the Loon Flyer Spring 2000
Published by the Squam Lakes Association
Support Your Hiking Trails
by Eric Morse
The hiking trails in the mountains around Squam are enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year. The breathtaking views of Squam from West Rattlesnake, Mt. Morgan and Mt. Percival offer excellent recreational opportunities for the public. Hundreds of hikers line up to hike the Old Bridle Path to West Rattlesnake each weekend and the increased hiking use has resulted in erosion and widening of the trail. SLA needs your support to continue maintaining this trail and others in the 40-mile hiking trail network in the Squam Lakes Region.
For the past five years, SLA has maintained the trails with Volunteer Trail Adopters and SLA Caretakers. The Trail Adopters maintain a section of trail by clearing debris from the waterbars (drainage structures), trimming vegetation from the sides of the trail and reporting the condition of the trail and trail signs to the SLA office. In summer's past, the SLA Caretakers maintained trails and supervised Moon and Bowman Islands, the Chamberlain-Reynolds Memorial Forest and the Belknap Woods for low impact recreation. As recreation at these properties and usage of the trails has increased, our Caretakers and Volunteer Trail Adopters can not keep up with the maintenance of the trails.
The SLA plans to field a trail crew of three Student Conservation Association (SCA) Resource Assistants and one trail crew leader. The SCA will be using the Mead Base Camp in Sandwich Notch as a trail maintenance headquarters to house the SLA trail crew, as well as the Wonalancet Outdoor Clubs (WODC) trail crew. The Mead Base Camp is a 22-acre farm which was donated to the U.S. Forest Service and is located at the trailhead of the Wentworth Trail to Mt. Israel.
This fall the SLA trail crew will construct new stairs and waterbars to control the erosion on the Old Bridle Path. The stairs will hold the soil on the trail and will reduce erosion by slowing the water runoff from storms and snow melt. The waterbars will be placed strategically to divert the runoff away from the trail. One section of the trail is eroded beyond repair (see picture above) and will be relocated with a switchback and stairs. Signs will be placed to educate hikers about trail construction and will instruct people to stay on the trail.
The total cost of the trail crew and equipment is $9,500. The SLA hopes to raise these funds from trail donations and the Second Annual Hike For The Trails fund-raiser.
The Hike For The Trails will begin at 8:00 AM on Saturday, July 8 at the Mt. Morgan trailhead. Three hikes are offered, for families and avid hikers alike. The 5-mile Mt. Percival to Mt. Morgan loop is a great family hike and average hiking time is 3 hours. The 8-mile intermediate hike travels on the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail from Sandwich Notch to Mt. Morgan and average hiking time is 5 hours. The advanced 12-mile hike continues along the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail to Cotton Mountain and average hiking time is 8 hours. To sign up for Hike For The Trails, please call Eric Morse at the SLA (603) 968-7336. The first 36 hikers to sign up will receive a free t-shirt, compliments of Original Designs.
The third Annual SLA Volunteer Trail Day is scheduled for June 3, which coincides with National Trails Day. Volunteers will help trim brush along several SLA trails in the Sandwich Range. Volunteers should meet at the SLA Headquarters at 8:00 am and plan to work until 2:00 pm. For more information, call Eric at the SLA.
Jeffery Schloss, Coordinator of the New Hampshire Lay Lakes Monitoring Program and Water Resource Specialist for the University of New Hampshire will provide answers to your water quality questions. Send your question to SLA by e-mail: info@squamlakes.org or call the SLA office.
I live in Mystic, Connecticut on Masons Island. There is a 4 acre spring fed pond behind our house. Jack Washburn passed along a copy of The Loon Flyer winter 2000 which I read with great interest. Would it be possible for you to let me know how you measure pond water clarity? Is there some simple method I could do myself on a weekly basis?
Thank you,
Louis Allyn
Lake scientists (limnologists) measure water clarity in a variety of ways but the most common method, and the one
used by volunteer monitors across the world, involves the use of a "Secchi Disk". The secchi disk was
invented by the Italian astronomer Pietro Angelo Secchi circa 1860. Secchi, a Jesuit priest was the chief scientist
for the Vatican. In 1865, Secchi was asked to assist the commander of the papal ship S.S. I'Immacolata Concezione
in measuring the transparency of the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea. He used a white china plate attached
to a line that he lowered down into the water until, due scattering and absorption of light by particles and dissolved
substances, it disappeared from view. He then raised the disk until it was in view again and averaged the two distances.
This measurement is known as the "secchi depth".
The limnological secchi disk has been standardized to a size of 20 centimeters in diameter (about 8 inches) and it is divided into 4 quadrants that are alternately painted black and white (our LLMP logo is a secchi disk). This modification to Secchi's larger white disk, circa 1899, is the invention of George Chandler Whipple, a professor of Sanitary Engineering at Harvard University. It allows for easier readings whether the lake bottom is dark or light. Oceanographers still use the larger white disk since transparencies in the deep oceans are higher and the bottom is always dark.
