Watershed Programs - Introduction

In 2021, a Watershed Survey, led by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Jen Jespersen, owner of EcoInstincts, an environmental consulting firm, was conducted around the whole FOM watershed (map is under About US). FOM supported the survey financially and many FOM members and partners participated as volunteers.

The purpose of the Survey was to apply for a DEP 319 “Friends of Messalonskee (FOM) Watershed Protection Project” Grant, with 7 Lakes Alliance as the grantee because the FOM organizational structure is too small for the financial tracking requirements. In 2023, FOM received an $111,884 grant that ran for 2 years (through 2024). We hired Jen Jespersen as our Project Coordinator. The program was quite successful, meeting and/or exceeding all project goals. The links above describe some of the results as do the newsletters (under ABOUT US).

In 2024, 7 Lakes Alliance agreed to apply for a second DEP 319 Grant. The application was approved for 2 years, 2025-2026.

Three basic programs are offered through the DEP 319 Messalonskee Watershed Protection Project that use Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control sediment erosion from roads, lawns, driveways, and poor walkways into the lake that can cause excess phosphorus that leads to toxic algae blooms:

1) The Friends of Messalonskee (FOM) LakeSmart program offers free landscape planning assistance to help landowners identify and remedy erosion issues at lakefront homes and camps. This is basically an FOM run program through the Maine Lakes organization, but is included in the grant.

2) Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program, operated by 7 Lakes Alliance, that helps property owners with residential “hard landscaping” and buffer planting.

3) The Road/Driveway Repair program that provides property owners with cost share funds for approved projects.

More information about each of these programs is provided in the Program tabs in this section.