This is way too cool not to share with all of you. Our Loon Ranger, Donna Luce, shared the following and the attached pictures. Enjoy!
Last night Linda McKelvie, her granddaughter Taylor and I (Donna) had the privilege of watching Caroline, Kayden and Logan, under the auspices of the Loon Preservation Committee, band the loons on Province Lake. Both parents of Lord and Taylor were banded and the juvenile Taylor was also banded. They were able to band Hobbs, one of Hobb’s parents had already been banded and the other parent avoided being captured. The evening began at 7pm and continued until 1:15!
Unfortunately, as reported late last week, the lake has not been looking that great for the last week or so. DES came yesterday, one of the worst days we have had and sampled the water. The results are below, but basically the lake is under a warning and we are sharing that with you now. DES also said that they are targeting to return next Wednesday to sample again.
As always, keep your eyes open and if the water doesn’t look good, stay out. Per our previous email in regards to the vegetative buffer, we are trying to make some progress on reducing the phosphorus that gets into the lake and hopefully we can get the lake to turn a corner. Of course, that doesn’t happen overnight. The best way to help is to get involved. Join the PLA to get info, check out the important info section of our website for things that homeowners can do, and join in to an event as we had on Tuesday.
We will keep you posted.
Regards, The PLA
———- Forwarded message ——— From: DES: Harmful Algal Bloom Program<DES.HAB@des.nh.gov> Date: Wed, Aug 13, 2025 at 4:52 PM Subject: Cyanobacteria WARNING issued – Province Lake To: DES: Harmful Algal Bloom Program <DES.HAB@des.nh.gov>
Hi all,
The status of the cyanobacteria bloom has been elevated at your waterbody, please see below for details.
Waterbody
Province Lake, Effingham/Wakefield
Status
WARNING
Issued
8/13/2025
Bloom Description
Green surface scums accumulating along the shorelines.
Notes
Minor bloom conditions were first observed on 8/8 but developed into a more severe bloom over the weekend. NHDES staff collected multiple samples from around the waterbody on 8/12 that had cyanobacteria present at densities too numerous to count. Please report through the Bloom Report Form so we can monitor bloom conditions.
Please visit the Healthy Swimming Mapper for the most current information about bloom location, status, and severity.
Cyanobacteria reports depict only what an observer sees in the water. The report may reflect a waterbody wide perspective if they boated around the waterbody and made observations, or it could be a single sighting from the shoreline. One sighting does not indicate that a watch or warning is necessary, but it does indicate that those on or around the waterbody should be aware that cyanobacteria have been observed beyond what is natural, and that they should be on the lookout for shifting bloom conditions and report them via theBloom Report Form. Reports will be removed from the Healthy Swimming Mapper after one week if no further reports are received.
Watches are issued when samples are evaluated and cyanobacteria are in higher abundance than normal background levels at multiple locations, but that densities are below 70,000 cells/mL or when clear photographic evidence indicates a bloom is occurring.
Warnings are issued when samples are evaluated microscopically, and cell counts exceed 70,000 cells/mL and the bloom is widespread or extends to multiple locations on the waterbody. A warning does not close the waterbody to recreational use. The warning is intended as a precautionary measure to inform the public of the potential health risks associated with cyanobacteria blooms. Please see our updated FAQs for more information.
NHDES advises lake users to not swim in or near the vicinity of where bloom material is visible. Please also keep pets and livestock out of areas where bloom material is observed. It is suggested that local authorities post the 2025 cyanobacteria sign at public access points while a warning is in place to alert the public of current conditions.
Please forward this email to other residents / community members who may benefit from this information. If they would like to be added to the email distribution list, please have them sign up to be directly included on future communications from NHDES. If you prefer to no longer receive these sampling updates, simply respond, and indicate “unsubscribe”.
Best,
The CyanoHAB Team Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Bloom Program Watershed Management Bureau, Water Division New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services 29 Hazen Drive, P.O. Box 95, Concord, NH 03302-0095 603-848-8094hab@des.nh.gov
On Tuesday, August 12, 2025 a team of volunteers arrived at the beach area along Rte 153 in New Hampshire. There were 18 volunteers including 5 team members of our PLA partners the Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance. The task at hand on the day was to plant 120 plants (a combination of sweet fern, huckleberry and juniper), and spread 40 yards of erosion control mulch along 300 feet of the guardrail at the beach. It was a warm day, but that didn’t stop the team of volunteers. We got going at about 8:15 and we finished up at about 12:30. We did have some equipment help with a power auger to dig some of the holes and two tractors to bucket the mulch from across Rte 153 to the guard rail and then dump it for folks to spread it manually around the plants. We now have the task to keep them watered, which is not that bad of a task as there is lots of water in the lake.
This is phase one and we will be doing the exact same amount of planting and spreading next year as we complete the project that was funded by a grant from the NH DES cyanobacteria mitigation fund. Keep your eyes open for volunteer opportunities next year.
A big thank you to all the volunteers, including the AWWA Youth Conservation Corps, and of course NH DES for approving the funding of the project.
The PLA has issued a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) for Qualified Environmental Professionals to submit applications to us for the design of sediment control options for our major tributaries. This is just another step to help reduce the amount of nutrients entering the lake and hopefully reduce the occurrence of cyanobacteria blooms.
The 2024 water quality report that is created from the sampling the PLA does through out the year with UNH is not available at this link …. Water Quality Report
The annual meeting on July 26th, at 9:00am at Edge Lake Farm (Province Lake Golf Course).
A virtual option is provided below if you are unable to attend in person.
Our guest speaker this year is James Shimansky, Program Coordinator for the Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance (AWWA). James will be speaking on the recently conducted Watershed Survey as well as our upcoming Septic Survey.
Attached, please find (.pdf) a copy of the meeting packet, which includes the agenda, information about the purpose and roles within the PLA, and bios for our Board of Director members that are up for re-election and those being newly elected.
Physical copies of the packet will also be made available at the meeting.
We look forward to seeing everyone there!
When: July 26th, 9:00am-12:00pm
In-Person Location: Parsonsfield, ME 04047 Edge Lake Farm (Province Lake Golf Course) 1804 Province Lake Road
There will be two beach clean ups this year. One in July and one in September. Mark your calendars and come meet some people, help the lake and just feel good about it.
So you all are aware, the loon raft was put out on Saturday May 3 over in the Hobbs Brook area as normal. A big thanks to Steve Craig for maintaining the raft over the winter and getting it ready to put out this spring. Also a big thanks to Jim Aiken and David Luce for getting the raft situated in the lake. Please stay away from the nest while the loons decide if they want to nest there or not.
The Loon’s have also been seen checking things out around the island. As you may recall, the Loons nested on the island in 2023 and had a baby as well as an abandoned egg. Should they nest there again, we will come out with some more warnings etc..
