JPA Meeting, EWM, and More

 The weather was windy, wet, and cold - more like late fall or early March than May. Although we didn't see any snowflakes, I'm not convinced there weren't at least a few amid those chilling rain drops. The wind swept across the pond and into the Joe's Pond Association pavilion, right out of the northern regions of Canada. Most Joe's Ponders dressed accordingly, but even winter garb with wool hats and fleece-lined jackets, were small defense against the wind. 

This, our first business meeting of the season, was unusual since it was combined with a training session about Eurasian water milfoil (EWM). JPA Water Quality Director and EWM Response Coordinator Barry Cahoon (Old Homestead Road) gave us a very informative overview of the situation we are now facing - a long and probably very expensive fight to (hopefully) eradicate EWM. I left the meeting impressed not only with Barry's thoughtful and expert presentation, but also with how pro-active our JPA Board of Directors has been and how galvanized our membership is in recognizing we all need to pitch in and work together to save our lake. The photo shows Barry with JPA Secretary Jamie Stewart and Treasurer Jack LaGue in the background.

I was so cold by the end of the business meeting, I decided not to stay for the educational session that came afterwards. Jamie (Dimick) taped the session and it will be available for anyone to view in a few days so people who were not there can watch and learn. I will have a link here and there will also be one on the JPA website. There is a band of dedicated people working to get information out so all of us are informed about the steps being taken.JPA has moved quickly to work with the State of Vermont to take appropriate actions before the infestation spreads; but that is only the beginning.

Thanks to our JPA Board and all the responsive members and our supportive communities, I left the meeting feeling confident we will be able to at very least control the spread, and with a little luck, may eradicate the dreadful pest altogether. Thank you, President Joe Hebert and our JPA Board.

Here is a personal message from Barry Cahoon - with some historical background those of us who know and love Joe's Pond understand and appreciate.

On behalf of the Joe's Pond Association and the Eurasian Watermilfoil Management Committee, I want to convey my deepest gratitude to the JPA members' and others' attendance, attention and expressions of support for our efforts to contain and, if possible, eradicate the EWM infestation; and especially to those who stayed for another hour and half on such a cold, damp and raw day after the conclusion of the regular meeting to participate in our EWM management training AND signed up to help implement the tasks we have conceived to achieve our goals.

I wish I'd had the presence of mind to express, yesterday, the following thoughts/feelings; but with Jane's blessing, I'll do my best to convey them here through Joe's Pond Reflections.

Many members have indicated surprise at the level of commitment that has been made to undertake, envision, organize, and craft an effective response to the discovery of EWM in Joe's Pond.  So I'd like to share a bit about the place from which my contribution to such commitment derives.

My maternal grandparents, Lola and Arthur Parker, purchased our camp in 1953, the year after I was born.

Their unselfish sharing of this camp, and the myriad gifts of Joe's Pond with their grandchildren, therefore, goes back 72 years.  The foundation of my love for Joe's Pond began in pre-dawn awakenings, motoring up the mirror-calm lake before sunrise in my grandfather's 2 horse Johnson-powered fishing boat, anchoring and fishing around the islands with nothing but bird song and beaver tail slapping to punctuate the silence.  And then, after catching a few perch, back to camp, dressing the fish and enjoying a wonderful and delicious meal, prepared by my grandmother, of healthy sustenance gathered sustainably from the wild; a hallmark, I was to learn, of their lifestyle, their footprint on the planet, and one for which I gratefully honor and emulate to this day.

So when the EWM crisis arose (and I do not believe I am overstating this as a crisis), initiated, serendipitously, by Alicia's active noticing of milfoil fragments drifting by our dock, I recognized, consciously or not, that this was my opportunity to give back to Joe's Pond and repay her for all she's given me over my lifetime.  And no amount of personal effort on my part will ever fully repay everything, every experience, every memory for which she is owed (please excuse my gender assignment, it just seems appropriate to me in this moment).

Before now, I'd rarely taken any significant interest or active role in the activities and initiatives of the Joe's Pond Association.  The one exception was when I worked, decades ago, to help raise funding and interest to support the purchase of the wetlands bordering the Eyeglass Ponds.  As an aside, I've always been fascinated by the various names by which these two connected, essentially open water wetlands are identified.  My grandfather called them the 4^th and 5^th ponds, to which we occasionally would drag his boat up over a beaver dam or two to see what we could catch (as a kid, I thought I was in a Wilderness Paradise up there).  But the coolest name I've seen is on old USGS topographic maps which refer to this water body as "The Loon Hole".

I believe, that for every JPA member (and members of the wider Joe's Pond community, many of whom care deeply about the lake) who has made and will make a commitment to contribute their time, energy, and expertise to respond to the EWM infestation, there is some level, more or less, consciously or unconsciously, of motivation to give back to and repay everything that Joe's Pond has gifted us.

For many years, in my perception, the primary focus of the JPA has been on the social and recreational values for which Joe's Pond has abundantly made available and provided.  These values and traditions provide an essential element supportive of our sense of community, our social network and our shared interests.

I believe the EWM infestation has created a watershed moment for the JPA membership wherein our priority and our attention, as the organization officially and manifestly responsible for the environmental stewardship of the lake, will now need to focus more on protecting the ecological aspects of the lake upon which the social, economic and recreational aspects, functions and traditions are absolutely dependent and sustained and, to which, unfortunately, existential threats are increasing in number, frequency and magnitude (for instance, Kellie Merrell spoke yesterday of a troubling upward trend in phosphorus levels, the most important nutrient fueling aquatic plant growth).

I supremely wish, for my and your grandchildren and beyond, because of our efforts today, that these same gifts available from and offered by Joe's Pond will be sustained and preserved for them to enjoy as these gifts have been and continue to be available for all of us.

Thank you again for your commitment, support and contributions.  Together, we can and we will succeed.

Barry Cahoon, JPA Water Quality Director

Eurasian Watermilfoil Response Coordinator

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The rainy weather didn't stop us from celebrating Cyndy Rouleau's recent birthday this past week. We went on Friday to Newport for lunch at the Eastside Restaurant - always a great place to eat. I think while we were there at least four other birthdays were celebrated, each with a short chorus of "Happy Birthday" and lots of clapping and laughter. I guess May is a popular month for birthdays! My oldest, Bill, has one coming up in a couple more days, too. Dotty Noyes sent these photos to us - the group, from left to right: me, Dotty, Cyndy, Sherry, and Diane; and on the right, Cyndy blowing out the birthday candle and making a wish. Happy Birthday, and I hope your wish comes true!

As soon as the recording of yesterday's EWM training is available, I will post it here. Jamie said it should be available by Wednesday. In the meantime, if you have questions or comments, or wish to volunteer help in any form, contact Barry, or comment here and I will be sure he gets the message. This is a community effort and we have the support of not only our JPA members, but the communities of Danville, Walden, and Cabot, as well as others who know our lake, love it, and want to help save it.