Sebago Reflections Blog

A Be-Witch-ing Fall Native Plant

sebagoreflections — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:37:21 +0000

When you hear “witch hazel,” what do you think about? Maybe your not-so-nice sister, Hazel, or some scary Halloween decoration?

Witch Hazel's fall flower

In all actuality, witch hazel is an attractive, autumn-blooming plant that has made its home outside of our home here at theSebagoLakeEcologyCenter.

The “witch” in this plant’s name is derived from the Old English word wice, meaning “pliant.” Witch hazel’s delicate, limber limbs produce spider-like yellow blossoms which remain long after leaves have fallen. There are many medicinal uses for this plant; most commonly, the tannins in witch hazel make it a popular astringent. Prepared witch hazel can also be used topically to relieve itching and pain, and internally to ease digestion problems.

Witch hazel is most often found in moist, rich soil and is generally the size of a large shrub or small tree. It is deciduous, meaning it loses its leaves seasonally. It requires consistent access to water and some sunlight in order to grow to its fullest potential. When planted in direct sunlight, witch hazel will produce more flowers, but this isn’t necessary for its survival. One of very few plants to bloom in the fall, witch hazel grows beautifully in crisp temperatures.

There is much lore about witch hazel; it is believed that Native Americans and early European settlers would use witch hazel to find water sources in the ground through a method called dowsing. The forked branch from a witch hazel tree is perfect for this activity. With its two branches held in one’s hands and the stem pointed outward, it is said that the witch hazel’s stem will make a twitching movement if water is near.

by guest contributor Megh Rounds

Camp Wawenock: 101 Years of Sebago Lake Stewardship

sebagoreflections — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:37:19 +0000

by Elissa Guerrette, Water Resources Staff

“In 1997, none of this was here”.- Pat Smith, Camp Wawenock’s Co-Director, speaking about native vegetation that has grown back after driftwood was put in place to limit foot traffic.

Camp Wawenock, at the end of Raymond Cape, has been protecting Sebago Lake for over one hundred years. Recently, they obtained a conservation easement on 62 of their 90 acres of forested land. This protection has secured an astounding 1,000 feet of shoreline to remain undeveloped and preserved as a reminder of the lake’s natural beauty.

The camp’s efforts don’t stop there, though. Along with protection of forested land, they have collaborated with Portland Water District’s Lakescapers Grant Program to actively maintain the water quality of the lake.

Pat Smith, Camp Wawenock’s Co-Director, first noticed a problem with water run off in 1997 when water was carving divots into the camp’s footpaths and roads. As water flowed across the ground and over un-vegetated embankments, it carried soil, sand, and anything else it could pick up along the way, directly into the swimming area. When she mentioned this problem to officials at Camps O-AT-KA and Kieve, they told her PWD’s Water Resources Specialists (WRS) could address the problem, and Lakescapers could help pay for it.

Lakescapers is a grant program for residents, associations, businesses, municipalities, not-for-profit organizations, and camps around Sebago Lake to have their property assessed to make them more lake friendly, and then have a portion of that work paid for. “What we needed was someone to tune into what we wanted, and show us what we needed to do,” says Smith. By scheduling a meeting with a Portland Water District’s WRS, officials at Wawenock were able to set goals and a couple weeks later, the camp received a report depicting the best management practices (BMP’s) for preventing erosion and run off into the lake. They were then eligible to apply for a Lakescapers grant and were approved for $700 toward their project.

The results have been astonishing. Once-exposed root systems are now covered, water clarity has increased, pathways aren’t swept away after every rain, and vegetation has filled in around the shoreline. “We haven’t had to regrade our roads once,” said Smith, “Every seven years or so we apply for a new grant, add more erosion control mulch, and it prevents the problem.”

Wawenock’s efforts are made even more admirable by using almost exclusively natural materials for their projects. This includes using driftwood to define walking paths, transplanting native species found on their property closer to the shoreline to stabilize it, creating a washout-preventing berm near the beach with natural erosion control mulch, and hand digging drainage dips to divert runoff to water loving plants within a rain garden.

By taking advantage of the Lakescaper’s grant program, Camp Wawenock has set the precedent for good lake stewardship. They have proven that responsible landscaping not only helps those who use Sebago Lake maintain its excellent water quality, but helps people keep the shoreline stable and available for generations to come.

To find out how you can begin the Lakescapers grant process and help protect the quality of SebagoLake please contact sebagolake@pwd.org

2009: Excessive runoff had exposed roots and small shoreline vegetated buffer area allowed soil and sand to be swept into the lake.

