This committee is appointed by the Groton Select Board and advises the Town Manager about issues effecting the Groton Lakes.   The Committee can investigate or research lake management issues that involve the health, safety water quality, environmental protection, and preservation of property values. On behalf of the Town of Groton, GPAC can apply for grants to further its goals.   This Committee has a small budget allocated by Town of Groton to accomplish its goals.  It also manages Town allocated funds for lake treatment.

This committee is also appointed by the Select Board.  Committee members maintain and manage the weed harvester which is owned by the GLA. The weed harvester is used in the seasonal harvesting of weeds on Baddacook Pond, but in the past was also used on Knopps Pond and Lost Lake.  The committee contracts (on behalf of the Town) with a vendor to perform the actual harvesting.  This work used to be done in the past by volunteers only. 

The GCC was established under state law. It administers Groton’s Wetland Protection Bylaw. It acts as a sounding board and permitting body for residents who want to build, alter or change their property within the buffer zone of wetland resources. The GCC manages over 1,000 acres of Town owned conservation land ; including some islands in Lost Lake. 

This is a state law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing Massachusetts boating and recreation vehicle laws and regulations.  It is also responsible for the registration of boats, off-road vehicles and snowmobiles.  You will see them patrolling the Groton Lakes a few times each year

The MLC has been in existence off and on since the Lost Lake Subdivision was first developed in the 1920s. A clubhouse used to exist on Lost Lake Drive where the club held dances and other events for folks who had bought lots near and on the lake. The club went dormant for many years during the Depression, but revived thanks to Don Carter (Earl Carter’s father) in the 1940s. The MLB has a website: https://www.mountainlakesclub.org/. The Club owns a field off Lost

Lake Drive and maintains Baby Beach on Lost Lake for members. Each year the Club runs several events for the whole family including an Easter egg hunt; an Earth Day clean-up; a neighborhood block party; July 4 th boat parade in conjunction with the GLA; messy games; movie nights and more.

The Groton Water Department is responsible for the management and maintenance of Town of Groton’s drinking water resources and the distribution system utilized to convey this resource to residents and businesses throughout the town. The GWD owns the water rights to Baddacook Pond. The Water Department does not support the use of herbicides to treat invasive weeds in water zones that are near sources of drinking water supply. Even herbicides that have been approved by Federal and State environmental departments; herbicides routinely used in drinking water supplies across the country. Littleton treats Spectacle Pond, the reservoir for both Littleton and Ayer annually. Their testing at the well site has shown that no herbicide has ever made it into their water supply. As a result, in Baddacook Pond, only mechanical means of weed removal are justified. Whitney Pond badly needs either herbicide treatment or mechanical treatment to protect its further existence for fishing, boating and other recreation. The Groton Lakes Association (GLA) and the Great Ponds Advisory Committee (GPAC) are currently seeking ways to use the weed harvester in Whitney as a stopgap measure. Unfortunately, the topography and narrow access roads have so far stymied the search.

The Trust is a private, non-profit land trust formed in 1964 that has stewardship over 1500 acres within Groton’s boundaries. The organization acquires, preserves and provides public access to lands with significant conservation value. The Lost Lake Conservation Area, a gift of the Taplin family includes roads and trails mostly east of Lost Lake. There are over 40 land parcels under the trust’s stewardship and their website, www.gctrust.org has more information on descriptions and locations. The two small islands in Lost Lake are Trust properties and are regularly used by local wildfowl for nesting and perching bald eagles.

Sargisson Beach is the Town’s public beach and a Conservation Commission property.  As such, the Sargisson Beach Committee is responsible for the preservation and maintenance, which includes sponsored clean-ups in Spring and Fall by  volunteers, hiring a ranger for the summer months to keep the areas clean and make sure the use by residents conforms to its main purpose-recreation. Swim buoys, docks and wake buoys are all placed at Spring opening around Memorial Day. The Committee works with various town boards, including the DPW, Great Ponds Advisory Committee,the Groton Lakes Association Groton police and Boards of health to ensure safety, water quality, sanitation and beach clean-ups. A five-minute video of Sargisson Beach’s origin can be viewed on YouTube using this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiGz9GQrpig&t=13s.

