Causes: Environment, Land Resources Conservation, Natural Resources Conservation & Protection, Water, Water Resources, Wetlands Conservation & Management

Mission: The belgrade regional conservation alliance (brca) conserves the lands, water quality, and natural heritage of the belgrade lakes watershed. To promote for the benefit of the general public the preservation of natural resources, to engage in and promote the scientific study of, and education regarding natural resources, and to use all property held by the corp, and the net earnings thereon, for the benefit of the general public and for charitable, educational, recreational, conservation, or scientific purposes.

Programs: Brca's milfoil program seeks to protect aquatic ecosystems & public enjoyment of the lakes in the belgrade lakes watershed, by preventing and mitigating the spread of invasive aquatic plants. Brca places both paid & volunteer boat inspectors at public boat launches to check for plant fragments on boats entering & leaving lakes, and educates boaters about the threat posed by invasive aquatic plants. Brca also organizes invasive plant patrols to search for invasive plants that may have become established in at-risk areas. In 2017, brca employed 20 part-time workers and worked with 14 volunteers to provide 5,061 hours of coverage, & inspected 10,419 boats on 5 public boat ramps and 1 private launch. In 2010, variable milfoil was found growing in the great meadow stream that runs between north pond and great pond. During the summer of 2017, brca worked in partnership with the belgrade lakes association to mitigate the variable milfoil infestation and pulled approximately 17,500 gallons of variable milfoil, while employing 4 summer staff and many volunteers.

the primary goal of brca's youth conservation corps is to protect the water quality of the belgrade lakes chain from degradation due to the impact of developed areas within the watershed. To accomplish this, the conservation corps employs 9 local students to complete erosion control projects in the belgrade lakes watershed, reducing the input of sediment, phosphorus, and other pollutants into the lakes. Typical projects include shoreline riprap, bare soil stabilization, buffer plantings, infiltration structures, rain gardens, and runoff diversion. Projects are completed primarily on privately-owned property around the lakes, and homeowners pay only for the cost of materials used. The cost of planning, technical assistance and labor is paid for by donations from area lake associations, municipalities, businesses and private donors.

stewardship program: brca operates an active stewardship program to monitor conservation easements and ensure that the conservation values of fee properties are adequately protected. In 2017, each fee property and conservation easement was visited at least once to monitor conditions on the property. Brca staff and volunteers completed work projects on several trails owned by brca in 2017.In all, 25 volunteers contributed 360 hours to help with the stewardship program. Brca also contracted to provide stewardship services for the us wildlife land trust (wlt), a national land trust with holdings in maine. Under this contract, brca staff conducted monitoring visits to seven wlt properties and easements in maine.