2011: Erosion control mulch and planting of native species closer to the shoreline has stabilized erosion and filtered runoff

Milfoil: Maine’s Menace of the Muck

sebagoreflections — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:33:48 +0000

- IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE — Peter Lowell, executive director of the Lakes Environmental Association, stands in water choked by milfoil on the Songo River in Naples. “It will only get worse until something meaningful is done,” he said. (Dave White photo)

What is milfoil?
Why do we care about milfoil?
Do we have milfoil on/in Sebago Lake?
What can we do about milfoil?
What shouldn’t we do about milfoil?

Peter Lowell, Executive Director of Lakes Environmental Association will answer these questions and more at the Sebago Lake Ecology Center this Thursday evening. Learn about the successes and failures of a variety of methods used to control the spread of this alien invader plant, and learn what each of us can do to help keep Maine’s lakes clear of plant pests.

Contact the Sebago Lake Ecology Center for this free presentation Thursday July 14, 6:30-8 pm. To register, call 774-5961 ext 3324 or email sebagolake@pwd.org.

Happy Lakes Month!

sebagoreflections — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:25:28 +0000

: July on Sebago by John McLaughlin, Standish ME

July is Lakes Appreciation Month!

The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) sponsors Lakes Appreciation Month each July to draw attention to the value and importance of lakes and reservoirs.

Over the past year, EPA has been reaching out to state fishing agencies, realtors, lake managers, lake associations, and watershed groups to stress the importance of protecting and restoring natural shorelines and reducing nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. The National Lakes Assessment (NLA), published in 2010, identified shoreline habitat loss and nutrient pollution as the two major causes of lake impairment. http://water.epa.gov/type/lakes/index.cfm

In fact, the NLA found that poor biological health was three times more likely in lakes with poor lakeshore habitat.

To help get the word out about the importance of natural shorelines, EPA has developed a set of educational materials which are available for download on the EPA Clean Lakes page at www.epa.gov/owow/lakes.

* Learning About Lakefront Property- A short guide on the benefits and responsibilities of owning lakefront property.

* Healthy Lakes & Higher Property Values- Fact sheet to help real estate professionals protect our nation’s lakes.

* Open the Door to Clean Lakes! -Laminated door hanger with specific tips for homeowners, designed for distribution to lakeside cabins, nature centers, etc.

* Clean lakes need healthy lakeshores, healthy lakeshores need you.

- Floating key chain with tips on the importance of natural shorelines.

* Lake Shoreland Protection Resources: Clearinghouse for Information on Lakeshore Protection and Restoration -Listing of available materials, websites, and other resources developed by states, academics, federal agencies and nonprofits on lakeshore protection and restoration topics.

* Archived EPA Watershed Academy Webcasts. Titles include the National Lakes Assessment; Healthy Shorelines through Better Shoreline Stewardship; and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution and Harmful Algal Blooms in Lakes.

* Natural Lakeshore Tips – Webpage and downloadable widget for your website.

Throughout the month of July, EPA’s Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds will be tweeting daily information and tips on how to protect and restore our nation’s lakes. Follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/EPAowow all month long.

Thank you for supporting clean and healthy lakes!

Another Rainy Spring…

sebagoreflections — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:02:46 +0000

photo by Sandy Loucks

Here’s an article from 2009 that seems timely this year:

Home & Garden: Maine’s Forest Sponge
from the MidCoast Free Press
by Georgeanne Davis mailto:calendar@freepressonline.com

After all the precipitation Maine has had over the past two months, water isn’t a topic of any urgency: we’ve had more than the gardens can soak up, and the need for any watersaving devices or sprinkling and soaking systems is obviated at this point. But I’ve been saving the following information from “Fresh from the Woods,” a newsletter produced by Forests for Maine’s Future, which is a partnership of the Maine Forest Service, University of Maine Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, Maine TREE Foundation and Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine. The lack of clean potable water is an increasingly serious problem in many parts of the world, including the western and southwestern areas of the U.S., but lucky us – Maine has some of the cleanest water in the nation, and forests are the reason why.

The Maine Department of Conservation puts it this way: “The Maine forest – with its vegetation, streams, lakes, wetlands and groundwater aquifers – functions like a huge sponge that collects, cleans and stores water. The forest’s water system is the foundation for wildlife habitats and recreational uses of the forest. It evens out lake levels, [the] flows of streams and rivers, and groundwater levels, throughout wet and dry periods. And it provides Maine people with their drinking and household water.”