Lost Lake has its own station on Lost Lake Drive. The department is mostly staffed by volunteer personnel. We are fortunate to have a great chief, Steele McCurdy. The men and women of this department are well trained and professional. About two years ago, the department responded to a fully engulfed garage fire at Knops Pond and saved the house and nearby properties

from any further damage. It was an opportunity to utilize one of the two cistern systems placed in the lake area just for this type of emergency. The cisterns provide a nearby water supply as fire equipment cannot lif water from the lake.

The role of Groton Harbor Master is fulfilled by our Town Chief of Police.  While we have not been able to find a formal job description for this role, the Harbor Master has been responsible for ensuring safety on the Groton Lakes, which includes, placement of hazard signs (the buoys in various places on Knops Pond and Lost Lake) and controlling the level of the Lake waters.  In past years, volunteers living on the Lakes have helped the Harbor Master  in hese functions.   The Harbor Master may also inspect boats for safety and ensure that the owners have an annual sticker on their power boats indicating they have paid the annual boat excise tax

The DPW is responsible for maintaining the level of the lakes at a safe level, primarily through the maintenance and management of the Dam at the end of Lost Lake. Water flowing out of Lost Lake crosses under Lost Lake Drive and flows into Cow Pond Brook, then Whitney Pond, out of Whitney under Route 40 and eventually into Massapoag Pond.  Releasing too much water, or releasing it too quickly from Lost Lake can cause issues for all those “downstream”.   Volunteers from the GLA coordinate with the DPW to manage the dam, maintain the Boards and add and remove boards from the dam at the beginning and end of season.

The Department of Fish and Game works to preserve the state's natural resources. DFG exercises  responsibility over the Commonwealth's marine and freshwater fisheries, wildlife species, plants,and natural communities, as well as the habitats that support them.The Department of Fish and Game is responsible for conserving the Commonwealth’s natural resources while also providing outdoor recreation opportunities to the public. DFG also issues licenses for hunting, trapping, recreational fishing, and commercial fishing. Within this agency exists the Division of Fish & Wildlife. Their main mission is for the

conservation of freshwater fish and wildlife in the Commonwealth, including endangered plants and animals. Mass Wildlife restores, protects, and manages land for wildlife to thrive.This division is also responsible for restocking our lake with bass and trout each year, a practice that goes back many years. Another, less well-known group under DFG is the Office of Boating & Fishing Access (FBA).Their mission includes providing boat and canoe access sites, shore fishing areas, and sportfishing piers at more than 290 locations on coastal waters, great ponds, and rivers throughout Massachusetts. The FBA serves the public by providing and maintaining access to over 290 coastal and inland boat and canoe launch and fishing areas across the state. This office owns

and is responsible for the maintenance of the Lost Lake and Baddacook boat ramps.

The lake has been successfully treated for non-native invasive weeds by this company for many years. The Groton Lakes Association has worked very closely with their personnel over the years to keep the lake navigable and safe for all forms of recreation. We will be adding water testing this

coming year to monitor our ongoing efforts to reduce the level of nutrients entering the lake and keeping alert to any hazardous algal blooms (HABs).

Geosyntec conducted a comprehensive overview of the Lost Lake/Knops Pond watershed funded by a Community Preservation Act grant to identify sources of stormwater run-off and erosion and develop recommendations for correcting these problems. The overall goal is to lower the level of phosphorus and nitrogen that help to fuel weed growth in the lakes. On behalf of GLA and GPAC, Geosyntec will apply for federal grant money to develop plansand together with the town of Groton’s DPW implement best management practices to curb this pollution. The grant program will issue applications sometime in the spring of 2023.