The West Harbor Pond Watershed Association’s annual meeting and potluck picnic will be held Sunday, Aug. 16, 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 226 Lakeside Drive.

There will be a social hour beginning at 11:45 and a short business meeting at 12:15, followed by our guest speaker. The potluck picnic will begin immediately afterwards.

Our speaker this year will be Billy Helprin, who is the director of the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary on Mount Desert Island and an expert on loons.

The title of his talk is “Loon Adaptations: It's Hard to be Expert at Everything.” See below* for information on Billy and on the work of the Sanctuary.

All members, associates, and friends of the WHPWA, and anyone with an interest in the WHPWA’s continuing work to protect the Pond’s water quality and to promote a sense of community among those, both seasonal and year-round, who call the Pond home are invited to attend. (P.S., We also host a Fishing Derby each summer.) We ask that you bring a side dish or a dessert for the potluck picnic. The WHPWA will provide hot dogs, buns, and beverages.

Since parking is limited, please park at the property immediately next door to the meeting venue at 236 Lakeside Drive if you don’t mind a short hike through the woods. Those who would prefer to avoid the hike are welcome to park at 226 Lakeside Drive.

If you have concerns or questions about the Pond that you would like to have addressed at the annual meeting, please email those to Merritt Blakeslee, mrb@blakeslee-law.com as soon as possible so he can add agenda items.

The WHPWA will be collecting the $50 per household annual membership dues from those who want to be members, and those who wish to renew their membership. We also welcome donations: West Harbor Pond Watershed Association, P. O. Box 443, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575

*The Sanctuary, located in the historic Maine coastal village of Somesville, on Mt. Desert Island, protects and conserves over 250 acres of forested and wetland areas surrounding Somes Pond, and provides public access to these areas via well-maintained trails. It offers year-round natural history and conservation programs for local citizens, visitors, and schools. Its staff study all of the common loons who nest on all the lakes of Mt. Desert Island, maintain fish passageways between Somes Harbor and Somes Pond and Long Pond, monitor the annual alewife (river herring) migration, sample and protect lake water quality, and check boaters’ equipment to minimize the likelihood of introducing aquatic invasive species into these bodies of water.

Helprin has been the Sanctuary’s director since 2015. Billy coordinates multiple wildlife research and monitoring projects; provides professional development for teachers and learning experiences for students aimed at increasing interdisciplinary thinking, raising scientific literacy, and connecting people to their local outdoor environments; and manages the lands and waters that comprise the Sanctuary. Among his many skills is a deep knowledge of loon behavior and loon ecology, the subjects of his talk to the WHPWA.

For Billy’s bio, see https://www.somesmeynell.org/our-staff/. For additional details about the Sanctuary, see https://www.facebook.com/somesmeynellwildlifesanctuary; and https://www.somesmeynell.org/.CommentHighlight