've started our hiring process for Courtesy Boat Inspectors, water testing interns and milfoil crew for this year! You can find more info about each position and ...

December 15, 2021

13951- Maybe you're chomping at the bit to: ice skate, fish, snowmobile, skinny dip, be chased by dinosaurs across the pond (insert activity here). But is that ice thick enough?! Ice thickness chart, but nothing beats common sense! ...

November 29, 2021

13868- We need your help! We're collecting ice in dates for area lakes to help us better understand the whole picture of winter limnology, along with our winter monitoring and ice-out dates in the spring. Instead of emailing, now you can ...

October 29, 2021

13668-In 2003, an oil spill in Buzzards Bay, MA killed a large number of Common Loons. To help offset the Common Loon losses which resulted from the Buzzards Bay oil spill, a 5-year-long project was launched with LEA, Maine Lakes, and Maine ...

October 18, 2021

13557-Crossbow/ archery season has begun which means it's time to don our favorite and exceptionally fashionable blaze orange in the woods. Both the Holt Pond Preserve and the Highland Research Forest are open to hunting and regular season ...

September 22, 2021

13494-The Maine Forest Service has announced an emergency order to restrict movement of ash tree products and hardwood firewood from areas in Cumberland and Oxford Counties. The order is in place to help slow the spread of Emerald Ash Borer ...

September 10, 2021

13474-Our last cycle of regular water testing ends this week (the second week in September). We will shift to secchi readings only and then focus on pulling the automated buoys as things cool down after the lake mixes this fall. Once things ...

August 31, 2021

13441-We love our trail steward Laura Cleveland for keeping Highland Research Forest trails and privy spiffy and cleared of branches and trash. She also lets us know when something looks wicked weird and sent pictures of an algae bloom in ...

August 16, 2021

13358-Ever wonder how we survey for milfoil in big big lakes for little tiny plants? Much of the milfoil work on Long Lake and during survey work for other lakes (Moose Pond, Keoka Lake and Peabody Pond to name a few) involves being hauled ...

July 19, 2021

13286-Did you know that 2020 was LEA's 50th Anniversary?   We were hoping to celebrate this milestone with our members but something else came up unexpectedly and we were forced to postpone.  But Covid hasn't stopped us from using our ...

July 12, 2021

13264-We know you care about the lake you live on, and we want to make it super easy for you to do your best. We know if we all do our part we can keep our lakes healthy and beautiful! Check out our colorful and helpful updated Homeowner's ...

June 17, 2021

13200-[caption id="attachment_13202" align="aligncenter" width="936"] Tommy and crew on the new-to-us boat, The Jenny O, in Sebago Cove.[/caption] This year's season is starting off right with a new-to-us harvester, (The Jenny O, pictured ...

June 10, 2020

12087-  Maggie and Ben deployed the automated buoy on Highland Lake this week, and the Long Lake buoy is close behind! These automated buoys send info to the Science Center every fifteen minutes during the testing season. Sensors ...

April 30, 2021

12917-It's spring! There is rain! Hooray! Alanna shared some info on vernal pool ecology this past week. If you missed it here is the recording below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKro-drKEL0 ...

April 15, 2021

12896-Our Maine Tree Farm sign has been "planted". After submitting a forest management plan by our forester, Paul Larrivee, that addressed air, water, soil quality, wildlife, special sites, invasive species and integrated pest management as ...

April 8, 2021

12885-We are just having such a good time on zoom, aren't you? We know. Hope to see you all soon. We are however trying to take advantage of the virtual presentation opportunity (you can watch from anywhere! You can wear your pajamas!), and ...

February 16, 2021

12773-March 10th at 6:00 PM The Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District will be hosting a webinar on the invasive insect Emerald Ash Borer and how landowners, residents and municipalities throughout Western Maine can identify ...

January 19, 2021

12709-Thanks to Maine Lakes, we have a recording of Dr. Ben Peierls' webinar to share! Now you can check it out at your leisure on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNGxTTjlvA0&feature=youtu.be ...

December 9, 2020

12560-See all that we've been up to over the summer and the transition into the school year and winter season, plus so much more! LEA Fall Winter 20-21 Newsletter ...

November 2, 2020

12469- As the lakes cool and mix and winter comes galloping at us head on, Maggie, Ben and Shannon are working to pull temperature sensor buoys in area lakes and eventually the automated buoys on Highland Lake and Long Lake. The typical ...

October 13, 2020

12438- Although Covid has affected many aspects of our life, the one thing that remains true is that the outdoors is an incredibly diverse and engaging learning environment. Throughout the summer, Mary and Alanna kept in contact with the ...

September 22, 2020

12363-Click here to check out live data from LEA's automated water quality buoy on Long Lake Click here to check out live data from LEA's automated water quality buoy on Highland Lake ...

