Link to full Spring 2013 Newsletter

Toddy Pond Association
Newsletter
Spring 2013
Issue 30
Our Mission
We believe that we have a responsibility to protect Toddy Pond and its watershed so that we and future
generations may enjoy its beauty and the recreational opportunities it provides. Our objective is to protect the
air, water, soil, plant and animal life of the watershed and to preserve its economic, ecological and aesthetic
value by encouraging responsible land and water use.
President’s Message
Donna Foster
We are enjoying beautiful spring days on Toddy Pond, with
the return of the loons, the blue heron on Middle Toddy,
and songbirds galore. Winter was again quite mild, with
only two large snow storms in this neck of the woods. Ice
conditions were tenuous for most of the early season in all
parts of Maine, with significant news coverage about taking care on the lakes and ponds.
As we roll out the welcome mat for summer, the TPA
will be holding our 3rd Annual Hail To Summer BBQ,
once again to be held at the Balsam Cove Campground,
courtesy of Michelle and Joe Letts. We look forward to a
large gathering of Toddy Ponders to share food and stories,
make connections with folks new to Toddy Pond, and renew friendships. This year’s date is Sunday, June 23 from
4–7pm. It will be a potluck, so bring something to share.
BBQ chicken, hotdogs and non-alcoholic beverages will be
provided by the Toddy Pond Association. BYOB. We look
forward to seeing you there! Please let us know if you’re
coming at [email protected] or 667-1319.
Over the winter, two board members needed to resign.
Ernie Gelinas and Linda Jellison, both representatives
from South Toddy resigned with regrets, and we will miss
their presence and the volunteerism they provided. Great
thanks to both for many years of service to Toddy Pond.
At our first board meeting of 2013, we welcomed
Richard Tenney as a new board representative. Richard
summers on Trundy Lane, and will represent South Toddy,
replacing Ernie Gelinas. We will be accepting calls of interest for another representative for South Toddy, and we
are also looking for a secretary and a treasurer to fill vacancies. Contact any board member listed on the back of
this newsletter, or respond to [email protected] with
your questions or interest.
The Toddy Pond Association holds five monthly board
meetings from May to September, which are open to the
public. If you have an idea, a question, or a concern to air,
or if you are interested in the workings of the board, con-
sider attending one or more meetings over the summer. The
next TPA board meeting will be held on Wed., June 12.
Please call ahead (667-1319) for location and time.
Get ready to step into summer! Check out the Toddy
Pond merchandise page below. Do you have an idea for
new merchandise items? Let us know — new ideas welcome! Just contact a board member listed on the back of
this newsletter, or email [email protected].
June 12 — TPA monthly board meeting
Call 667-1319 for location
June 23 — TPA Hail to Summer BBQ
Balsam Cove Campground pavilion, 4:00–7:00pm
July 11 — Presentation by Mark Pokras on eagles
Blue Hill Consolidated School, 7:00pm
July 20 — Toddy Pond Loon Count, 7:00–7:30am
August 6 — TPA Annual Potluck and Business Meeting
Blue Hill Consolidated School, 5:30pm
Talk on Eagles Scheduled
Bald eagles were extremely common in Maine prior to the
20th century. But various human activities including shooting, trapping, poisoning and the effects of “hard” pesticides
like DDT dramatically reduced their numbers. By 1908
there were fewer than 100 pairs in the state and by the late
1960’s there were probably fewer than 20. Today, thanks to
changes in chemical use, public education, and advances in
wildlife management, there are about 500 pairs in Maine.
Dr. Mark Pokras of Tufts Wildlife Clinic & Center for
Conservation Medicine will talk about the wonderful resurgence in bald eagles since the 1960’s. He will discuss his
personal experiences working with bald eagle reintroduction programs and talk about some of his work with sick
and injured eagles in Maine and throughout the Northeast.
The talk will be at the Blue Hill Consolidated School, 60
High Street in Blue Hill, on Thursday, July 11, at 7:00pm.
The Toddy Pond Association Newsletter is printed on recycled paper using non-toxic, vegetable inks.
2013 Loon Count
trailers, and fishing equipment. This is a real threat facing
Toddy Pond. Once these plants find a home in a pond, they
spread rapidly, seeking shallow areas twenty feet deep or
less. The entire shoreline of Toddy is at risk. Another reality is financial repercussions from invasive plants. Infected
lakes have reduced the value of lakeside homes between
30% and 40%. There is no “cure” for this disease. On infected lakes such as Sebago, lake associations have managed, at great expense to property owners, to contain the
spread of these plants, but have failed to eradicate them.
