Our History

RWPA was started approximately 50 years ago by Ernest Bickford and Ernie Knight, to monitor and preserve the lake water quality of all Raymond lakes. They alternated the President’s position each year until Ernest Bickford’s death, after which Chris Coe became president.

In these early years coliform bacteria was thought to be the greatest danger to our lakes, and measures were initiated to combat this menace.  Studies in the early seventies confirmed that phosphorus was a far greater threat. Since the beginning, all of our lakes have been placed in the above average category for lake water quality in the entire state, a position we enjoy to this very day.

Our organization grew slowly to the point where it became necessary to hire a full-time Executive Director in the late nineties, when Noralee Raymond came aboard. She greatly expanded the scope of activities, including grant writing, erosion control and involvement in state and local issues regarding the environment. 

Her tenure included the purchase and outfitting of our first driver-assisted suction harvester (DASH) which served until its replacement by the more versatile DAH 2. With the near elimination of milfoil along Raymond’s shore of Sebago Lake, Dash 2 has now been donated to the Town of Raymond for maintenance work. With the specter of invasive species still looming over our lakes, RWPA has expanded out obligations even further to include voluntary boat inspections and plant surveys.