Midcoast Conservancy is pleased to announce that Patricia Nease, the Railsback Intern/Maine Conservation Corps Environmental Steward, has been hired on as watershed coordinator on its water team. She has spent the last year working on a variety of programs on Damariscotta Lake, along with the Sheepscot River and the Medomak River.

On Damariscotta Lake, Nease managed volunteers for the Courtesy Boat Inspection Program to prevent the spread of invasive plants including the notorious Hydrilla, the Invasive Plant Patrol volunteers who monitor along the shore, led biweekly water quality monitoring and generally responding to questions and concerns from the community. Nease was on the lake with residents and a researcher from Bigelow Lab in August after Midcoast Conservancy learned of the toxic cyanobacteria bloom which results from warming temperatures and lower oxygen levels that release phosphorus from accumulated sediments in the lake.

As watershed coordinator, Nease will build on the past year of her Maine Conservation Corps service and be the point of contact for Damariscotta Lake volunteer programs, including Lake Smart evaluations, and help Midcoast Conservancy conduct a watershed survey of the entire lakeshore (with volunteers to be recruited in 2021) to help reduce the threat of harmful algal blooms as part of the effort to identify how best to address the cumulative impacts on water quality. Midcoast Conservancy welcomes Nease and looks forward to her leadership on Damariscotta Lake and throughout the Midcoast Conservancy service area as it benefits from her expertise.

To contact Nease with any questions, to learn more about LakeSmart, or to express interest in volunteering for any of the water programs, email her at patricia@midcoastconservancy