[Image credit: Madeline Moore]
Lake-of-the-Month
About Big Lake:
The Basics...
Big Lake is located in Washington County, and at approximately 4,227 hectares (10,444 acres) in size, is one of the largest lakes in Maine. It supports both warm and coldwater fisheries. The waterbody feeds into the west branch of the Saint Croix River (formerly and also known as the Passamaquoddy River) after passing through Long Lake, Lewy Lake, and the Grand Falls Flowage. The Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township owns land that is located along the shores of Big Lake and is a substantial landholder in that area. In the autumn of 2019, the lake was confirmed to be infested with variable water-milfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum). Big Lake is largely littoral with an average depth of 3.66 meters (12 feet), making the surveying of all potential habitat for the invasive plant a significant undertaking. Lake Stewards of Maine is working with the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Downeast Lakes Landtrust, Big Lake Milfoil Coalition, Maine DEP, local guides, businesses and residents, and a large and growing team of LSM Invasive Plant Patrollers to complete a comprehensive (Level 3) survey of the lake this summer (2021) to determine the full extent of the Big Lake infestation.
What's New?
Maine Audubon Loon Count: 2020 results & plans for 2021
The Maine Loon Project has worked for more than three decades to assess the status and safeguard the future of Maine’s loon population. As part of this project, Maine Audubon works with over one thousand residents and partners statewide each year to conduct the Maine Annual Loon Count--a census of the Maine breeding loon population that has taken place on lakes and ponds throughout the state on the third Saturday of July every year for the last 37 years. And 2020 was no exception. Last year, 48 volunteer regional coordinators and 1,347 participants overcame challenges posed by the pandemic to safely survey 308 lakes and ponds across the state--sixteen more lakes than the previous year! The observations recorded by community scientist volunteers provide an annual “snapshot” of Maine’s loon population, which allows Maine Audubon to calculate an annual population estimate and track trends over time.
Click on Show More, and click on the icons, below, to find out more about the loon surveys!
If you are interested in participating in the loon count, contact [email protected] or click here for more information.
Did You Know?
A Pioneer Lake Ecologist
To many aquatic ecologists (and indeed policy-makers) this is one of the most iconic lake photos. It is of Lake 226 in the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) of northwestern Ontario, Canada. It shows a whole-lake experiment demonstrating the influence of phosphorus on water quality. To set the stage, it was the early 1970s; there was a debate raging about the causes of noxious algal blooms and their many effects on lake ecosystems. Detergents and fertilizers were major sources of phosphorus. However, rather than phosphates, the soap industry at the time lay the blame for algal blooms on carbon and nitrogen. While laboratory experiments could readily demonstrate the influence of phosphorus, a larger-scale demonstration was needed to drive home the point to regulatory agencies. So ELA scientists placed a rubber curtain across Lake 226. To one side, they added carbon and nitrogen. To the other, they added phosphates as well as carbon and nitrogen. Within weeks, the phosphate side “exploded into teeming green soup.”
Lots of Data: Many Sources
The Maine DEP Lakes Assessment Section works in a strong partnership with Lake Stewards of Maine/Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (LSM) in the collection and management of water quality data collected from Lakes throughout Maine. LSM coordinates the initial gathering and quality assurance process for more than 1,300 individuals and many lake associations that monitor individual lakes across the state.
Current Conditions
Click here to view current water quality conditions on a representative sample of Maine lakes during summer, or view which lakes have experienced ice-cover in the fall and ice-out in the spring.
Get Involved
The majority of data on lakesofmaine.org comes from certified volunteer citizen scientists. If you are interested in finding a monitoring opportunity, please visit Lake Stewards of Maine or contact our office at 207-783-7733. Email is [email protected]
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