Property owners shoulder the majority of costs associated
with containment procedures, often in the thousands of dollars; Maine government does not have a surplus of funds .
Again this year, TPA is sponsoring and supervising an
aggressive boat inspection program. Boat inspections are
designed to educate boaters and to ensure that no plants
are being transported to our pond. The Courtesy Boat
Inspection program is funded by a $1,800 grant from
the milfoil sticker fund and by $2,000 from Toddy Pond
Association. At the state level, more lake associations are
now competing for the state’s limited funds. As a result, our
grant request of $2,000 was reduced by $200. Toddy Pond
Association’s funds come from members, who pay $30 annual dues. Currently, about one-third of Toddy Pond’s residents participate in TPA.
Courtesy boat inspectors will be on duty Memorial Day
Weekend, the last two weekends in June, and every day
between July 4th and Labor Day. Paid boat inspectors will
cover Wednesday through Sunday; trained volunteer inspectors will work Monday and Tuesdays.
Without the involvement of our volunteers and the financial resources of TPA, we would not have a boat inspection
program. The value of this program, as well as others supported by the TPA, underscores the importance of joining
the organization by paying dues and volunteering to help in
our many programs. The Boston bombings have reminded
us that times have changed. We simply cannot remain on
the sidelines anymore and expect law enforcement to keep
us safe. Just as law enforcement officials pleaded for public
involvement to solve this crime, we must now adopt the
same philosophy. We need everyone to recognize his/her
responsibility in defending the pond from invasive plants.
Inspect your boats, trailers, and fishing equipment before
and after launching your boat. Inspect your shoreline for
any new aquatic plants. Join Toddy Pond Association to
help financially support the CBI program. Volunteer a few
hours every summer to work on our many projects. We
need your active involvement. Please call 667-1319 for
more information.
Ginger Doyle
Every summer, on the morning of the third Saturday of July,
more than 900 volunteers go out on lakes and ponds across
the state to count loons, an event sponsored and coordinated
by Maine Audubon. Their reports of what they find provide
an excellent “snapshot” of Maine's loon population, which
is an important tool in our efforts to protect these wonderful creatures. If you would like to help with counting loons
on Toddy Pond, on July 20th from 7:00–7:30am, please
contact me at 207-479-2195 or [email protected].
Watershed Survey Completed
Chris Dadian
On May 8, Megan Facciolo, manager of the Hancock County
Soil and Water Conservation District, presented the final
report of the Toddy Pond Watershed Survey to the survey
steering committee. The report can be downloaded at http://
www.ellsworthme.org/soilandwater/ToddyPondSurvey.
htm, or at toddypond.org. Anyone unable to obtain the report via internet should contact Megan at 207-667-8663 to
request a printed copy.
The findings detailed in the report have not changed substantially from the preliminary findings Megan presented
last September, which were reported in the fall newsletter
(also available at toddypond.org, if you missed it): Toddy
Pond’s water quality, though still considered above average, is seriously threatened by non-point source (NPS) pollution carried by the runoff and erosion that increases as
a direct result of development within our 17-square mile
watershed.
The good news, as explained fully in the report, is that
at a great majority (69%) of the 147 sites identified by the
survey, relatively low NPS impact can be significantly reduced, and generally at low cost (less than $500 per site).
At higher-impact sites, effective methods can also be applied to mitigate NPS pollution.
Over the next months, the TPA will be working with
Megan and the survey steering committee to develop a
comprehensive plan to protect Toddy Pond from NPS pollution, based on the findings and recommendations included in the Watershed Survey Report.
Boat Inspections
Phil Tardif
As the sun rises over Toddy Pond this morning, I am thankful that our slice of the world is truly a spectacular place – a
place of serenity and incredible beauty, with abundant wildlife, the call of the loon, and the sound of waves lapping the
shores. Without the distractions of the outside world, we
temporarily ignore national headlines and tragedies.
Unfortunately, we cannot remain isolated in our sheltered world of beauty; we must face the constant challenge
of protecting the pond we treasure. Thirty-three Maine
lakes have invasive aquatic plants; plants are transported
from lake to lake by boaters who fail to inspect their boats,
Membership News
Nancy Lord
In 2012 we had 118 paying members. Twenty-one of these
were new members. We really appreciate those of you who
joined. We are working hard to protect our lake with our
boat and plant inspections, and other activities. Keeping
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our lake free of invasive plants is very important in order to
protect our properties.
