About Us

Evolution of the Toddy Pond Association

The TPA evolved from a meeting of camp owners that Bob Jones, a long-time summer resident of Middle Toddy, called in August 1998. At that time, rumor had it that the Town of Surry was about to establish a public boat landing on a lot the town owned in West Surry, and Bob felt that property-owners should be involved in the decision. About a hundred people showed up at a meeting in the Surry School and, though it turned out that the rumor was just a rumor, a number of us were so impressed by the response that we decided it would be a good idea to form an organization for the protection of the pond and its watershed. The following summer a smaller group met to establish the Toddy Pond Environmental Association (“environmental” was dropped in 2007) with Bob Jones as president of a ten-member board on which each of the three ponds, North/First, Middle/Second and South/Third Toddy was represented.

At the outset, the board identified several issues on which to focus its energies. These included watching out for loons as they paired, nested, hatched and raised their chicks; monitoring the quality of the water; marking submerged rocks in the narrows with buoys; and putting out an annual newsletter to inform members about environmental issues relevant to the pond. 

A couple of years after inception, the board became aware that the most important threat to the pond was from invasive aquatic plants, such as Eurasian Milfoil and Hydrilla, which were clogging lakes throughout Southern New England and moving steadily north. In the late summer of 2001 we organized a roster of volunteers to inspect all boats putting into the water at the East Orland boat landing early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The following summer, Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) went into operation between July 4 and Labor Day (when boat traffic was heaviest). With generous support from Maine Community Foundation and a Toddy Pond waterfront owner, CBI has expanded its coverage over the last several years. With both paid inspectors and volunteers, more than 1500 boats were inspected in the summer of 2025.

With the support of Hancock County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring program, we started training a team of “plant patrollers” to become familiar with all species of native and invasive species in their area of the lake. Over the years, Lake Stewards of Maine has taken up the cause of educating plant patrols on Maine lakes and we have worked closely with them every year. Thus far we have not identified any invasive aquatic species in the pond but our pond remains at high risk with a busy boat ramp. TPA has also monitored the health of the loon populations yearly, and participates in yearly water quality testing.

The Newsletter, which since 2010 has been published in the spring as well as the fall, is now distributed to all Toddy Pond property owners, whether or not they are members of the association. Another important development was the IRS’s 2015 approval of TPA’s application for federal tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. 

In October, 2014 the Verso Corporation announced the closing of the Bucksport paper mill, after nearly eighty-four years of continuous operation. Several months later Verso sold the mill to a Canadian metal recycler, American Iron and Metals (AIM), who decided to dismantle the mill, excepting its power plant which was sold to Jere (Bucksport Gen) who operates it as a peak power plant. After AIM removed the old plant, they petitioned the state for abandonment of the dam in 2024 using a never before used law from 1996. If a new owner for the dam could not be found there was the very real possibility that the waters from Toddy Pond would be released. Representatives from Toddy Pond Association, Alamoosook Lake Association and Selectboard members from Orland, Penobscot, Surry, Blue Hill and Bucksport worked tirelessly to find a solution to preserve the three lakes. In the spring of 2025, the Maine Legislature created two Watershed Management Districts that could assume ownership of the dams. On November 4, 2025 the four towns that border Toddy Pond voted to accept the Toddy Pond Watershed Management District. Although ownership of the dam has not been transferred to date, the District stands ready to accept the challenge.

Last but not least, the Association invites all members to a Summer BBQ and to an annual meeting in August at which program heads report on activities and an invited speaker talks about an environmental topic of general interest.