Loon Chick Photos
Minutes from the July 2008 Annual meeting of the Lake Kanasatka Watershed Association are available here.

Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act
The NH Department of Environmental Services has made the following information available in PDF format for us to download. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files.
A brochure with information concerning the CSPA
An article published in the DES June 2008 Newsletter.

Information on Cyanobacteria and Lake Kanasatka from Bob Craycraft of UNH.  It has been in the papers and on the news, affecting Winnisquam, Opechee and Meredith Bay.  Read about it in the LKWA Message Board

Loon Nesting Data - The Loon Preservation Committee offers a summary of loon nesting activity and nest raft use from 1975 to the present.  The LPC is dedicated to sharing information about New Hampshire's loon population with the interested public.  Though it is generally unable to accommodate requests to distribute monitoring data on individual lakes, this report is an exception and has been provided by the LPC to us on a trial basis.    See the Loon Nesting report here.

Are the Loon Chicks missing?
A message from Jane Farichild - (7/31/08):

I just came in from an hour's worth of trying to find the loon chicks and I cannot.  Both parents were chasing Rogue (running across the water) in the middle of the lake when I went out in my kayak at 8am.  Another kayker was very close to them and the loon was calling and making the 'warning' sounds at her but she continued to take close up pictures.  That loon broke away after I went up to the kayak and told her to get back, that she was harrassing them.  This same person has been seen at least two other times doing the same thing, including the morning of the hatch.
That loon then slowly swam back towards the cove and went up and down the rocks, fishing as she/he went.  No sign of the chicks either with the parent who was last seen chasing Rogue or the parent who went back towards the cove.  I watched for a long while, hoping the chicks had been hidden somewhere, but did not see them.  The loon parent is still in the cove alone.  If has now been an hour.  It seems unlikely that a parent would leave the chicks alone and hidden anywhere for that length of time, doesn't it?
Does anyone have any word on whether the chicks have been destroyed by Rogue or any other predator?  Yesterday I only saw one at a time, never two, but today there seem to be none.  I have also seen seagulls around them all for several days.

Have you seen the chicks? Let us know.  Read more about the chicks or leave a message on the LKWA Message Board.

Loons and People a message from Harry Vogel:
The best protection for those chicks is to keep too many people from getting too close to the family for too long.  Hard to do because everyone is excited about the big event, but the care and feeding of loon chicks is a full-time job for both of the parents, so they should not be spending their time and energy swimming away from boats.

My standard advice to boaters is if you want to get close to loons, especially loons with chicks, buy a good pair of binoculars.  Loons can be quite curious birds, and if they swim close to have a look at you, by all means enjoy – but no chasing loons around the lake!  Judy Silverberg at NH Fish & Game said it best I think – any time you’ve caused a wild animal to change its behavior, you’ve had an impact on that animal.  The firstborn chick will generally be the first to be fed, and if we give the birds enough space then the second chick will also get enough food to survive and grow and fledge before the ice closes in.  It’s great to see loon chicks on Kanasatka again – I hope they survive and thrive, and I hope they are the first of many more to come!

Harry Vogel - Biologist with the Loon Preservation Committee   

LKWA Message Board
Something new to try!  A message Board for LKWA people and friends.  This is a public forum, anyone on the can read the messages but only those who are members can post a message (to filter out spam).  Click Here to see what the LKWA Message Board looks like.   Click here to find out more about the Message Board and learn how you can join in the discussion.

Other news and reports: 
  • New! Archive of previous newsletters in our Lake News. 
  • Download the 2008 Newsletter here.
  • EPA and DES form Performance Partnership Agreement  - Read about it here.
  • Boater Education Certificate Information here.
  • Update on the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act here.
  • The  Latest Water Quality Monitoring Report.  Read it here. 
  • Depth Maps of Selected NH Lakes and Ponds.  In alphabetical order by town here. 
  • Article IV. WATERFRONT PROPERTIES - Removal of Trees Shrubs and Vegetation.  Read about it here.
  • Information on the Boater Education Law RSA -D:10 can be found in the Lake News

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