August 29, 2020

12282- Turtle Trapping at Holt Pond By LEA Intern, Shannon Nelligan (pictured at left with a painted turtle) As a water testing intern for Lakes Environmental Association, my primary job is to travel to all the different lakes and ponds ...

August 19, 2020

12265-Hi Folks! The results have been tallied, pictures and spectacular selfies gathered, and the shirts are printed and ready! (If you're available to pick up your shirt at the LEA office on 230 Main Street please email ...

July 16, 2020

12192-Join Maine Audubon, Portland Water District, the Maine DEP and LEA to help identify aquatic insects throughout the watershed. We are looking for interested volunteers to visit tributary streams a couple of times a year to assess ...

July 9, 2020

12180-Hi folks, we saw a spring of so little rain, and then lately it feels like whenever it is raining we are getting hammered! The dry spells leave the ground surface scorched and unable to soak in the rain very easily (think of cleaning ...

May 22, 2020

12058-In mid-May,  LEA and the Moose Pond Association teamed up to conduct a watershed survey on Mountain Road near Moose Pond and Shawnee Peak. No, we didn't subject the land to multiple choice questions, but we did look for areas of ...

April 29, 2020

12019-Curious about last year’s water quality information on the surrounding lakes? Check out our 2019 Water Testing Report, shiny and new and hot off the press! Results for our chlorophyll monitoring via fluorometry, high-resolution ...

April 20, 2020

11876-It has been so exciting to see the trout art that our students and community have sent in. This art challenge is a way to share images of brook trout, a native freshwater fish that relies on clean lakes and rivers to survive. Please ...

April 7, 2020

11836-Spring is creeping in and the leaves will burst out soon! Project budburst is a citizen science program tracking the changing of the seasons, phenology, by mapping where and when buds are bursting open. These flowers and leaves ...

April 1, 2020

11815-Looking for fun ways to learn about REALLY cool science? Our friends at the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) has compiled a multitude of resources (21 pages!) for "Online Nature Connection Learning Resources to share ...

March 20, 2020

11782- A big thank you goes out to 90 donors who made generous donations to LEA through Patagonia’s Gift of Giving campaign. This end-of-year initiative brought in a total of $48,425 to our organization, of which $23,300 was match from ...

March 11, 2020

11711-Due to the spread of COVID-19 the Milfoil Summit has been postponed. CBI coordinator training will not be a requirement for grant funding in 2020. We will keep this page updated as the situation changes. ...

February 4, 2020

11673-The Department of Environmental Protection has cancelled all in-person training events until May 1. Please see the message below from the Maine DEP regarding this decision: "In accordance with Gov. Janet Mills and the Maine ...

January 9, 2020

11635-LEA game camera footage ...

December 23, 2019

11582-The Lakes Environmental Association is seeking a trail steward for the 2020 summer season! Our trail intern will work with LEA staff and the general public and be courteous, helpful and outgoing towards visitors of LEA preserves along ...

December 9, 2019

11540-Stop in to our office on 230 Main Street, the Maine Lake Science Center, or area businesses in Bridgton, Naples, Casco, Denmark, Lovell, and Sebago for a copy of our Winter 2019/ 2020 newsletter. It's packed with articles and photos ...

November 1, 2019

11474-Dropping temperatures start the process -- the lower air temperatures start to change the surface pond and lake temperature, and because water is SO AWESOME, this increases the density of the surface water, and it starts to sink down ...

October 23, 2019

11462-In October, two University of Maine graduate students visited LEA to collect sediment cores from Long Lake and Highland Lake. Both Simona Lukasik and Ben Burpee are advised by Professor Jasmine Saros, who has sampled these lakes ...

October 10, 2019

11434-Cooler weather, fewer biting insects, beautiful seasonal changes. Thanks to a grant, we've been able to fund field trips to the Highland Research Forest and Holt Pond Preserve this fall for students from first grade through middle ...

September 19, 2019

11391-As part of the Great Maine Outdoor Week, we celebrated by enjoying the fall woods, and giving back! A big thank you to volunteers Ed and Kelly Pontbriand for sharing their expertise Tuesday at the Highland Research Forest, and a big ...

September 17, 2019

11383-LEA was the focus of Episode 3 of Lake Region Television's "Lake Life" Series. Check it out!   ...

September 20, 2019

11406-This past week, freshwater jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii) were seen for the second time in one of our local lakes. Our researchers were out in the middle of Granger Pond for end-of-season monitoring, when a few, roughly inch-long ...

September 6, 2019

11367-This summer there have been numerous reports of blue green algae blooms across the country and New England.  High levels of blue green algae (which are technically cyanobacteria) are linked to numerous health concerns for people and ...

September 6, 2019

11371- This summer, LEA is working with an army of volunteers who are collecting samples to help determine the impact of septic systems on our lakes. As most homeowners know, wastewater from our homes and camps flows into a concrete ...