April 12, 1999

To Whom It May Concern:

This note is to endorse efforts by the New Meadows Lake Association in its

application seeking watershed protection for the Lake. This body of water has served

as an important study site for me and students in a course that we offer, "Applied

Marine Ecology," every other year along the coast of Maine. Bowdoin College and

Maine Maritime Academy have served as host campuses for our group since the

1970s. Among the hundreds of sites I have visited in 34 years of teaching (at Bowdoin

and George Washington Univ.), I regard New Meadows Lake as one of the most

fascinating. It is an unusual lagoonal marine embayment that supports a wide variety

and abundance of biota, especially invertebrates and algae. It is of particular interest

because some of these forms are more typical of warmer climates; the fauna and flora

are somewhat different from what is found along the coast Also, the lake has added

interest in that it was for many years (and still is, to some extent) plagued by input o1

sewage and nutrients, exacerbating its eutrophic nature. We have regarded it as an

important-educational resource, particularly since it is so close to the classrooms and

laboratories of Bowdoin, and we applaud any efforts to protect the Lake.

Sincerely,

Robert E. Knowlton

Professor of Biology