EVENTS: Smithfield celebrates leap year with winter events

/0 Comments/in , , /by

If you are looking for something fun and engaging to do with your children this winter, plan on attending any number of free events planned by the Smithfield Leap Year Committee. Generous business sponsors helped make most everything free. Events are both indoors and outdoors so dress accordingly.

Kicking things off there is a child friendly movie on Thursday, February 29, at 6 p.m., at the Municipal Complex where free popcorn will be served. Bring a blanket and get comfy with the kids. Friday night is 21+ Chad the Hypnotist show. Adults will not want to miss this hilarious evening; $15 a ticket with free refreshments at the Fairview Grange #342. Seats are limited so get your tickets today!

Saturday, March 2, is a full day of happenings. Horse drawn sleigh rides, snowshoeing, tobogganing/sledding, Mr. Drew and His Animals, Too, hot chocolate bar and lunch courtesy of the Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department, a workshop for children to build bird feeders to take home and rock painting, Northern Stars Planetarium dome will present The Wonderful Sky and after all of that fun, enjoy a potluck supper at the Smithfield Baptist Church, at 5:30 p.m.

Find all of the details on Face­book at: Smith­field Maine’s Leap Year Celebra­tion-Winter or www.smithfieldmaine.us website. Take a photo of the QR code.

Sunday, March 3, the North Pond Asso­ciation has part­nered with the town of Smithfield to host a Northern Pike Fishing Derby from 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. Cash prizes for adults, $500 for top weigh-in and an incredible prize of a lifetime fishing license for the youth, 15U, who reels in the biggest pike! Get your derby tickets online.

There will be an ice rink sponsored by the Moonshiners Snowmobile club on the ice at the Grange Hall, free breakfast bagels from North by East, a hearty lunch for just $5 and various local nonprofit merchandise on sale, all at the Fairview Grange #342, along with Just a Kid From Smithfield hoodies, made by Catalyst for Change Wear and Smithfield winter hats. You can purchase them now at the Smithfield Municipal Complex in the town office. Derby awards and Leap Year cake will be served at the grange at this time. Find lots more detailed information on Facebook: North Pond – Leap Year Pike Derby. Call 207-362-4772 with any questions you may have.

Watershed Based Management plan in the works for North Pond, part 1

/0 Comments/in , , /by
Submitted by Jodie Mosher-Towle

The North Pond Association (NPA) recently hired Jennifer Jespersen, owner of Ecological Instincts (EcoInstincts), to prepare a grant on the association’s behalf to help fund a Watershed Based Management Plan (WBMP). The WBMP is a requirement for impaired lakes to be eligible for state/federal section 319 grant funding. The good news is that Maine DEP issues a competitive grant process each spring to fund one to two WBMPs statewide, and North Pond is eligible for these funds because it is on the Watch List and expected to be listed as impaired next spring.

The request for applications (RFA) was released on March 10th and required a 25 percent match which the NPA is providing. Local support from project partners will be needed to undertake this effort, and volunteers will be needed to serve on the Steering Committee. We will learn a lot about our lake and watershed as a result of this work with the goal of restoring water quality.

In 2016/2017 the NPA hired the same company to do the first ever watershed shoreline survey on North Pond where each property was numbered and deemed low, medium or high impact depending on the level of buffering or lack thereof on each property. A band of volunteers walked the perimeter of the lake and gathered information from shorefront property owners who opted to allow their shore fronts to be photographed. Based on months of data collection, EcoInstincts created North Pond’s Watershed-Based Protection Plan, which can be found on their website: www.northpondmaine.org.

Property owners whose shorelines were at medium or high levels were sent a notification in the mail sharing the findings and information on how they could make improvements for the sake of the lake. It is believed stormwater runoff into lakes is a major cause of nutrient overloading which in turn causes algal blooms. (More about making improvements to your shoreline in Part 2 next month.)

Following the severe algal blooms in North Pond in 2018 and 2020, the DEP added North Pond to their internal “Watch List.” The watch list is created for lakes that are on the cusp of being listed as impaired due to changes in water quality and/or experiencing nuisance algal blooms. As stated before, North Pond is expected to be added to the impaired lakes list in the Spring of 2022. Impaired lakes are lakes that are not meeting state/federal water quality standards due to nonpoint source pollution.

