The Future of Our Ponds Depends on You 

Milton Three Ponds has been cherished by generations of residents and visitors as a beautiful place to enjoy year-round activities like swimming, boating, ice skating, and fishing. Over the years, many shorefront homes and vacation properties have been built, and the campground and marina have expanded. As use has increased, water quality has steadily declined, leaving the Ponds in a vulnerable position.

TPPA is committed to preserving the Ponds and we need your help. Get involved by becoming a member, making a donation, or simply volunteering a few hours of your time. Together, we can protect this precious resource for future generations to enjoy. 

How Can You Help Protect Milton Three Ponds? 

Here are 10 actions lakeshore residents can take to help protect the ponds.

Become a Volunteer 

TPPA has many volunteer opportunities, with training provided. The following are a few of the areas where we could use assistance. Your donation of a few hours throughout the summer/fall season would be a huge help to the work that TPPA manages with our all-volunteer board. We hope you’ll join us in preserving Milton Three Ponds for all to enjoy! 

  • Weed Watchers duties entail visually surveying a designated area along the shore, to search for invasive species, which at this time consists of European Naiad (aka Brittle Naiad). 

    In your designated area (as close to your property as possible) you are asked to view the water in that area from the shore out to a depth of five feet for any invasive species. This inspection of the assigned area should be performed in the first two weeks of July and finally one more time after the herbicide treatment in August. Your cost-saving assistance with providing this information is critical to be able to understand where the treatments are needed. 

    The Weed Watcher can complete their inspection in several ways: kayak or canoe, paddle board or pontoon boat, or swimming with goggles to view the area up close. In all cases, inspections are best completed on sunny days with calm waters for optimum clarity.  

    After inspections, all Weed Watchers are required to complete a report, which is easily done online, to document their findings. A typical inspection should not take more than 1 to 1.5 hours. Reporting online is estimated at 15 minutes per report. 

    Anyone can be easily trained in about an hour by the Weed Watcher’s coordinator, Rich Egan, at a time convenient for you. Can you commit to 6 to 8 hours, at your convenience, over the course of the summer to help the Ponds? 

    For more information or answers to any questions, please call (603-490-7636) or email Rich Egan (richardegan@comcast.net).

  • 3 hours, 2-3 times over the summer (based on how many volunteer teams we have).  Requires a pontoon boat.  

    You will take water samples and perform a few other observations at a specific location on each of the Ponds.  Return water samples to the Team Coordinators and your work is done.  This is a great way to enjoy time on the lake and perform simple tasks that provide invaluable information regarding the health of our Ponds.  Training is provided. Please call 978-821-5261 or email Jill Palmisano (jillpal@verizon.net) for more information. 

  • Social events are important to build spirit and connections around the Ponds. The SEC will be able to put their creativity to work, propose and plan activities and coordinate their success. Organizational skills are a must. Previously, TPPA sponsored a popular and successful concert on the beach and has discussed a potential golf tournament.

    Other ideas have been discussed, but we need a passionate coordinator who can identify activities and help us meet our goal to bring families and friends from around the Ponds together to enjoy and support this wonderful natural resource. 

  • 3 hours in May and October:

    This job involves placing TPPA signs at the end of specific roads at the beginning of the season and picking them up and cleaning them for storage at the end of the season.  A detailed list of where they go is provided. 

  • 3 hours in late July/early August:

    Like the activity above, but in other areas. Signs need to be up for 10 days and then removed.    

  • Various activities available from 1 to 3 or 4 hours per activity: 

    • Picking up merchandise from various vendors 

    • Putting new merchandise into stock 

    • Taking inventory 

    • Preparing orders for mailing/delivery 

    • Delivering orders from Micah Terrace to Milton Hardware or Post Office for shipping 

    • Salespeople (at least three per event) for a few events (Beach concert, TPPA Picnic, Hardware Store Sale Day, Lake Life Education Day) 

  • Looking for a full-time Milton resident who has the storage space for shelving and 10 storage bins, to manage the TPPA Store merchandise.  Reliable internet connection, computer (with printer port to connect to mailing label printer (provided by TPPA) and good computer skills are required. Store season runs from May 15 – October 15 and November 20 – December 20.   

  • We are always looking for interesting and informative articles that can be used in the TPPA Newsletter. Photos of activities, wildlife, etc., annual meeting/cookout, scholarship program, water testing, Weed Watchers, cyanobacteria, European Naiad, social events, etc. Students are also welcome to submit articles. 

  • Do you have Grant Writing experience, or would you be interested in learning about how to do it?  Please contact Wayne Sylvester 603-686-9032 or email (wsly7.sylvester@aol.com) for more information on this valuable skill.

  • Requires your time and a conversation.

    Of the over 500 homes along the lake shores, our membership is only at 50%. We need to get the word out to everyone on the Ponds to support our expensive work to help manage the invasive species, which reflects on our property values. Our membership contributions are vital in this work.

    We ask you to chat with your neighbors and invite them to become Members of TPPA and renew annually. Find all the information needed to become a member here: TPPA Membership. Your help with this is very much appreciated! 

Become a TPPA Member

TPPA is a member-based organization that depends on the annual financial support of our community, businesses, and other organizations. Of the over 500 homes along the lake shores, our membership is only at 50%. We need to get the word out to everyone on the Ponds to support the important and expensive work to help keep the invasive species in check, which affects our property values. We ask you to chat with your neighbors and invite them to become members of TPPA. Find all the information here: TPPA Membership. Your help is very much appreciated!