Ice Safety - Be Careful Out There
It's been a strange winter for ice on Canobie Lake. Sheltered coves began to freeze in early January, but other parts froze later and the main part of the lake still has open water. So the ice thickness is not uniform. It may be thick enough to support you near the shore, but not a little farther out.
Last weekend (January 30 & 31) the air temperature went up into the fifties, and there was considerable ice melting. The usual advice is that 4 inches of ice is thick enough to support individuals, but that's for clear ice. Ice that has melted and refrozen may be weaker than that. Be careful. Err on the side of safety.
Read More
Welcome to Canobie Lake Brochure
The Canobie Lake Protective Association has just published its first Welcome brochure. It contains lots of useful information about the lake, and photos of its natural beauty, peacefulness, and opportunities for enjoyment. It also has information about protecting and preserving the lake, and restrictions that apply. We hope this will answer questions that visitors and new residents have, and inspire them to Love the Lake, as we do.
Read More
Ledgeview Project Canceled!
In a somewhat surprising development it was announced on Wednesday, January 13 that Ryan Development, LLC, is no longer authorized to represent the owner of the property where the Ledgeview project was to take place. The town of Windham was asked to withdraw all the pending applications by Ryan regarding this project.
This is good news! Ledgeview was going to be a very dense shopping center, which did not come close
Read More
Large Developments in the Canobie Lake Watershed
There are two large commercial developments being proposed in Windham that are located near Exit 3 in the Canobie Lake watershed. One is Gateway Park, located at the site of the former golf course and driving range at the intersection of Route 111 and 111A. The other is Ledgeview, located between the new alignment of 111A and the northbound lanes of I-93, in what was formerly the median of I-93. Each project is about 30 acres in size.
The CLPA Board is concerned that these projects could adversely affect Canobie Lake,
Read More
Swimming Ban Enforcement to Increase
We have heard that Salem plans to step up enforcement of the swimming ban in Canobie Lake. The rule is no human-body contact with the water. Violators can be fined. "A word to the wise is sufficient."
Read More
Annual Meeting Report - 2015
The CLPA held its Annual Meeting on July 19 at the Searles School and Chapel in Windham. Members began arriving at 6:30 PM and browsed through the information displays that were arranged around the room. There was a display of 182 brand-new photos of waterfront homes posted on the walls of the room. The photos were arranged in order, so walking around the room was like a cruise around the lake! Special thanks to Marian Johnson for the photography, and Ginny Campiola for the inspiration.
Read More
Fourth of July Boat Parade
Thanks to all of the enthusiastic participants in the boat parade! There were about 27 boats in the parade – a very nice turnout. The judges had difficult choices to make, due to all of the creatively decorated boats! The first prize winner (and leaders of next year's parade) was “Cape Canaveral” with Eric Rioux and Penny Maxner.
Read More
Annual Meeting and Social-Sunday July 19 at 6:30 PM
Please come and enjoy light adult beverages, snacks and dessert with your neighbors and fellow CLPA members. The location is the AIR-CONDITIONED Searles School, 3 Chapel Road, Windham (next to Delahunty's Nursery). New members are welcome!
Meet your lake neighbors. Share lake stories and memories. Find out what the association has been doing. Voice your questions and opinions.
Read More
July 4 Boat Parade
Join the festivities on Saturday July 4th at 1 PM. The parade will start at Rocky Point then proceed around the entire lake. Check this web site for notice of any changes due to bad weather. Happy Birthday USA!!!
Read More
We're back online!
The Canobie Lake website is operational again. Sorry that we were offline for several weeks. Our website was hacked by an unknown intruder, so we took it offline for your protection. We hired a company (WebUNITED) to rebuild it and install it on a different server, which we believe will be more secure. It will take us a while to replace all the information that was on the old site. We will be replacing content for several more weeks. Thanks for your patience!
Read More
Good news! Lakes recovering from acid rain
Whatever happened to acid rain? Remember how we used to talk about how our lakes were getting more acid, and fish couldn't reproduce, etc. ? There's good news to share. Acid rain is diminishing, and our lakes in New England are cleaning up from it. Quote from a recent research study:
“This is really good news for New England. Lakes are accelerating in their recovery from the past effects of acid rain. Our data clearly demonstrate that cleaning up air pollution continues to have the desired effect of improving water quality for our region’s lakes,” said NHAES researcher William McDowell, professor of environmental science and director of the NH Water Resources Research Center.
Read More
Boat Parade Winners
The July 4 Canobie Lake Boat Parade went off without a hitch... on July 5. The weather was beautiful then. Thanks to all 15 boats that participated. Everyone seemed to have a great time. The judges had difficulty deciding on the prizes, with all the fine entries. Below are photos of the winners, taken by Jay Johnson and Marian Westerberg.
Read More
Boat Parade postponed to July 5 at 1 PM
We kept hoping the weather forecast for tomorrow would improve, but it hasn't. They are forecasting rain, and heavy rain, from 9 AM through 5 PM. Not much fun boating in that! The forecast for Saturday, July 5, is very good. So we will postpone the parade until Saturday at 1 PM. Please join us then for a fun Independence Day celebration. We'll enjoy it much more then!
Read More
Boat Parade Time?
Currently (July 3, 10 AM), rain is forecast for July 4. Our "decision team" would like to wait until this evening to decide on postponement. They argue that hurricanes do change course, slow down, etc., and they would hate to postpone only to find that the weather is OK on July 4. We'll put a notice here this evening. If we do postpone, it will likely be to Saturday at 1 PM. Sorry for the uncertainty.
Read More
Loons not nesting this year
Our resident loon pair is not nesting this year. The Loon Society biologist has visited Canobie Lake twice, and he doesn't know why they are not. He says there are plenty of good sites to nest, in addition to our raft. They do not appear to be unduly disturbed by people or critters. Best guess - they just don't feel like it. Sometimes "our" pair is joined by a third loon. The biologist thinks the third loon is a single female. Sometimes the three swim close together; sometimes two of them fight. It is possible the presence of the third loon is upsetting the pair, but not certain.
The time window to nest and produce a chick which would be viable by the end of the summer is rapidly closing. Too bad!
Read More
CLPA Annual Meeting and Social
Mark your calendars, please. We're having our annual meeting and social on Sunday July 27 at 6:30 PM, at the Searles School, 3 Chapel Road in Windham (next to Delahunty's Nursery). We're trying a different time and format this year. Let us know how you like it. We're planning an enjoyable outing, a "party", with dessert and light adult beverages. The agenda will include election of officers for next year.
If any member is interested in serving on the board of CLPA, please contact any board member in advance, and come to the meeting on 7/27/14.
We're looking forward to seeing many good friends, and catching up!
Read More
4th of July Boat Parade
Join the festivities by decorating your boat and joining the parade! On Friday July 4th at 1 PM the parade will start at Rocky Point, then proceed around the lake and end where it began. (Check our web site (here) for notice of any last minute changes due to inclement weather.) Last year's winners, Michael and Alyssa Schoenfeld will lead the parade. Our kayaking judges will determine and present the prizes: $100 for first place, 2nd place - 4 passes to Canobie Lake Park and 3rd place - 2 passes. Thanks to our generous sponsor - Canobie Lake Park.
This event is always a lot of fun. If you're not going to be in the parade, please participate by cheering and waving from shore. Best wishes for a happy and healthy and safe 4th of July... Happy Birthday USA!!
Read More
Accidental Water Discharge from I-93
On Thursday, July 18, a large amount of water was released from the I-93 construction project. It flowed through a cross pipe under I-93, and then followed a stream channel down hill to a culvert under South Shore Road, adjacent to #46 South Shore Road. When it emerged from that culvert, it went straight into Canobie Lake. Eyewitnesses reported that the water was dirty and very smelly - it smelled like sewage. The flow was so great that the culvert couldn't handle it. The water rose behind the culvert, and flowed over the top of South Shore Road. Dave Blake, one of our CLPA directors, observed the incident and recorded videos. The incident occurred about noon. It was not raining at the time. The high flow condition continued for twenty or thirty minutes.
Read More
