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Old 11-21-2023, 12:21 PM   #155
John Mercier
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Originally Posted by ApS View Post
1) Trees do a good job of breaking up heavy raindrops. You get just as wet walking beneath them, but the velocity of rainfall is kept in check. The sloping roofs of waterfront homes accelerate the velocity of rainfall. (As does the slope of our driveways). The existence of "flash-flood" isn't limited to our desert states.

2) Then there's the million-years struggle of conifers. Leafy (deciduous) trees will eventually overwhelm conifers, resulting in what forestry scientists call, "The Climax Forest". This condition will be increasingly detrimental to lakewater quality; especially when White Pines are cut down because droppings of sap ("pine pitch") are inconvenient for the citified people who move here. Because humans are so good lately at fire-suppression, conifers--who would normally rapidly restore the natural forest--are being selectively replaced by leafy trees.

3) Leaf litter contains phosphorus and should be removed.


4) Three huge (8-10 feet in circumference) conifers on my shoreline have fallen into the lake. Not much I can do, as the soil on my two lots is being eroded from underneath.This phenomenon can be demonstrated to be the result of boat wakes. This isn't helped by "full pond" plus boat wakes. NHMP hauls them away as "A Nuisance to Navigation".

A mixed-species cluster of mature trees is being forced downslope on my [late] neighbor's property. I've kept a photographic record of that cluster for several years. Half of those original trees have since fallen into the lake or have broken in half, when they can't support their upper trunks. Their root clusters are below the level of "full pond"! Cut down to stumps ln Autumn, even the stumps would be under water by next spring!

If you have ever been on a snowmobile trail in the off season... once the water begins to converge, it picks up speed. Should it hit an undersized or block culvert... it rips a gash across the trail. When it dumps into a river or stream, usually near a bridge crossing, it can erode the bank beneath the bridge or any supports we have placed into it.

Trail admins and managers use everything they can think of to stop/limit this from happening , as the repairs are expensive, but the heavy rain events in the last several years are far too much to manage in all locations and situations. Which is why FEMA helps cover some of the cost when the right conditions are met.
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