This opens the door for federal and state funding opportunities to help fund a Watershed-Based Management Plan (WBMP). The WBMP takes the planning effort to a new level which will help us to better understand the causes of the recent algal blooms. The plan development process will include a scientific assessment of the watershed (watershed modeling, water quality sampling, water quality analysis), to better define how much phosphorus is getting to the lake and what management measures are needed to prevent future algal blooms, improve water quality and get the lake back in balance.

EcoInstincts is developing this plan and is in the process of gathering all of the data necessary to complete it. The NPA must come up with a percentage of matching funds, monetary and in-kind, to help fund the WBMP. Once this is successfully written and accepted by the DEP, the NPA is eligible for 319 grant funding which would cover ongoing water quality data collection by volunteers of the NPA and Dr. Danielle Wain, of 7 Lakes Alliance, Dr. Whitney King and Colby College students, as well as members of the NPA’s Science Committee.

Since the 2016 survey, the NPA and 7 Lakes Alliance were awarded state and federal funding through two 319 grants and began addressing problems identified during the watershed survey. There are erosion control improvement projects happening this summer in Rome, Mercer and Smithfield, the towns around North Pond.

If you have a property you think may qualify for erosion control improvements, you are able to price match or give your time, and you live in Rome, Mercer or Smithfield, call 7 Lakes Alliance at 495-6039 and ask for Charlie Baeder.

Once the required nine elements for the Watershed Based Management Plan are collected and satisfied, then analysis of the data will occur. The NPA is working with the specialist in this field who has helped many lakes in Maine and around the world, Dr. Ken Wagner. Then, and only then, can any type of water quality remediation be considered for North Pond. The North Pond Association membership and all shorefront property owners will be asked to donate 2 percent of their camp’s tax assessed values to help raise the expected amount of over $1 million dollars to have any remediation executed as soon as possible. Fundraising for any remediation will begin once a plan is established.

The North Pond Association welcomes any and all to join them as members at www.northpondmaine.org where you will see “DONATE” on the upper right hand side of your screen. You may also find more information about the North Pond Association on their Facebook page.

North Pond Watershed Protection plan phase one a success

/0 Comments/in , , /by

photo: Google satellite view

by Linda Rice,
Secretary of North Pond Association

The North Pond Association, in partnership with the Seven Lakes Alliance, received a 319 Grant awarded in the fall of 2018 for $80,000. This grant money along with matching funds was to be used in 2018 and 2019 to implement projects initially recommended in the North Pond Watershed-Based Protection Plan. The NPA is proud to say that it has successfully completed the Phase I projects. Charlie Baeder from Seven Lakes Alliance was, and is, the project manager and without him, the following accomplishments would not have been possible.

In 2018, the Maine Department of Transportation matched funds to add riprap and pre-seeded erosion control blankets along Rte. 137, specifically on the shoreline property belonging to 170 Lake View Drive. The DOT was also tasked in repairing or replacing some culverts along Lake View Drive. Continuing the 2018 projects, the town of Smithfield matched $15,000 to stabilize a 300-foot-long embankment on North Shore Drive with riprap, seeding and hay. Approximately 225 feet was completed. Finally, in 2018, a thorough survey was conducted by Seven Lakes Alliance Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) and NPA at Pine Tree Camp to confirm erosion sites that could be mitigated with Best Management Practices (BMPs) beginning in 2019.

In 2019, second year of the Phase I Protection Plan, at least 19 erosion sites at Pine Tree Camp were repaired by the YCC including adding erosion control paths, crushed rock drip lines, armoring drainage ditches and a rain garden. The NPA’s financial support of the YCC as well as Pine Tree Camp’s monetary contribution for materials for those projects were the grant match needed to set Pine Tree Camp on the right course to slowing down erosion and runoff and protecting the water quality of North Pond. Also, the NPA contracted Lynch Landscaping to finish the 170 Lake View Drive project by planting 57 plants along the open guard-railed embankment and stabilizing the new plantings with erosion control mulch (ECM). Affectionately referred to as the “guard rail garden,” by the end of the summer of 2019, a once eroding bank was covered with common juniper, service and snowberry shrubs, sweet fern, fragrant sumac along with wildflowers including morning glories and ornamental grasses. Meadow Lane on the Serpentine Stream in Smithfield was perhaps the largest project in 2019. Significant areas of this private road were repaired. Rick Labbe donated heavy equipment and was the contractor on this project. The road itself was crowned and resurfaced and multiple ditches and culverts were repaired or added. The property owners on that road along with the East Pond Association and the NPA contributed thousands of dollars in matching grant funds to mitigate some of the erosion and run-off issues on Meadow Lane. Last but not least, the town of Smithfield was able to riprap the last 75 feet of the embankment on North Shore Drive.