Secchi disk depth will vary depending upon the levels of algae, sediments and dissolved color (from natural wetland drainage) in the water. By itself it allows us to track the water clarity changes. Combined with the other sampling the SLA monitors do, particularly chlorophyll (algae level) and dissolved color, it can help to indicate whether the change is a natural occurrence or due to our impacts on the lake and in the watershed.
It is not difficult to construct a secchi disk. The Lakes lay Monitoring Program supplies the Squam Lake monitors with one machined out of thin steel but alternatively the disk can be cut out of wood and weighted so it will sink. Paint the disk using waterproof enamel paint. Attach a line through the center of the disk. If you are going to mark the line be sure it is a type that will not shrink or stretch out with time.
In New Hampshire we measure secchi disk depth in meters. Our clearest lakes have readings of over 10 meters! Compare that to states like Ohio and Michigan that measure their transparencies in inches. Generally the more pristine lakes have transparencies greater than 4 meters (or 12-13 ft). Productive lakes have secchi depths below 2.5 meters (about 8 feet). The clearest reading for Squam Lake has been 13 meters and except for reading in the shallowest of coves, the transparency has never fallen below 4 meters since monitoring began in 1979.
To remove the interference from glare off of the water on sunny or windy days, which can make tracking the disk as it is submerged difficult, we look through a View Scope that is constructed of large diameter PVC pipe and fitted with a lens. Plans for this, suppliers that sell this equipment and much more information on Secchi Disk measurements can be found at The Great North American Secchi Dip-in website at http://dipin.kent.edu. Every year around July this organization collects secchi disk readings from all over the world to celebrate volunteer monitoring efforts.
You may have been hearing a great deal about MTBE in the news lately due to concerns over the potential health impacts when it contaminates drinking water. MTBE or methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether was initially added to gasoline to boost octane when the use of lead was phased out in the late 1970's. In the mid 1990's, the USEPA under the authority of the Clean Air Act mandated the use of reformulated gas (RFG) in areas of the country with air quality problems. The lakes region is not an area that was required to use RFG but the southern part of New Hampshire is. Refineries and terminals in New England process and ship the predominant fuel required in a region and thus RFG is used throughout New England. Reformulated gasoline contains oxygenates which result in cleaner burning and less air pollution. MTBE and ethanol are the two primary additives used as oxygenates, however ethanol is only a practical alternative in the middle of the US where supplies of grain and corn are more abundant. Therefore, MTBE became the compound of choice to achieve compliance. Unfortunately, the health effects of human exposure to MTBE were not well understood when its widespread use was mandated and to this day the health effects are still inadequately researched. Further, MTBE is extremely difficult to manage when it enters ground water due to its high solubility, mobility and environmental persistence. The fate and transport of MTBE in surface water is not well understood and there is concern that spillage and discharge of raw fuel could affect surface water. The USEPA under the insistence of several states (see Concord Beat) is likely to lift the mandate for RFG and subsequently oil companies will no longer be required to use MTBE.
The SLA received 323 responses to the annual survey, which was a 12% return rate. Overall the survey shows that members of the SLA support proactive environmental leadership and believe that the SLA is effective in carrying out its mission. The following is a summary of the key results of the study.
How has the overall quality of the environment of the Squam Lakes Watershed changed over the past year in comparison to previous years?
The SLA is preparing the Squam Lakes Water Trail Guide, a canoe and kayak guide for the Squam Lakes area. The guide will be available through the SLA Store for $3.00.
The 24-page guide includes a Squam Lakes Water Trail ethics code, Leave No Trace information, a guide to safe paddling, wind, weather and waves descriptions and camping information. The trails are paddling routes with descriptions of available public launch areas and publicly accessible properties.
The guide educates canoers and kayakers to respect private property, avoid sensitive habitat areas, practice Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics, and follow safe paddling ethics.
DRINKING LAKE WATER
The Squam Lakes have a long-standing status as Class A designated surface water body which means the water may be suitable for drinking after some form of treatment. Many of the old camps on the lakes still draw their water supply from the lakes and a strong caution is issued from the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) with regard to using the water for drinking purposes. Surface water is susceptible to viruses and bacteria from septic system leachate and animal feces. Diseases such as cholera, typhoid, cryptosporidium and giardiasis can be transmitted via the ingestion of improperly treated water. If you use lake water for your supply, there are commercially available filters that can help remove contaminants however you should defer to bottled water for cooking and drinking purposes. Call the NHDES at (603) 271-3445 for a free water sample bottle, however the NHDES feels that even if you test your water, a shift in wind could easily change your water quality. The NHDES recommends that a dug or drilled well be used for drinking purposes and that you test your well at least annually.