|
Welcome
to the Foster's Pond Corporation Home Page
|
Welcome to
FostersPond.com, the site of the Foster’s Pond Corporation, Andover,
Massachusetts. We are a non-profit
community-based organization dedicated to
preserving and protecting Foster's Pond and its magnificent natural
environment. The Pond is one of Andover's most treasured
resources, beloved by area residents and by visitors, from far
and wide, who hike the trails of two large reservations on its
shores. We encourage you to use the
information on this site and to share your own ideas and information on
issues affecting the Pond.
|
  NOW is the Time to Make Your 2008 Contribution. The Foster's Pond Corporation needs your tax-deductible donation to continue our work of protecting the Pond and preserving the dam. We can't do it without your help. To read our 2008 fundraising appeal, click here. Then go to our donation page to see how your can give by check or on-line. And thank you for your support!
|
Late-April Showers Raise the Pond As Drawdown Ends. Unseasonably warm, dry weather got the Spring refill of Foster's Pond off to a slow start, but heavy rains at the end of April quickly raised the water level. The Corporation has lined up an organic lawn care service to tend the grass newly covering the restored dam, and volunteers continued their maintenance efforts, as the dam awaited the arrival of engineers to conduct a follow-up safety inspection. For more details and pictures, click here. |
Annual Meeting Reflects on '07 and Looks to '08. The 2008 Annual Meeting of the Foster's Pond Corporation looked back on our 2007 achievements - including huge changes at the dam, and a successful treatment of the Channel - and got a preview of what's on tap for 2008. Missed it? Sit back and enjoy a narrated slide show. And if you stay to the end, you'll be rewarded with some fabulous photos of the Pond by local residents. So turn on your speakers, then click here. |
Pond and Temperatures Drop As Winter Sets In. The Pond tamely followed the script for the annual winter drawdown, falling by early December to the target level of about 18 inches below the spillway of the dam. Just in time. Someone gave an early cue to Old Man Winter. For more details, and pictures, click here.
|
Report: Channel Is Fanwort-Free, But Not the Main Pond. The 2007 treatment of 18 of the Pond's 120 acres left the targeted area free of the fanwort which once dominated all of Foster's Pond. But colonies of the persistent nuisance have re-emerged at both ends of the Main Pond. For now, the recommendation of the experts is to watch and wait, but further treatment will probably be needed in 2009. Read the full report from our consultants. For more background and a map showing the infested areas, click here. |
Beavers at Work. The Pond now has at least two or three pairs of resident beavers. They are busiest at night, but can sometimes be seen early in the morning or late in the afternoon. And evidence of their activity is all around the shore of the Pond. For more, click here. |
|
Just Say "No" to Aquatic Hitchhikers. How did fanwort get into Foster's Pond in the first place? It hitchhiked. Maybe on a boat propeller, or on someone's fishing gear. Or perhaps someone dumped their pet goldfish in the Pond, along with a sprig of the popular aquarium plant. You know the rest. Now we need to keep all such nonnative "aquatic hitchhikers" out of Foster's Pond. We've joined a nationwide public awareness campaign to alert visitors and residents about the danger. This is something you need to know. For more information, click here.
|
Donate Online. Make your tax-deductible
contribution to the Foster's Pond Corporation online. Pay your
annual dues, contribute to our ongoing program to combat invasive weeds,
and help us maintain our 150-year-old dam. And get a receipt for your tax records instantly. All it takes is a few
clicks. Visit our donation page. Add your name to our list of 2007 contributors today!
|
|
Begone, Goose!
The Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
is surely an elegant bird. But an adult deposits between one and
two pounds of waste a day into the Pond - an infusion of bacteria,
phosphorous and nitrogen that pollutes the water and feeds the
algae. The Boston Globe
says there's a "goose glut" in
Massachusetts. What can you do to keep geese off your shoreline -
and
discourage a population explosion? It's easier than you
think. Click here.
|
Don't
fertilize that lawn! Chemical fertilizers wash into
the Pond, feeding algae and turning the water a soupy green.
That's bad for the Pond - and not so great for your lawn, either.
But there are alternatives for keeping your yard green and the Pond
clean. For a listing of Pond-friendly fertilizers, click here.
And follow the tips in the State's brochure, Lawns
and
Landscapes in Your Watershed.
|
Haven't
switched to a zero-phosphate
dishwasher detergent? Now you have no excuses!
A
leading consumer magazine reports that three pond-friendly dishwashing
powders outshine many of the heavily advertised phosphate-laden brands
that contribute to algae in our Pond. And one of the "green"
products was the #2 performer! Click here
for more info.
|
|
A note from the President of the Foster's Pond
Corporation
|
|
History
of Foster's Pond A brief overview by
local historian Juliet Mofford
|
|
Wildlife
& Vegetation A list of common species
|
|
About
the Foster's Pond Corporation History, By-Laws, Officers
& more
|
|
AVIS Reservations Maps of Goldsmith and Wilkinson
|
|
Weeds
What you can do, what’s in the Pond, what we’ve done so far
|
|
Legal Overview A
basic introduction to relevant laws and regulations
|
|
|
