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CONSERVATION NOTES (continued)...
Another opportunity to support the campaign to conserve the
mountain for public access, our view, and its wildlife
habitat will be the Harvest Breakfast fundraiser on
Saturday morning, October 2nd, from 9:00 to 10:30 at the
Bow Lake Grange Hall. We are gathering food from local farms
to serve up a wonderful breakfast and preparing a video
presentation about the history, wildlife, and special
habitats on the mountain. If you have been thinking of
sending support for saving Evans Mountain, why not write
that check after enjoying this breakfast and program? If you
would like a place at the table, please e-mail info@bear-paw.org
or call Harmony Anderson at 332-0709.
Perhaps you’ve seen a couple of women out in Bow Lake on a
pontoon boat, or in a Boston Whaler, dangling not fishing
lines but various pieces of equipment over the sides. That
would be Kathy Steinmuller and Mary Velluto taking water
samples in the Bow Lake Camp Owners sponsored New Hampshire
Lakes Lay Monitoring Program. Our own Jeff Schloss of
UNH wrote the book on the program—literally; his book is in
the Hill Library in the Cilley reference room, and you can
also find it online at
www.blcoa.org.
Results from Mary and Kathy’s sampling from this year will
be compiled in the fall, but they have given us some early
indicators of the lake’s condition. They measure clarity of
the water which is one marker of the lake’s health by taking
readings of the depth to which they can see the lowered
equipment. While last year’s average was 5.7 meters, this
year they took readings down to 7.5 meters. Why the
additional clarity? A likely reason is that less rain this
year meant less run-off from our lawns or septic systems and
consequently less algal growth.
With increased development around the lake, that run-off
potential is a constant concern, and this year the team has
added shallow water testing sites measuring phosphorus
levels to their deep water test schedule. While one wants to
see phosphorus levels below 10 parts per billion, in fact a
few of the shallow water test sites did measure above
10/ppb. At mid-August these initial results did not yet
indicate a trend, but they do indicate the need for
continued monitoring. Limiting fertilizer applications to
lawns to once in late fall, maintaining septic systems in
good order, keeping a vegetative border along the shore, and
discouraging the feeding of the adorable but pesky ducks and
geese will all help keep the lake in good condition. Thank
you Kathy, Mary, and Jeff!
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