Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy reports solid turnout for two important events
CLIC, Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy, officials report solid turnouts to two of the advocacy group’s high-profile summer events, indicating the interest in protecting the St. Croix Watershed and five surrounding lakes remains strong.
CLIC Secretary Frank Bolton said the organization welcomed more than 225 people to its annual picnic on July 27 on Half Moon Island at the northern end of East Grand Lake in Orient, Maine.
On Aug. 10, CLIC members turned out in force to the Danforth Fire Hall for the organization’s annual general meeting.
Founded in 1992, Bolton described CLIC 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.”
Bolton explained that inclement weather delayed the 2024 annual picnic, noting that CLIC initially scheduled the family event for Saturday, July 6. He said heavy rain forced the delay, but it didn’t hurt attendance. He said CLIC has hosted the picnic, which is open to all, not just CLIC members, for decades.
Bolton described the preparations for the event.
“Volunteers gather at several people’s camps to load and ferry equipment and food to the island,” he said. “Once there, some erect canopies to offer shade while others fire up the grill and the fryer or load ice and beverages into coolers.”
He said the boats with those attending began arriving at 11 a.m. He said the guests included a U.S. Customs officer who checked Canadians in as they arrived on the island.
“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,” Bolton said. “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.”
He said the turnout convinced the CLIC board to schedule the picnic for the last Saturday of July 26, 2025. Next year’s rain date would be Aug. 2.
During the CLIC AGM on Aug. 10, President Kathy Conley reported to CLIC members about the organization’s activities over the previous years.
She recounted a May event where students from five middle schools released salmon fry they raised into Grand Lake by the bridge crossing the border between Orient, Maine, and Fosterville.
The CLIC committee chairs gave brief reports on their concerns and actions, including fisheries, water quality, and the status of the Forest City dam.
Bolton explained that the Forest City Dam committee noted negotiations with FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, about future licensing of the dam through the St. Croix International Waterway Commission (SCIWC).
Neal Berry, a representative of SCIWC, a more than a century-old organization funded equally by the State of Maine and the Province of New Brunswick, spoke about the ongoing negotiations.
Conley also used the AGM to extend special thanks to Jerry Wilson, Doug Callnan, Pete Chase, and Jeremy Michaud for their service to the group and the lake communities.
Guest speakers, sister Barbara and Theresa Glanville offered details about the invasive plant Eurasian milfoil and the Zebra mussels.
Bolton said anyone interested in joining CLIC could email CLICBoard@gmail.com or write CLIC at 82 Schoolhouse Road Unit 30, Orient, ME, 04471 for a membership application form or to make a donation.
