LakeSmart program expanding in Raymond

By Steve Craine
Raymond Waterways Environmental Officer

2025 was the second year that Raymond Waterways offered complimentary LakeSmart evaluations to property owners on all the lakes and ponds of Raymond. LakeSmart is a state-wide program that educates landowners about the role of erosion and stormwater runoff (also known as non-point-source pollution) in degrading water quality. Importantly, the voluntary, non-regulatory program offers homeowners concrete suggestions for reducing these negative impacts on lake health that are tailored to the specific challenges of each property.

LakeSmart, a statewide program that educates
property owners about the role of erosion and
stormwater runoff in degrading water quality,
is expanding in 2026 in the Raymond area
through the Raymond Waterways organization.
COURTESY PHOTO   

In 2025, three Raymond residents were trained to become LakeSmart volunteer evaluators. We spoke with two of these new volunteers -- Ron Schanze, from Sebago Lake and Steve Rand, from Panther Pond -- about their experiences.

Rand said he was motivated to become a LakeSmart volunteer after he had his own property evaluated in 2024. “It was a good experience, and I learned a lot about best management practices,” he told us. “We are lucky to have these lakes, and I feel we need to do whatever we can to protect their health and natural state for generations to come.” Rand is the third generation of owners of his family camp on Panther Pond.

For Schanze, being a LakeSmart evaluator “confirmed my belief that everyone in our Lakes Region wants to do their part in keeping the lakes beautiful.” What they need, he pointed out, is to “understand that the best place to contribute is on their own land and that even small, inexpensive changes can make a big difference in water quality.”

When we asked Rand what surprised him about the LakeSmart program after he became a volunteer, he recalled that he hadn’t realized how comprehensive it is.

“I learned it is a carefully worked out systematic approach for going over any lakefront property to identify everything that could be a source of pollution in the lake,” he said.

LakeSmart evaluations are never reported to anyone besides the homeowner, and our suggestions are only that – no pressure – so it’s always a friendly, collaborative relationship.

As Rand puts it, “That’s what I enjoyed most, talking with homeowners and working together toward a common goal.”

Schanze said that as a volunteer he was “happy to learn about the other lakes in our town.” He said that people on the smaller lakes “have a spirit of togetherness, like they are all equally responsible for protecting their lake. We on Sebago could learn something valuable from that kind of team spirit,” he said.

This year our LakeSmart volunteers evaluated 10 properties on Sebago Lake and Panther, Thomas, and Raymond Ponds. An additional five properties were evaluated on Crescent Lake, where the Crescent Lake Watershed Association has had an active LakeSmart program for several years. Statewide, LakeSmart reached about 300 properties on 68 lakes in 2025.

Raymond Waterways would like to reach more property owners and are looking for more volunteers. If you would like to help in this effort, please contact Raymond Waterways by email at [email protected].

The Raymond Waterways organization is a non-profit devoted to lake health and is hiring Courtesy Boat Inspectors to check boats for invasive species at local boat ramps this summer. For more details or to apply, send a letter outlining your qualifications and availability, and attaching two professional or volunteer references to [email protected]. <