A Peek at the MPA Annual Mtg 2009

Let’s spend the rest of the week taking a look at the topics and favorites of this year’s MPA Annual Mtg …. … I’m writing… tune in later! BETTER YET! What would YOU like me to report on first?

Another Big Bird of Manchaug Pond – Does Flyover the Dam!

These photos were taken on Sunday – the heron heading down the channel toward Stevens Pond downstream. Can you tell the difference between Manchaug’s big birds when they are in flight? Note the heron has the long legs and beak…

More Big Birds on Manchaug Pond: Non-migratory Canada Geese

Three breeding pairs of Canadian Geese arrived on Manchaug Pond in the spring…egg laying, hatching and rearing of young… now the flock numbers 17. Taken a couple weeks ago on another overcast day, the photo shows the flock going from one shore to another looking for a lawn on which to graze. Why is that a problem? If you live on the lake you know first hand – one Canada geese produces from half pound to a pound and half of droppings per day! Talk about water quality being fowled – I mean fouled! With Manchaug Pond having a higher population of summer residents than year round and with many working during the day… weekday meals can be had undisturbed. Check out this link for control methods you can employ. In days of old we used to have a resident hunter or two on Manchaug Pond who would set up a blind on Blueberry Island but now residents must employ coyote decoys, scare tactics and barriers to keep them on the lake and off the beaches and lawns. Also do not feed the geese! http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/living/living_with_geese.htm On this rainy day, neighbors used air horns to scare the geese off their property. …

A Rainy Weekend

A rainy, cool weekend! Sure smells like the end of summer… Here tropical storm Danny is nothing to worry about. It has brought a couple inches of rain to the rain gauge with little to no wind. Nothing to open the dam about.

Purple Loosestrife In Manchaug Pond Watershed and Shoreline

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE (Lythrum salicaria)For two years now I have pulled a single plant from the Manchaug Road roadside only to find this year loosestrife is scattered throughout the watershed! This month 2 plants have been spotted in bloom on the Manchaug Pond shoreline in Area 2 – one by the big rock on Manchaug Road and the other at the Camp Blanchard shore. It is also growing along roadsides of the watershed: Lackey Road, Douglas Road, Central Turnpike. Purple Loosestrife, is one of the state’s “MOST UN-WANTED AQUATIC EXOTIC SPECIES” as it can totally take over a lake – going from a sea of blue water to a field of purple and green plants. Ugh! Up close it is an attractive, purple, herbaceous perennial introduced from Asia and Europe. In the US, it is aggressive and fast growing with no native “predator” species to control it. If left alone, it will spread rapidly filling our coves, wetlands and moist roadside areas taking over habitat and out competing native plants – “causing significant impairments, including reduced native plant coverage, lower plant diversity, and degraded wildlife habitat.” CONTROL: for the MPA of this new infestation – HAND HARVEST. This recommendation comes as …

Seeing Purple!

Sorry I’ve missed a couple days of posting… busy caring for little ones as a new life entered our world… another child who will learn to swim and sail and ski on Manchaug Pond! And with a visit to the hospital …. what should we find adorning the hospital room wall? Blown up, framed, and put in the center for all to enjoy as a thing of beauty!?! A photo of one of Massachusetts Most Un-Wanted Aquatic Exotic Species as named in the Massachusetts Lake and Pond Guide put out by the Mass Dept. of Conservation and Recreation Lakes and Ponds Program… Purple Loosestrife! Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, will be the topic of tomorrow’s blog entry as it relates to Manchaug Pond and our recent weed survey. Stay tuned! The MPA has a new task force that needs you!

Preserving the Watershed for Doe and Three Fawns

Good to see you all at yesterday’s Annual Meeting! It looked like standing room only but I did miss a few of you regulars who could not attend… Reports and updates on our 319 stormwater grant projects, the monitoring and control of invasive weeds and the new Asian Clam infestation, water quality testing, and discussions of how our organization can grow to address current issues and future impacts on the lake and watershed… the MPA may be 42 years old but we remain at the forefront of the issues and activities that relate to Manchaug Pond. More than once we have wiped sweat from our brow in service to this lake and the watershed! This fawn was all my camera could capture as it walked with the doe and two siblings in Area 3. Look to the far left to get a glimpse of the others entering the woods. It is common to see them grazing in the fields or walking from the wooded area of the Public Access Boat Ramp to a neighboring area. The white spots are still present on the backs of the three fawns. The move of the MPA to expand our present status as an …

No Rain, No Hurricane, NO WORRY for Manchaug Pond

Yesterday evening, Manchaug Pond escaped the rainstorms coming from the west only seeing dark clouds and a few minutes of rain drops. Today brought humidity and a late morning sun shower to try to cool things off. No rain to talk about yesterday or today and looking at the forecast no worry for the rest of the weekend. Hurricane Bob is predicted to have absolutely no impact on Massachusetts, never mind Manchaug Pond and the “integrety of the dam.” No worry! Enjoy the last few days of summer! Some have already started back to school!

Dam is Front Page News Again – Blackstone Valley News Tribune

“State Wants to See Manchaug Pond Dam Saved” is the headline we found on the front page of yesterday’s issue of the Blackstone Valley Tribune. http://www.blackstonevalleytribune.com/118975.113119body.lasso?publication=BLA Also highlighted is a historical book written about John Whitin and his Whitin Machine Works empire.