WILTON – Foothills Land Conservancy will be holding its annual meeting on Wednesday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Academy Hill School Cafeteria in Wilton, Maine. After a short business meeting, there will be a presentation by Rob Lively, President of Friends of Wilson Lake (FOWL), about the Wilson Lake Watershed Survey. The public is invited to attend.
FOWL, in cooperation with the Town of Wilton, will be conducting a watershed survey on Sept. 24, 2016; looking at potential sources of runoff going into Wilson Lake, Pease Pond, and Varnum Pond. Of particular concern is runoff that contains phosphorous, which at elevated levels can be quite damaging to a lake—it leads to algal growth which causes the water to turn cloudy and green, which has a negative impact on fish, recreational uses, and property values.
A watershed survey seeks to identify these potential sources of runoff so that solutions may then be explored. It requires the work of technical experts and volunteers, and cooperation between the town, its citizens, and those conducting the survey.
Our last survey was conducted in 1994 and it is felt it is time for us to do it again. Our science advisor, Dr. Dan Buckley, biologist and lake expert at the University of Maine at Farmington, has been expressing concern about the algal growth at the boat launch area off of the Pond Road. What is its source, or sources? These questions warrant a new survey.
The Foothills Land Conservancy preserve is located at the north end of Wilson Lake in Wilton, Maine. It contains approximately 230 acres and includes many acres of shoreline frontage and land along Wilson Stream as it enters the lake. The preserve can be accessed along Pond Road near its intersection with Route 156.
For more information, contact Allen Bailey, President of Foothills Land Conservancy, at 778-7245 or email at foothillslandconservancy@gmail.com.
Wilton is blessed with two organizations that work hard to protect the health of our beloved Wilson Lake.
FOWL members and students provide inspections of boats that might be carrying non-native invasive plants that could adversely affect the lake and fishing. Fowl volunteers examine lake clarity throughout the summer months to determine problems for those who use the lake and the fish that live in it. Foothills Land Conservancy helps to maintain lake water quality in their work to protect the welfare of the large piece of conserved land at the head of the lake where Wilson stream enters the marshland bordering the north end of the lake, an important wildlife habitat area.
Clean, clear water is essential for survival for some fish species and for the animals that need them for food.
Without human efforts to stop soil runoff into the lake, introducing algae producing phosphorous, our fish population can be greatly diminished.
I took part on the first watershed survey of the lake and while changes for the better have come from that effort, there are new issues that need to be addressed. I urge all who care about Wilson Lake to take part this time.