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!