Pleasant Lake/Parker Pond Association

Thank you everyone who attended yesterday’s Annual Meeting under the Casco Days Beano Tent. By my unofficial count about 60 people heard Board reports on Association finances (healthy), the 2021 Loon Count (a baker’s dozen, including a chick at the south end of the lake), invasive plant patrols (no problems spotted so far), and water quality monitoring (delayed for a variety of reasons, but expected to proceed this week). Votes at the meeting approved officers for the coming year: David Randall, President, Katherine Fritts, Treasurer, and Marygrace Barber, Secretary. Our speaker, Mary Jewett from Lakes Environmental Association, discussed the history and operations of the state’s Courtesy Boat Inspection program, the need for diligence to prevent infestation of our lakes by all the plants on the state’s watch list, not just variable milfoil, and answered questions about other potential problems, including memorably-named Chinese Mystery Snails. Her conclusion on the latter is that they are non-native but not classified as invasive because they have natural predators including loons, other aquatic birds, and raccoons. There was no consensus about their suitability for human consumption.

Two other matters deserve mention. This was our first meeting without Peter Barber, who passed this spring. Peter’s contributions to the Association’s mission, too numerous to capture here, include spearheading construction of the new dam, advocating on behalf of the Association with the Towns of Casco and Otisfield, serving as Association President, maintaining relationships with Maine’s experts in the fields of lake environmental science and water quality, conducting Secchi Disk and dissolved oxygen monitoring on Pleasant Lake, and being an indefatigable steward of Pleasant Lake and Parker Pond. He is missed by all whose lives he touched.

We closed the meeting with recognition of and thanks for Anne Fritts’ leadership as Association President for the past three years. Anne’s wisdom, warmth, patience, and good humor, coupled with her family’s stewardship of Camp Arcadia, remind us that maintaining the quality and ambience of Pleasant Lake and Parker Pond mean more than preventing invasive species and keeping an eye on water quality. They mean preserving the pace, the sounds, the smells, and the intangible qualities that have drawn people to Maine’s lakes for solace, recreation, and community for dozens of decades.

See you at the 2022 Annual Meeting at 9:30 am on Saturday 23-Jul!