WELCOME TO MAINE LAKES
PROTECTING MAINE'S LAKES & PONDS
We are a nonprofit, charitable membership organization, and continue to be the clear voice for protection of our most precious freshwater resources and wildlife habitat. We work to support everyone who values and benefits from clean water and healthy lakes in Maine, including lake residents, lake associations, surrounding communities, vacationers and the next generation of lake stewards.
MORE action NEEDED!
Maine Lakes, working as part of the Lake Protection Coalition, is helping to build grassroots support for a bill before the Maine Legislature this session that will bring $2 MILLION DOLLARS each year to the Lake Water Quality Protection and Restoration Fund, which is housed at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Those funds could support in-lake phosphorus reduction treatments, watershed surveys, technical assistance, education, stormwater infrastructure, research, and more.
Email or CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR and ASK THEM TO VOTE in favor of LD 2141
Full details on our Advocacy Page.
Want to stay informed? Sign up for Maine Lakes’ Legislative Alerts HERE
Thank you for all you do for Maine's lakes and for supporting this amazing opportunity to better fund lake protection!
Join staff from Maine Lakes and Lake Stewards of Maine this winter for an engaging series of webinars about our lakes.
Relocating a Road and Adding Native Plantings to Protect Water Quality
Presented by Rebecca Jacobs, Boothbay Drinking Water District
March 18 at 12:30 pm. Register HERE
Join us to learn more about a road relocation project in the Boothbay region that moved 1000’ linear feet of road frontage away from Adams Pond and added nearly one acre of vegetated buffer in 2025. Learn about the process, successes, lessons learned, funding and the partnerships that made this project possible.
Click here to watch recordings past 2026 Winter Webinars.
registration is open!
The board and staff of Maine Lakes and Lake Stewards of Maine invite you to join us at the Wells Conference Center on the beautiful University of Maine Orono campus for a full day of learning from each other and from lake experts about ways we can work together to protect the health of Maine's amazing lakes.
Friday, June 12, 2025
8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
University of Maine at Orono
Wells Conference Center
Registration is open! Take advantage of the early bird registration rate for a discount and to save your spot at this year’s conference.
Our full slate of speakers has not yet been finalized, but presentations and panels will focus on the theme Lake Resilience in the Face of Change. While climate change is one obvious change posing huge threats to our lakes' health, we are also thinking about how we can better manage our watersheds, build shoreline buffers, and keep our lake associations strong and our lake volunteers engaged as land use and demographics change in the coming years.
For on-going conference updates, visit the conference webpage HERE.
KEEPING LAKES HEALTHY: BMP VIDEO SERIES
INSTALLING An infiltration pathway
LAKESMART
This free voluntary, non-regulatory program helps lakefront homeowners maintain lake-friendly landscapes that reduce pollution and runoff. Learn how to get LakeSmart active on your lake.
JUMP IN!
Donate or become a member today.
You will join a growing community of people dedicated to keeping Maine’s lakes clean and healthy.
Statement on racism and equality
This is a pivotal time in our culture, when organizations well outside the realm of political and social action must step up and speak to racism. Please read our full Statement on Racism and Equality.
E-Newsletters
Read our 2024 and 2025 e-newsletters here or check out our newsletter archive for past issues.
Maine Lakes E-News January 2026
December 2025
November 2025
October 2025
September 2025
August 2025
July 2025
March 2025
January 2025
LakeSmart E-News April 2025