WEST HARBOR POND
WATERSHED ASSOCIATION
PRESERVING AND PROTECTING WATER AND WILDLIFE
IN THE HEART OF THE BOOTHBAY PENINSULA
Photo: David Dalena
Photo: Lois A. Glaser
Photo: David Dalena
Photo: David Dalena
WEST HARBOR POND UPDATES​
What Have the Fish in WHP Been Doing All Winter?
Maine Lakes Annual Conference Announced
Go to the Annual Conference - Lake Stewards of Maine site to learn about this year's Maine Lakes Conference. Please consider attending this event to learn more about how you can support Maine lakes - and West Harbor Pond
2025 WHPWA Annual Meeting Held
The 2025 Annual Meeting for all WHPWA members (and friends) was held on Sunday, August 3rd 2025 with a good group of WHPWA members in attendance. After discussion of the long term financial stability of the organization it was decided by a vote of the attandees to increase annual dues to $50 as of January 1st, 2026.
Rachel Sipler, PhD, from Bigelow Labs gave an excellent talk "Watching the Water: What We See in West Harbor Pond", in which she suggested that the general aquatic health of West Harbor Ponds was quite good.
For complete meeting details see the 2025 Annual Meeting Notes.
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WEST HARBOR POND​
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West Harbor Pond is a beautiful 84-acre freshwater lake in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Designated and protected by the state as a Great Pond, it is home to an abundance of fish and wildlife.
As part of the watershed connecting Knickerbocker Lake to Boothbay Harbor's inner harbor and the Gulf of Maine, West Harbor Pond is a pathway for migrating alewives and glass eels. The population of large- and small-mouth bass and white perch keeps fishermen busy.
The Pond is a bird lovers’ paradise with regular sightings of bald eagles, osprey, owls, blue heron, loons, and white egrets. It is home to kingfishers, cormorant, and an ever-changing population of ducks including buffleheads, wood ducks, and other migratory waterfowl. Along its shores, deer, wild turkey, fox, and mink are plentiful. Turtles and beaver make their home in the Pond. See examples of Pond wildlife in our Photo gallery.
West Harbor Pond is also a place of stillness. State law prohibiting motorized craft over 9.9 hp means that there are few motorboats on the Pond. Most folks venture out in canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, rowing shells, and row boats when they wish to enjoy the benefits of this special place.
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We might think of West Harbor Pond mostly in the warmer seasons, but in winter it becomes a special place as winter weather turns it into a home for winter's special seasonal activities as well.
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Summer on the Pond
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- Swimmers of all ages gliding through clear water
- Fishermen in kayaks, boats, and on the shore--and the Fishing Derby!!!
- Children splashing and laughing as they jump from floats or rope swings
- Ladies gathering in kayaks to enjoy a leisurely paddle and cocktail hour
- Vacationing and resident dogs love to swim, too...
- Wildlife: Osprey flying overhead or diving for a meal. Herons on shore tending their clutch. Beavers swimming, carrying bottom plants for lunch. A pair of loons swimming and diving. "Glenn" and "Frye", our resident bald eagles. Mallards, cormorants, gulls, turtles, and on it goes.
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LATEST NEWS FROM THE WHPWA
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Loons on the Lake
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In the Summers of 2022 through 2024 West Harbor Pond became the pond of choice for a loon couple to bear and raise its chick! Please visit the WHPWA website News Page to learn more and to see photos of the 2022 happy family.
WHPWA and the Lakes Stewards of Maine
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In 2025, the WHPWA will continue in its relationship with the Lake Stewards of Maine, the organization that oversees the collection of water quality data from lakes across the state. We have been collecting and providing water transparency data to LSM since 2010. Beginning in 2022 we have been providing our temperature and dissolved oxygen data to LSM.
In May 2022 West Harbor Pond was featured as the “Lake of the Month” on the LSM’s website, where they posted an article about the Pond on their home page. You can read this article at https://www.lakesofmaine.org/featured-lakes.html .
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For more information about the WHPWA relationship to the Lake Stewards, go to the Lake Stewards page on this website.
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Loon photo by Lois Glaser
UPCOMING EVENTS
Moonlight Paddles On West Harbor Pond
Moonlight Paddles for the 2026 season have not yet been scheduled.
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