On July 27 CLIC, the Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy, held its annual picnic on Half Moon Island at the northern end of East Grand Lake in Orient. This was a rain date – the original dates had been July 6 but there was heavy rain that day. CLIC has been hosting this event which is open to all, whether members of CLIC or not, for decades now. Volunteers gather at several people’s camps to load and ferry equipment and food to the island. Once there, some erect canopies to offer shade while others fire up the grill and the fryer or load ice and beverages into coolers.
Boats with those attending start to arrive around 11 a.m. Among them was an officer of the US Customs who checked Canadians in when they arrived. By noontime, over 180 of the red hot dogs had been served along with trays of what some call the best French fries they’ve ever eaten. By the end of the event at around 1 p.m. more than 225 people had come to the island, more than double the number who came the previous year.
Given the turnout this year, the CLIC board has decided that next year, the picnic will be held on the Saturday of the last weekend in July – July 26 – which is when it has often been held over the years. They have also established a rain date for the following Saturday, August 2. If you plan your calendar that far in advance, make a note of those dates.
Two weeks later on August 10, CLIC held its annual meeting at the Danforth Fire House. President Kathy Conley reported to the audience, chiefly CLIC members, on some of what CLIC had done over the preceding year. Among other things, she told about the May event when five classes from middle schools who had raised salmon fry released them into Grand Lake by the bridge crossing the border between Orient and Fosterville, New Brunswick. It was followed by a hot dog roast for the students. She also reported on the picnic that was held on July 27. Each of the committee chairs give brief reports on their committee’s concerns and actions, including fisheries, water quality and the status of the dam at Forest City and the negotiations about its license with FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Conley also gave a special thank you to Jerry Wilson, Doug Callnan, Pete Chase and Jeremy Michaud for their service to the group and to the lake communities.
There were two speakers at the meeting: Barbara Glanville and her sister Theresa spoke about the invasive plant Eurasian milfoil and about Zebra mussels. CLIC will submit an article to the paper about these threats in a few weeks. Neal Berry of the St. Croix International Waterway Commission, a 100-plus year old organization funded equally by the State of Maine and Province of New Brunswick, spoke about the ongoing proposal to FERC of SCIWC taking over the license for the Forest City dam.
CLIC, founded in 1992, describes itself as a group of people which advocates for those on and around the Upper St. Croix River Watershed’s five Chiputneticook Lakes: North, East Grand, Mud, Spednic and Palfrey, as well as for those on Deering Lake in Orient and Bracket Lake in Weston.
Anyone interested in joining CLIC should email CLICBoard@gmail.com to receive a membership application. Or should they prefer, they may write CLIC at 82 Schoolhouse Road Unit 30, Orient ME 04471 for an application form or to make a donation. CLIC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation so donations are tax-exempt to the extent allowed by law.
