Pawtuckaway Lake Association

Dear Members, Lake Residents, and Friends of Pawtuckaway Lake: The countdown to spring has begun and the officers of the PLIA have begun planning for the summer. We wanted to give you an update on some of the activities underway and hope you get involved and help out with one of these programs.

• Monthly Planning Meetings: Starting on March 5th, 6:30 PM at the Nottingham Town Hall, we will be holding monthly planning meetings to prepare for our annual meeting. Topics for the March meeting include: the annual meeting agenda and new kids programs, articles and authors for the next issue of PawPrints, and 2007 requirements for our water testing and lake host programs. If you would like to meet some of your neighbors and become more active in the PLIA, please join us at this meeting.

• CALL TO ACTION—Lake Host Program: After many years of service, Celeste Schmitt is retiring from the position of Lake Host Program Coordinator. This leaves a major gap in our defense against exotic weed infestation and we are currently seeking a replacement for this position. How important is the Lake Host Program? Go to our website http://www.pawtuckawaylake.com/ and read the article entitled: Don’t Let This Happen to Our Lake.

- 54 lakes in New Hampshire are infested with exotic species of water weeds. All it takes is one piece of a weed stuck on a boat trailer to find its way into the lake and within a year or two the lake can be infested. The article on our website contains photos taken from lakes in New Hampshire, Maine, and the Mid-West that have become infested.

- Help the PLIA keep this from happening to our beautiful lake! The Coordinator’s position would be great for a retiree, a parent with a teenager looking for a paid summer job on the lake, or anyone who would like to get involved in protecting our lake. If you are interested, please contact Donna Danis, co-president of the PLIA at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Boat Education Course: If you have not taken the Boater Education course yet, you may not be legal driving your boat this summer. Last fall, twenty-six members attended the PLIA sponsored boating education safety course held at the Nottingham School. The two-evening course was taught by Officer Mulligan of the NH Marine Patrol and was very informative even for experienced boaters. If there is enough interest, the PLIA will sponsor a class on a Saturday in April, 2007. We will again attempt to schedule Officer Mulligan at the Nottingham School. If you are interested, contact Donna Danis, co-president of the PLIA at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Fifth Grade Field Trip: Dale Scott is leading our efforts to plan a fifth grade field trip to the lake sometime in May. The classes will be studying lake ecology and Dale is working with the DES to plan some interactive activities, such as discussing our watershed, sampling water from our lake tributaries, and more. We will need some pontoon boat drivers and other volunteers for that event. It will be a school day. If you can help out, please contact Dale at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Check out our new website. Our web site has been updated to load faster, solve issues with Macintosh PC's, and make finding information easier.  Check out some of the great new lake resident interviews. Throughout the year, visit the site, http://www.pawtuckawaylake.com/ to stay informed on water quality issues, to experience the past through interviews with long-time residents, to review meeting minutes, and to learn about upcoming events. Remember, the Nottingham Library offers Internet access. If you don’t have a connection at home, it’s worth the trip to the library to check out the site.