Lake Stewards of Maine
Keeping a watchful eye on the health of Maine lakes since 1971
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Lake Water Quality Monitoring
Individuals who attend LSM water quality workshops are trained (and certified) to monitor a wide range of physical, chemical and biological indicators of lake health. The training is comprehensive, in order to provide people with a broad understanding of not just how, but why lakes are monitored. Participants are also trained to understand, and recognize the implications of the information that they gather. Data submitted to LSM by our citizen scientists is thoroughly reviewed for quality assurance and control by our staff prior to being sent to the Maine DEP and the US EPA, where additional quality assurance review takes place. The quality of our volunteer data has been shown to be on par with that of professional lake scientists, a tribute to the recognized excellence of LSM’s standardized training methods and quality control measures. LSM volunteers currently monitor more than 450 lakes throughout Maine.
Invasive Plant Patrollers (IPP) Program
LSM’s IPP program provides training that maximizes the likelihood of prevention, early detection of, and rapid response to a broad range of invasive aquatic species, from Eurasian milfoil, to lesser known potential threats like the Rusty Crayfish. Workshops educate participants about how to recognize invasive aquatic plants on Maine’s “eleven most unwanted” list, and to distinguish these invaders from their native Maine look-alikes. Participants also learn how to conduct an invasive species screening survey of their lake, and the appropriate response protocol in the event that an aquatic invader is discovered. The outstanding work of LSM Invasive Plant Patrollers has been recognized as having a significant bearing on the fact that fewer than 1% of Maine’s lakes are known to be infested with invasive aquatic plants (lowest percentage, by far, in New England).
Watershed Survey Assessment
Human impact to lake watersheds represents the greatest potential source of pollutants to Maine lakes. Polluted stormwater runoff from lake watersheds is the most pervasive threat to the water quality of our lakes. Through watershed assessment workshops, LSM provides basic information about the relationship between lakes and their watersheds, about common threats to lake water quality from watershed development, and also provides individuals and watershed community groups with information and guidance on how to organize and conduct citizen lake watershed surveys. Participants are taught to engage with landowners to help identify pollution sources, and to help facilitate mitigation through the use of simple conservation practices in lake communities. Watershed assessment and improvement efforts provide all those involved with real hands-on stewardship experiences, with value that is easily understood and immediately felt as beneficial to “their” lake. This deep human-lake connection is characteristic of our committed volunteers, and is an inherent part of the culture we are privileged to play a part in developing.
Where we work
External reviews
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Lake Stewards of Maine
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Barbara Welch
Maine DEP - Retired Biologist
Term: 2019 - 2022
William Monagle
Cobbossee Watershed District – Executive Director
Term: 2019 - 2022
Linda Bacon
DEP QA/QC Advisor
Sibyl French
Retired
Phoebe Hardesty
Retired from Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District
Robert French
Retired
Sue Motley
Retired
Joe Musante
Water Biologist for Passamoquody Tribe
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: