by Mary Jewett, LEA In August 2025, a fishing kayak (see photo below) was inspected by Lakes Environmental Association boat inspector, Marita Wiser, after the boat left Highland Lake in Bridgton. Upon inspection, aquatic plants were found in a compartment on the boat containing a drop-down pedal propellor. After her shift Marita brought the plant to the LEA office in Bridgton, where Mary Jewett identified it as Eurasian water-milfoil. Mary then sent photos and registration information to John...

by Roy Lambert Could your shoreline benefit from more vegetation? Early spring provides a short window of opportunity to quickly and inexpensively add plants with minimal effort. Live stakes are cuttings from woody shrubs that root when planted. Installing live stakes can be a free or very affordable way to increase vegetation along your shoreline. Most species that are suitable for live staking are shrubs – they don’t grow very tall and provide excellent shoreline stabilization. Live...

by Virginia Tyler (Ginny Raymond's mother) Our encounters change the world: The words we say; the glances we give; The advice, if taken or ignored, Change the space in which we live. A rock thrown int a lake so calm Disturbs the surface, and even more. The waves grow wide, both down and out, And change the near and opposite shore. And so our lives filled with encounters - Chance and otherwise - Bump and shatter, soothe and flatter, Until our encounters have changed the world.