The Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance (AWWA) Kickoff meeting for the Watershed-based Management Plan for the headwaters of the Salmon Falls River on June 20, 2008 was attended by a wide range of stakeholders.

Speakers included Linda Schier, Executive Director of AWWA; Fred Dillon, consultant from FE Environmental Consulting; Sally Soule of NH Dept. of Environmental Services; Wendy Garland of ME Dept. of Environmental Protection; Adam Shoukimas, Technical Director for AWWA; and Carol Lafond, AWWA President.

Linda Schier welcomed the group and initiated introductions. Attendees represented the Great East Lake Improvement Association, the Lovell Lake Association, the Three Ponds Protective Association, Horn Pond, the Wilson Lake Association, the Town of Acton, the Town of Wakefield, the UNH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program, the York County Soil & Water Conservation District and board members from AWWA. Linda also explained the history of AWWA and why they are enhancing their efforts to reduce the effects of pollution from stormwater runoff with their Youth Conservation Corps project and the new watershed-based management plan project for the headwaters of the Salmon Falls River.

Fred Dillon, from FB Environmental Consulting (FBE), explained how FBE will develop the plan using data collected from volunteer watershed surveys and water quality monitoring which will then be used with land-use modeling to explain present conditions and predict future conditions. Fred explained why phosphorus is the major contributor to lake pollution and how the plan will look at all contributing factors throughout the watersheds to define recommendations for ways to limit future phosphorus loading. Fred asked the attendees to share their concerns and hopes for the watershed plan which resulted in a lively discussion about stormwater issues throughout the watershed.

Sally Soule, NH DES project manager explained how the watershed-based management plan may be used by local town boards and other stakeholders to implement fixes for the identified problem areas and to plan for the increased development pressures expected in the region. She noted that the planning process must be completed before applications for grants to fix problems can be applied for.

Carol Lafond thanked the audience for attending and requested they show support for the project as volunteers or with a donation. AWWA is eager to hear from anyone interested in learning more about their projects and can be reached at 603-473-2500 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .