Fisheries & Water Quality Research

PIERCE POND WATERSHED

FISHERIES & WATER QUALITY Research

Pierce Pond Watershed Trust (PPWT) is researching the health of the Pierce Pond watershed’s fisheries, beginning with why Mayfly hatches seem to have declined. Anglers’ observations have given rise to questions such as the following: Are these phenomena being seen elsewhere? Are they just temporary, or cyclic, or likely to be long-lasting? Are the fisheries being affected? Are the changes the result of global warming or other factors? To begin to answer some of these questions, PPWT’s Board of Directors created a Fisheries & Water Quality Committee.

We are working with Cobb's Camps, the Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (ME IF&W), the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the Lake Stewards of Maine (LSM) to gather information about Pierce Pond by embarking upon the following initiatives:

  • Pierce Pond has been added to the list of lakes that Maine DEP regularly monitors for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, and clarity.

  • PPWT has become part of the statewide lake monitoring program known as the Lake Stewards of Maine (LSM). In 2024, LSM representatives came to Pierce Pond to train PPWT personnel and volunteers how to collect data on water-quality parameters. They were trained to use a Secchi disc for transparency readings, and how to use dissolved-oxygen meters to obtain and interpret dissolved oxygen and thermal profiles. These measurements will be taken throughout the 2025 season to better understand trends that may be affecting insect hatches and fisheries.

  • WIN A BRAND NEW FLY ROD OUTFIT!
    We are enlisting Pierce Pond anglers to complete angler logs in which they record fishing methods, time, species, size, fin clips, and observed hatches. Please pick up logs at Cobb’s Camps, or alternatively DOWNLOAD THE LOG and print copies ahead of time (2 pages, heavy paper or card stock advised). You will need one log per pond/day. Logs can be returned to Cobb’s Camps or mailed to PPWT at PO Box 5660, Augusta, ME 04332. Each submitted log will count as one entry into a drawing for a brand new fly-rod outfit.

Telemetry Study Planned

We plan to partner with ME IF&W in 2026 to perform a radio telemetry study on brook trout migration in Pierce Pond, which will provide valuable information regarding movements of fish during the year, including the warm summer months and the fall spawning period.