A staggering amount of water is filtered through the forest “sponge” each year – about 24 trillion gallons, or enough to fill 40 million Olympic-size swimming pools. About half of the precipitation runs off in streams and rivers and collects in ponds and lakes before flowing back to the sea. Some of that surface water is used by Maine utilities to provide “city water” to about 60 percent of state residents.

For example, Sebago Lake is the water source for about 200,000 people in Greater Portland and clean enough to be exempt from the expensive filtration process required of most surface water sources. The lake covers 30,000 acres, and the extent of forest cover in its watershed is one of the chief reasons that Sebago Lake is so clean. Forests remove sediments and capture pollutants before they can reach water bodies.

Forest-to-Faucet, a partnership of the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, says that “People are a forest-dependent species. … In virtually every [water] system, large or small, the faucet is ultimately connected to a forest.” Maine is the most heavily forested state in the nation. Although its population almost doubled from 1900 to 2000, the abandonment of small farms also caused the amount of forestland in Maine to nearly double. That means there is just about as much forestland per person now (35 acres) as there was 100 years earlier (36.2 acres), according to Forest-to-Faucet.

In forests, rain tumbles through the mature tree canopy, understory trees and shrubs, and herbaceous plants such as ferns before reaching the litter layer, which is a natural mulch that limits evaporation, a shock absorber that protects soil pores, an insulator that inhibits soil freezing, and a slow-release source of nutrients to foster more plant growth and site protection. That’s not the case in developed areas, where roofs, driveways, parking lots and roads convert rain directly to storm water. The conversion of forest land to developed areas replaces a storm water and pollutant sink with a storm water and pollutant source. This is the two-edged sword of suburban sprawl and forest fragmentation, and the reason why a comprehensive approach to forest conservation and the revitalization of urban areas is at least as important today as it was a century ago. When one reads about the efforts to plant green roofs in cities and the utilization of permeable hardscapes for parking lots in urban areas, it seems both miraculous that in Maine we have such an abundant supply of water, and forgivable if once in a while it becomes overabundant – “once in a while” being the key phrase here.

A Winter Walk Affects More Than The Waistline

sebagoreflections — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:33:28 +0000

When Maine’s harsh winter sets in, do you kick back next to the fire? Why not bundle up and head outside to kick up some snow instead?

According to a recent study reported in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, spending as little as 20 minutes outdoors increases feelings of vitality and, well, happiness. Researchers found that the presence of nature improved subjects’ positive feelings consistently and measurably- and those feelings persisted even after the outdoor excursion. The study built upon an earlier German research which showed that spending time in nature makes one a kinder, gentler person.

photo by June Eisland

Maybe this explains why Mainers, as a rule, are such nice people? We tend to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the beauty of our natural spaces and our clean fresh air and water.

If you want to be happy, may I recommend a visit to the Sebago Lake Land Reserve? Portland Water District offers 1700 acres of gorgeous lakeside property for your non-motorized low-impact enjoyment- hiking, dog-walking, horseback riding, etc. All you need to do is check in to one of our 11 permit kiosks to fill out a simple form and you can access miles of trails.

If you’d like more information or a map, visit our website or stop in at the Sebago Lake Ecology Center at 1 White Rock Road in Standish. http://www.pwd.org/environment/sebago/sebagolakelandreserve.php We’re happy to help you get happy!

Happy New Year from your friends at PWD.

Our Land Reserve logo- found on permits.

Holiday Water

sebagoreflections — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:21:03 +0000

It’s no surprise that water use increases with the holidays. Holiday meals often center around a large meal, like a Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham. Check out the facts below about water usage – you may find them surprising!

A typical turkey dinner for 6 requires about 30,000 gallons of water.
It takes 16,300 gallons of water to raise, process, and cook a turkey.
Prime Rib for the holidays? Each 1 lb of red meat takes about 5,214 gallons of water to produce (varies globally with feed and the production system).
Running water while preparing for and cleaning up after meals can use more than 2 gallons of water each minute.
It takes about 4,776 gallons of water to raise a Christmas tree.
To raise the 35 million Christmas trees U.S. families enjoy each year, a total of 167 billion gallons of water is required.

Have a Simply Green Holiday Season!