The last two years yielded remarkable results thanks to the participation of the Maine DOT, town of Smithfield, and the Seven Lakes Alliance YCC. Above and beyond those accomplishments, dozens of property owners on the shores of North and Little ponds also played an important part in helping to control erosion. Over four dozen BMPs were installed on private properties either by YCC, landscaping contractors or by the owners themselves including rain gardens, buffer plants, ECM, riprap, dripline edges, infiltration steps and much more. With a little help from the NPA through their Watershed Financial Award program, thousands of dollars were contributed by these lakeside landowners to help protect the water quality of our pond.

Great news! The NPA has been awarded a second DEP Grant of $118,758 as part of our Phase II North Pond Watershed Protection Project to be implemented in 2020 and 2021. The NPA Watershed Steering Committee along with our Project Manager, Charlie Baeder will be meeting this winter and spring to plan erosion control projects throughout the North Pond Watershed. This second grant (as well as the first) was made possible in part because the NPA hired Jennifer Jespersen from Ecological Instincts to write the grant proposal to the DEP.

Funding for this project was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The funding is administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with the EPA.

Maine’s only leap year town set for celebration: Smithfield to observe incorporation as town

/0 Comments/in , /by

Come help Maine’s only Leap Year town celebrate its anniversary! All the fun begins on Wednesday, February 26, with Saturday, February 29, being a day filled with family friendly fun! The schedule of events looks like this:

Wednesday, February 26 – FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: 6 – 8 p.m., at the Fairview Grange #342, in the village. Hot dogs, popcorn, drinks and snacks available.

Thursday, February 27, Join us at the Fairview Grange #342, for a MURDER MYSTERY DINNER – $25 per person and space is limited, 6 p.m. Get your tickets at the Town Office ASAP! This event is BYOB.

Friday, February 28 — THE LEAP YEAR TONIGHT SHOW, featuring local entertainment – musicians, dancers, comedians surprise guests! Fairview Grange #342, 7 – 9 p.m.

Saturday, February 29 – VINTAGE SNOWMOBILE SHOW & SWAP at TRI-POND VARIETY, Corner of Rtes. 137 & 8. 9 a.m., registration. Raffles, evening trail ride and so much more. FMI go to their Facebook page.

MUNICIPAL COMPLEX EVENTS – Sat. Feb 29:

  • GRAB A HOT LUNCH at the Firehouse! SVFD firefighters will be serving it up! (Donations accepted!) noon – 2 p.m.
  • FREE HOT CHOCOLATE BAR OPEN ALL DAY in the fire House. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  • Smithfield Maine Historical Society Powerpoint Presentation with Postcards & Photos from 1860 – today! 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Red Cross and SCART Team 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • AFFORDABLE PET CLINIC – Jordan Farm Livestock Rescue 9 a.m. – noon. FREE PHOTOS OF YOUR PETS!
  • SNOW SCULPTURE CONTEST – make it a family event or grab your friends! Pre-register at town office. Supplies provided, 9 a.m., Prizes awarded at 2 p.m.
  • TOBOGGAN RACES! Get your team ready! 1 – 3 p.m., pre-register in the town office. PRIZES AWARDED 3:15 p.m.!

Banners and fliers will be posted in and around Smithfield – so be on the look out!

Thanks to the many local businesses for sponsoring all of the planned events — unless otherwise stated, everything is FREE! (Donations happily accepted and go toward Summer Leap Year Celebration Events in August!)

Please call 207-362-4772 for more information, and how you can be part of the fun as a volunteer!