Demonstration Project Right On Target

A meeting of the Steering Committee for Demonstration Project 319 was held on April 27 at the Ricker Library. Cynthia Kuhns of LWRMA and Phoebe Hardesty of AVSWCD led the discussion of projects which are planned for this summer. Also in attendance were Claudie and Ron Getchell, Jackie Misenheimer, Joe Hayes (Tripp Lake Camp) and myself.

Technical assistance will still be offered this summer, free of charge, to all who want it. Just fill out and mail the little blue card (enclosed in this Newsletter) and you’ll be contacted by one of the engineers or technicians working with us. About twenty requests, so far, have been handled which is about 22% of our membership. Remember, this is open to anyone in the Tripp Lake watershed. You don’t have to belong to TLIA (but we wish you did) to receive this assistance! Our purpose is to protect the Lake from further pollution by preventing NPS from reaching it. Educating the public on BMP’s (best management practices) is the method of choice. A packet of BMP’s is being compiled by the Cynthia and Phoebe and will be available by the end of June. They’ll also be distributed at the Annual Meeting.

Written follow-up reports will be sent to all who request assistance. The follow-up reports from last summer should have been received this month (May) though the leaders had hoped to get them out last Fall. If you haven’t received yours, please call me and I’ll relay the message. This is part of the Project.

A Camp Roads Workshop will be held on Friday, July 23, in the Fernald Road area, to explain how dirt roads should be fixed and maintained. This is a bonus, something provided for our Organization through funding from AVSWCD. It will include speakers, lunch and demonstrations of "how-to-build" box culverts, diversion ditches, crowning of roads, etc. They will answer all questions you were always afraid to ask (or hadn’t thought of up ‘till now). More on this later…we’ll post notices and put an article in the Lewiston Sun-Journal with particulars. But circle your calendar now.

The Steering Committee also voted to spend $500 on each of 5-6 Demonstration projects. Individuals are being contacted this month who had demonstrated an interest in becoming participants, one from each area of the Lake. This means each participant must agree to spend an amount equal to the amount we’re providing to improve their property through buffering, plantings or correcting road problems. They must also agree to let the public visit their properties for the next few years, as models, to see what can be done.

We also plan on doing something visible at the Public Beach, such as attractive new fencing, plantings or both. Our $500 investment should be matched by the Town of Poland with about $4500. We’ll need all the help we can get for this, for it will be a "hands-on" project, one where our time and efforts will both be counted. Thanking you in advance…we want to see you when we start this!

Babs