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May 2023

January 2023

Hello LACC Members,

Happy New Year!

I have a lot I’d like to share with our members as we flip into 2023. First and foremost, I’d like to share that the Maine DEP has proposed utilizing chemical herbicides to treat both Brittle Naiad and our VLM infestations.  I will be working with the DEP’s John McPhedran over the next few months to complete a Management Plan for Lake Arrowhead encompassing our Dash Harvesting program; CBI and development of a robust survey program that will be necessary to support any herbicidal applications and a complete definition of the lake areas to be treated.  None of this would have been possible without the absolute support and research of LAC and the LAC Water committee headed up by Dave Sanfason and Scott Davis.  As stewards of both Lake Arrowhead and even more importantly our LAC water system we have agreed upon monitoring and testing to ensure our wells remain safe.  There will be a process the DEP must follow in announcing the herbicidal applications. Generally, a public meeting will be involved.  But, more to come on two different applications, time frames (one each for Naiad and VLM) and the initial targeted areas identified to provide a safety zone for our wells.  The scope of areas to be treated will increase yearly as long as the monitoring of the water system remains positive.  We do not anticipate any issues since the DEP is using ProcellaCOR for VLM on lakes that provide drinking water in Maine.  I believe Diquat will be used on Naiad, but this will be the area furthest from out wells.

Our second big announcement concerns LACC itself.  As you know, the same board has been carrying the load for over a dozen years with no one running out of the woods to help us out, unfortunately that’s a fact.  I have been informing everyone attending our annual meetings the last few years that sustainability of LACC is one of the key strategies we must address.  After consulting with the LAC Board and LAC’s attorneys, we’ve developed a strategy that allows for LACC to become a fully separate subsidiary of LAC.   The LAC Board assumes the day-to-day production responsibilities of executing LACC’s Mission of protecting our lake. Operations like payroll and budget reporting will become a LAC Board function. The model the corporate governance attorney suggest is the LAC Board become in essence the LACC Board. Our current LACC Board becoming a standing Committee within LAC providing the guidance and recommendations along with membership and fundraising responsibilities.  Finances of both organizations remain separate and meet or exceed any IRS requirements and will have LAC and LACC corporate auditors’ approval.  More to come on this as well but I wanted to keep you up to date on some of the evolutionary steps I am moving towards.

The last thing I wanted to bring up is while we may be getting chemicals in areas of the lake, LACC must still maintain a robust Harvesting and CBI program.  The areas that will receive chemical treatments will generally not be receiving harvester visits, allowing us to concentrate on the non-treated areas. Part of the management plan will look for assessing the areas of herbicidal treatment, so I believe we are to avoid harvesting those areas after an application.  This means, LACC still needs to run the Harvester program.  Also, the DEP has suggested we will need to contribute to the chemical applications going forward, possibly one this year.  These are NOT cheap.  With that knowledge and the fact that we still must run our normal program you will find your invoice and we are asking for a $125.00 membership fee for waterfront homes.  This is the first increase ever.  But with the additional funding demands for chemical treatment, we need to start somewhere.  This is another reason why our fundraisers will play a critical role for us going forward.  Future herbicidal contributions!!

Our new web site is up and running…I’ll be using that site to share information about herbicides. www.laccme.org.  You can now pay your dues or contribute via the website and PayPal.

Thanks for all your support, it’s been a long time getting here, but it appears we are on the cusp of adding a new tool to fight the aquatic invaders.

Thank you,

Mike Fitzpatrick

LACC-President

Dear Members,

I was disappointed to hear that AmazonSmile is winding down their nonprofit donation program. You may have already received the notification, but I want to personally thank everyone who purchased goods on the AmazonSmile website.  Since September of 2017 we received $1,227.15 in donations from Amazon.  When we began, we were receiving $20-$25 per quarter, but over time that grew to around $100 per quarter.  We will miss this program!  

Thanks again for all of your support!

Jean Burke, Treasurer

Lake Arrowhead Conservation Council