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Winter 2010 Home Page
General Notices
President's Message
Lakeside Notes
Littorally Speaking
Welcome Aboard New Monitors
National Lakes Assessment
Algal Toxins
Thank You Supporters!
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Passings
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By Bill Monagle
VLMP Board President
I don’t know about you, but for me the first decade of the new millennium sure did seem to go by in a flash. It seems like only yesterday that we were being barraged with predictions of a Y2K techno-meltdown, watching nervously as the ball was dropped in Times Square that New Year’s Eve. In some ways, it doesn’t seem like a whole lot has changed during the past decade, but in other ways it does. I’ve been privileged to serve on the VLMP Board of Directors for most of the ‘0’s’ decade, and on one hand, that time has flown by in a blink of an eye—but on the other hand, when I reflect on the degree to which the VLMP has changed and progressed during that time, it seems like, well, eons.
The advances I’ve witnessed at the VLMP have been driven by the need to keep pace with the increasing and expanding threats to Maine’s lakes and ponds, be they invasive aquatic species or nonpoint source pollution. New programs, such as the Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP), a state-of-the-art web site that enables the VLMP to provide better outreach and access to lake and watershed related information, a real home base in the Bracket Center, and an expanded corps of volunteer monitors to collect increasingly diverse data from more Maine lakes and ponds than ever before. None of these would have been possible without the tremendous support of those who volunteer their time and effort to the VLMP’s cause, and of those providing financial support. But regardless of all that has been accomplished, we cannot drop our guard now. This past year, the VLMP Board of Directors, Executive Director Scott Williams, and the staff concluded that the current level of services provided by the VLMP cannot be scaled back, eliminated or sacrificed in any way if we are to continue to provide the necessary support to address the myriad threats to Maine lakes. On behalf of the VLMP Board of Directors, I’d like to express our deep appreciation to all of you who regularly contribute, or have contributed, to the VLMP programs and to the organization in general. I would also like to thank you in advance for your continued and much needed support as we train and support the good —and essential—work of volunteer lake monitors throughout Maine.
Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
vlmp@mainevlmp.org
24 Maple Hill Road, Auburn, ME 04210
(207) 783-7733
www.MaineVolunteerLakeMonitors.org
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