We hope more property owners will see the necessity of
joining to help pay for boat inspections and other activities.
Annual dues are only $30!
“Since I was enjoying the pond’s natural wonders 365
days of the year, I decided to do as much as I could to protect it.”
As Keith had noted, too often a sudden rise in water level
(due to heavy rain and the Bucksport Mill’s failure to open
the East Orland dam) would swamp loons’ nests. So his first
move was to design and build a floating nest. The idea was
Unsung Heroes of Toddy Pond Sarah LeVine
that when the water level rose the nest would float upwards
and the loon eggs – or, if a bit later in the season, the chicks
“Whatever needs doing, I’ll give it a shot.”
– would be safe. The plan was to build and anchor three or
For more than thirty years, Keith Heavrin, carpenter, fine
four in each of the three Toddys. In collaboration with friend
furniture maker, woodsman, hunter, fisherman, hog butchand fellow Middle Toddy resident, Rob Giffin, the first two
er, dog trainer, ballroom dance instructor, builder with large
floating nests were built and anchored out in 2009.
stone, poet, and Vietnam Vet, lived in Harborside, Cape
“Building them was easy,” Keith recalls. “Maintaining
Rosier. For decades he knew Toddy Pond as just one of
and repairing them was the difficult part. The first one we
the many lakes on the map of Hancock County. Only after
anchored on Middle Toddy, in the North Cove … but it got
2002, when he joined his new
blistered by the wind, the lines
partner Donna Foster, a longsnapped and off it went. Its retime denizen of Middle Toddy,
placement fared no better and
did he gradually become aware
we didn’t try a third. Instead
of the pond’s natural riches.
we anchored one in the marsh
He recalls, “In 1970, when
on the western side of Middle
I moved to Cape Rosier as
Toddy… That time the beavers
a back-to-the-lander, it was
gnawed off and carried away all
pretty remote, and despite
the sticks, branches, and planta few modern touches it reed cover that protected it. The
mained that way. In comfloating nest had seemed like a
parison, Surry seemed almost
really good idea but the practisuburban to me… With Route
calities defeated us.” Keith adds
One only two miles away from
ruefully, “I guess until somethe house, I felt much nearer
body improves our design, the
to the rest of the universe than
nesting loons of Toddy are on
I’d been in the previous thirty
their own.”
years. So it came as quite a surWhen Donna took over from
prise that the wildlife I saw on
Bob Jones as TPA president,
Middle Toddy was a lot more
Keith took on the role of secrediverse and plentiful than what
tary. Given that board members
I’d seen in Harborside.
had a penchant for vociferous
“I realized that, given its loargument that even the most atcation a few miles inland from
tentive listener had a hard time
the ocean, Toddy was a haven
following, keeping the minutes
Keith Heavrin
for many more bird species.
was an onerous and praiseworThe secondary growth forest
thy task. But Keith didn’t stop
and blueberry barrens harbored deer, raccoons, coyotes,
at keeping minutes. Whatever needed doing he did: plant
foxes, and the occasional moose. The pond’s shallow water
patrol in First as well as Middle Toddy (“I had the perfect
provided a perfect habitat for gorgeous water plants, trout,
boat for the job,” he confides, “14-foot, aluminum, shallow,
perch, bass, salmon and several kinds of frogs. Last but
stable, quiet motor so the ducks ignored it…”), the July
not least, I was thrilled to discover I was living in a myloon count, the Watershed Survey for the Hancock County
cologist’s paradise. As a boy growing up in Ohio, I would
Soil and Water Conservation District, setting up our annual
go to the fields and woods with my Czech grandmother
BBQ and cleaning up afterwards; and last but not least,
who loved collecting wild chanterelle mushrooms. Now
chronicling seasonal changes on the pond for his friends
I was on Middle Toddy where, come September, chanterfrom away, who especially appreciate his “dispatches” from
elles grew in glorious bounty, along with boletus, meadow,
the front. During the winter when we can only dream of the
honey and oyster mushrooms and many more, all there to
pond, we’re privileged to see what’s happening through his
be picked and eaten right away or frozen for later.
eyes.
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Toddy Fashion
To stay à la mode on the Ponds this season, you will need the latest accoutrements, and we have them for you! The items shown
below are available in a variety of colors and sizes.To place an order, or for more information about colors, sizes, etc., contact
Nancy Lord at 469-2188.