We’ve collected a few easy ideas for celebrating the holidays while also celebrating the environment:

Shop locally to reduce fuel use & increase the local economy!
Decorate an outdoor tree for the birds. Use suet, peanut butter and seed to cheer your feathered friends.
Switch to LED lighting- LED (Light Emitting Diode) holiday lights use up to 95% less energy than traditional holiday bulbs and last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors. Over a 30-day period, lighting 500 traditional holiday lights will cost you about $18.00 while the same number of LED lights costs only $ .19! As an added bonus, if one of the LED lights burns out the rest of the strand will stay lit.
Support wildlife causes- some good ones locally are Biodiversity Research Institute, Maine Audubon, and your local land trust.
Use a real tree, and recycle it after the holidays. Recycled trees can be used for mulch, compost, erosion control.
Use fabric wraps or wrapping paper made from recycled paper- to save 100 gallons of water per pound of paper. In the US, the annual trash from gift wrap and shopping bags totals over 4 million tons!
Donate to a local good cause- this gift uses no resources to produce and helps your community.
Give your cleaning cupboard a non-toxic makeover. Resolve to choose products without antibacterial agents & chemicals that do not play nicely in our waterways and in our health.
Take holiday photos with a standard camera, not a disposable one. Did you know that purchasing film in rolls of 36 instead of 12 reduces waste by 67% and saves about $4.00, or 40%? And it gives you extra frames for that special photo of Sebago Lake!

From the PWD family to yours; best wishes for a happy, healthy holiday season!

Images of Sebago Lake Calendar, Now Available

sebagoreflections — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:40:30 +0000

The 2011 Images of Sebago Lake Calendar is now available. The calendar features dramatic images of Sebago Lake from amateur photographers who have captured the many moods of Maine’s second largest lake.

This is the sixth in the Images of Sebago Lake Calendar series. The calendar recognizes local talent and their appreciation for Greater Portland’s drinking water source.

To obtain a copy of the Images of Sebago Lake 2011 calendar, visit the Sebago Lake Ecology Center in Standish (intersection of 237 and 35) or PWD’s Portland offices at 225 Douglass Street. Supplies are very limited therefore only one per person will be handed out. For more information, contact sebagolake@pwd.org.

It’s not too early to think about the 2012 calendar. Keep your camera ready; Sebago Lake offers many opportunities for that perfect shot!

Falling Beauty

sebagoreflections — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:03:01 +0000

Sweet Gum leaf

How do you prepare for winter? Put away the shorts and sandals and take out hats, gloves, boots, and winter jacket? Here in the Sebago region, shorter days and crisp, chilly air prompt our fall traditions–fairs, apple picking, pumpkin carving, and canning the fall harvest.

The bright colors of autumn are nature’s signal that winter is on its way. The explosion of color almost seems a celebration by the trees of a growing season well done. But there is science behind the celebration…

Fall colors are visible evidence of natural pigments found in leaves: green is from chlorophyll; yellows, oranges, and browns are made by carotenoids; and the reds are from anthocyanins. Chlorophyll is the most important of the three because plants use it to produce glucose (food) by the process of photosynthesis. Carotenoid pigments are in the leaves throughout the growing season but they are masked by the chlorophyll. Most anthocyanins are only produced in the fall in response to specific weather patterns.

In the Northeast, pigments in deciduous trees respond to the decreasing amount of sunlight and increasing length of nighttime as winter approaches. Because trees do not photosynthesize in the winter, they first stop the flow of chlorophyll to leaves. This is done by gradually sealing off the veins to the leaves and the spot where the leaf is attached to the tree. The leaf’s lack of green chlorophyll allows the carotenoid and anthocyanin pigmets to show, thus giving us the brilliant colors of nature’s palette!

Each tree displays different colors; some years brighter than others. Birch, elm, poplar, and hickory trees give us the gold and yellow hues while red oak, hickory, ash, sugar maple, black gum, red maple, and dogwoods give us the reds, magenta and purple colors (although they can produce yellow leaves). Leaves tend to turn much brighter when weather patterns include cold nights and warm, sunny fall days. Leaves are also their brightest when the preceding spring brought sufficient rain and the summer was neither too hot nor too cold.

Sebago Lake’s watershed is about 80% forested, so there is plenty of fall foliage to explore nearby! With the recent designation of the first 8-mile section of the Sebago to the Sea Trail – which includes 3 miles within our Sebago Lake Land Reserve – a bike ride or stroll is a perfect way to get out and enjoy the season.

photo by Diane Rogers

Here at the Portland Water District, we know that not only are the forests beautiful but they also help to protect and clean water entering the watershed; we’re big fans of forests.

Sebago Inspiration

sebagoreflections — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:15:13 +0000

We recently happened upon an old postcard from the 1920′s showing a pretty lake scene on the front and presenting the following poem on the other side. (click on it to enlarge) The lake has long been a source of inspiration to poets, painters, and people like you.

Do any of you recognize the writer? The photo on the front is also beautiful- who knows the location?