Province Lake Association Newsletter
Spring 2010
Jack and Barbara Wilkins
To all PLA members:
This is the newsletter that includes your annual membership application. Please complete it and return it BEFORE the annual meeting in July if at all possible. Should you misplace it there is one on the website at www.ProvinceLake.org as well as several places around town.
This Newsletter
is being emailed to all that requested it that way. This
really helps out the association by reducing postage costs and us by
eliminating
the stuffing of many envelopes. So thanks to all that requested it. You
also
receive it about a week before the snail mail version. (In last years’
case
about 2 months before.)
Boat Parade
Annual Meeting 2009
The minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Province Lake Association held on July 18, 2009 at the Province Lake Golf Club are available on our website. They will not be distributed or read at the July meeting.
Province Lake
Welcome: Mary
McLoughlin, President, called the
meeting to order at 9:34 AM and welcomed everyone to the 37th
annual
meeting of the PLA. She thanked the Porters for the use of the room and
for the
coffee and refreshments they provided.
The Porters told us how glad they were to host the meeting and
outlined
the restaurant schedule.
Speaker:
Adam
Shoukimas, Technical Director of the Acton/Wakefield Watershed
Alliance, gave a
presentation describing various means of preventing erosion into
waterways as a
means of improving lake and stream water quality. He
also told us of the organization’s youth
group which can help with design and installation of erosion prevention
systems.
He also outlined the new firewood movement
restrictions now in place to protect
The Acton/Wakefield Watershed Alliance
website address is: www.awwatersheds.org.
At the conclusion of Adam’s presentation,
Stan Maluchnik described an erosion problem on
Secretary’s
Report: Marion Chouinard
moved to accept the 2008 meeting minutes as published
in the Fall 2008 newsletter. The motion was seconded and passed
unanimously.
Treasurer’s
Report: Marion Chouinard
reported that we have $6537.77 in the checking
account, and two CD’s, for a total of $27,730.96. She
also reported that we have received $355
in weed control donations this year.
Audit
Report: Dennis
Derby reported that he had audited the
books recently and found them to be in good order.
Loon
Report: Tori
Ketner reported that we have one pair of
loons and one single loon on our lake this year. There
have been no signs of eggs or babies on
the raft.
Weed
Report: Steve
Craig reported that no invasive weeds
have been found to date, but emphasized that we must keep looking for
them.
Membership
Report: Carl
Davis reported that we
have 85 members at this point, and our membership has historically
fluctuated
between 80 and 90 members. He and Jon
Samuelson have researched town records and found that there are about
500
potential members, counting
Boat
Parade: Four
boats
participated; the McKelvies won.
The Cartwrights have decided this year is the last for them to
organize
the parade, so anyone interested in organizing future boat parades
should
contact our president, Mary McLoughlin.
Water
Quality Report:
Norm Dudziak
reported that 2008 was the 18th year of water testing, and
the water
quality was very good, similar to that in 2007.
His full report can be found on the website.
Water
Control and
Newsletter
and Website:
Jack Wilkins
reminded members to send in any interesting
happenings or
photos around
the lake.
Raffles: Several groups
of photos, notecards, Cabin
Life magazine subscriptions, and one icebox were raffled off.
The meeting was
adjourned at
10:47 AM.
Respectfully
submitted,
President’s Message
It is hard to believe that two weeks ago I was covering my tender perennials at night and today it is a hot and humid 87 degrees. Ah,
What a winter and spring this has been. I can’t remember such a cold and windy spring. The lake seems to have adjusted to the spring. Our dam master, Dr. Derby, has already put in the logs to maintain the water level. The level was much lower than normal for this time of year. Boats are awaiting returning to the water in the coming weeks….families are planning their vacations so they can get back up and enjoy all that our Lake has to offer.
We will be having our annual PLA meeting Saturday July 17th, 2010 at the Province Lake Golf Course at 9am. Our guest speaker will be speaking on weeds: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I can’t wait to hear this one! As we all know, milfoil is an invasive weed that could be devastating for our
Our water tester and weed expert Steve Craig is a member of the newly formed Effingham Conservation Commission Milfoil Group. The goal of this group is to work towards the prevention and mitigation of invasive infestations in the water bodies of the town of
At our July meeting, elections will be held for officers. My term for president will expire, Carl Davis who is our current vice president is on the ballot for president, Marion Chouinard, our treasurer is on the ballot for another term, Jon Samuelson is on the ballot for vice president. Jim Steltenpohl, who is our current secretary, term expires in July. We are still in need of a secretary. If you are interested in this position or know of someone that is, please let me know.
Mary
McLoughlin
from member William Carter
As I sat on a
deer stand near sunset one day
last November, beside a wetland behind the west shore of the lake, a
black bear
cub ran rapidly by. Another cub hurried by a few seconds
later,
followed shortly by a young sow, their mother. All were headed
for the
They
were clearly eager to get to sources of
food they could enjoy in the coming darkness, very likely garbage, pet
food, or
seed in bird feeders outside lakeside homes.
If the members of this bear family avoided any fatal encounters during their foraging before their winter dormancy, they will be back this spring. The black bear is an intelligent animal that will learn and remember where there are easy sources of calories and nutrients to exploit after its winter torpor.
Bear that become accustomed to associating people and human habitation with food will lose their natural fear, increasing the risk of unhappy encounters with humans or pets. Black bear have broken into homes in
There are other ways to attract birds in the spring and summer. Native flowering trees and plants will attract insects that are the natural food of most spring songbirds. The same type and size of nest box designed for bluebirds, if mounted eight to twelve feet off the ground, will bring the tree swallows that skim over the lake's water through September. Perhaps someone could attract a colony of the larger, sociable purple martin with the type of large multiple-unit birdhouse designed for these increasingly rare members of the swallow family. Phoebes will nest on a small platform under your eaves. Great crested flycatchers might use a large box mounted high up far enough from your house or camp.
Feeding out of season can harm bird populations. The blue jays attracted by feeders also eat other species' nestlings. European starlings and house finches bully native species from their territories. Seed spoils in warm weather and can cause sickness. Young birds may fail to learn natural survival skills.
In May, that west shore will have a campground and seasonal cottages full of children. Don't make their first experience with the magnificent black bear a fearful or sad one.
Miscellany
Ways to contact us:
Question pertaining
to weeds
in the lake email: Weeds@ProvinceLake.org
General questions
about the
PLA email: President@ProvinceLake.org
If you want to
submit any
pictures or have questions about the website or change your email or
regular
mail address during the year email your changes to: info@provincelake.org
Ads for sale,
wanted, lost
and found, etc email: Adboard@ProvinceLake.org