Caps $10.00
Sweatshirts $25.00
Tee Shirts $20.00
Aprons $20.00
Toddy Totes $10.00
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The Toddy Pond Bullroarer
important, breaking news. As with all your personal information, we will not share your address with anyone.
You can also update your email address any time by
sending a note to [email protected] or phoning
me at 469-0234.
Chris Dadian
Our technique isn’t as picturesque as Crocodile Dundee’s
rhombus on a leash, but the Toddy Pond Association has
the means to get the word out when something important
happens that can’t wait for the next issue of the newsletter
– the TPA email list.
When you fill out your membership form this year,
please give us your email address (or update the one we
have) so that we can reach you if we need to. We will not
be filling your inbox with digital chatter – we’ve sent out
fewer than a dozen emails in the last four years – and when
you’re on the list you won’t be the last on the Ponds to
know that there’s a runaway dock, a water level drawdown,
a previously unannounced educational event, or other such
Volunteers Always Needed
Donna Foster
Do you have a few hours this summer to participate as a
helper on a Toddy Pond event or project? Member involvement is welcomed on such tasks as the BBQ, annual meeting, our educational events, creating or placing posters,
ideas for the newsletter, or an idea of your choice. If so,
please respond to [email protected] or phone me at
667-1319. We look forward to hearing from you!
The Pond Opines
The Toddy Pond Newsletter encourages readers to express their opinions on topics relating to the welfare of
Toddy Pond and its human and other inhabitants. We will publish comments that reflect those interests and are
not defamatory or otherwise offensive to the community, in their entirety unless noted, and over the author's
name (we will not publish anonymous opinions).
The opinions published under this banner do not necessarily reflect those of the Toddy Pond Association.
Please send concise opinion statements to [email protected], or to Chris Dadian, 72 Freilino Way,
Orland, ME 04472.
Hazard Markers
Hill, more power boat visits, which means more pollution
in the lake and more noise disturbing the peace. In short,
from an environmental standpoint, rather than a “humans
deserve to be wherever they want to be, regardless of noise
and impact,” I see the DOC as the true villians in this case.
My hat is off to the “vandals,” who risk so much for the
welfare of the pond and its scenery, and only wish I had the
courage to join them. Alas, I don’t. But report them to the
authorities? You’ve got to be kidding.
All best wishes, and I hardly expect to see this letter
posted or printed by the association.
I enjoyed the recent newsletter, so thanks for that, and a
tip of the hat to our “Unsung Heroes,” defending against
Milfoil, which is a real danger. But, frankly, I would have
also put the so-called “vandals” of the hazard markers into
that “unsung heroes” category [“Pond Hazard Markers
Vandalized,” TPNL Fall 2012]. Ethical issues, including the
issue of who has the moral high ground, are always complex, but I have seen the DOC as the true vandals in this situation ever since the markers were placed. The markers are
ugly, compromising so many views on the pond, and they
also encourage, as was clear this summer down in Blue
Dana Sawyer
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Toddy Pond Association
President
Donna Foster ☎ 667-1319
Vice President:
Bob Jones ☎ 664-6190
Secretary:
position vacant
Treasurer (acting)
Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Board of Directors
First Toddy
Nancy Lord ☎ 469-2188
Jeff Smith ☎ 469-3557
Phil Tardif ☎ 469-0784
Second Toddy
Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Sarah LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Bob LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Third Toddy
position vacant
Dick Salminen ☎ 667-1279
Richard Tenney ☎ 664-1848
Project Coordinators
Boat Inspections ...................... Phil Tardif ☎ 469-0784
Jeff Smith ☎ 469-3557
Boat Landing ........................... Dick Salminen ☎ 667-1279
Email List ................................ Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Fishing ..................................... Bruce Brown ☎ 667-6190
Fish Testing ............................. John Manfred ☎ 667-9545
History ..................................... Sarah LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Loon Count . ............................ Ginger Doyle ☎ 326-8351
Membership and Mailings . ..... Nancy Lord ☎ 469-2188
Newsletter Editor . ................... Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Pesticides ................................. Bob Jones ☎ 664-6190
Bob LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Plant Patrol .............................. Bob LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Water Rights ............................ Bob Jones ☎ 664-6190
Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Water Testing ........................... Dick Salminen ☎ 667-1279
Website Managers ................... Donna Foster ☎ 667-1319
Ian Foster
Toddy Pond Association
P.O. Box 645
Blue Hill, ME 04614
OFFICErs