Monitoring environmental conditions in the Lake and Basin is an essential part of implementing the Plan, Opportunities for Action. Ongoing monitoring projects cover a wide range of topics from forest health and biodiversity to atmospheric and surface water chemistry. Routine monitoring activities also occur annually in selected parts of the Lake and Basin, such as monitoring fish for the presence of toxic substances and monitoring bacterial levels at swimming areas.

Increasingly data from monitoring efforts are available online. Some data is available on: aquatic nuisance species, water quality, maps and GIS layers, terrestrial and air, and weather and climate.

The Field Guide to Aquatic Phenomena by the Maine DEP and the U. of Maine is a public-friendly guide to understanding what causes different things we see on lakes, such as foam, algae and water quality changes.

• Lake & Watershed Data Sources
• Monitoring Programs
• Water Quality Monitoring (LC Basin Atlas)