Who We Are

 LAON is an all-volunteer group dedicated to preserving the health and beauty of Norway’s four lakes: Sand Pond, Hobbs Pond, North Pond and Lake Pennesseewassee.  We protect the lakes from harmful invasive plants and pollutants, monitor and report on each lake’s condition, encourage responsible recreation, and conduct a broad based awareness campaign to reach our entire watershed community.

Of course, the key to our lakes health is the actions of all our members:Controlling erosion on their properties and roads;  Removing all plants and debris from all boats and equipment;  Limiting wake to protect other people, our shoreline, and property (state law requires minimum wake within 200′ of land).

Our members enjoy swimming, boating, fishing and other water sports during the summer and ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross country skiing and skating on the lakes all winter.

News

The LAON Annual Meeting was held Saturday, May 30th 
The Annual Meeting Presentation and Meeting Minutes will be made available shortly.  A video of the Annual Meeting is available now. Please send an email to: norwaylaon@gmail.com to request information on how to link to this video.

IPP and WPP
 
We have new coordinators for our Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) and Watershed Protection Program (WPP)
 
Heidi Wierman has assumed responsibility for our Invasive Plant Patrol,  a big part of our “eyes on the lakes” effort.  She will train and coordinate our patrol volunteers and will be our point person for aquatic plant identification.  Heidi has been a part of the IPP team for several years. 
 
Jon Jacobsen has stepped up to manage the Watershed Protection Program.  This program provides opportunities to address erosion issues around the lakes when Federal funding is not available.  Jon was one of our early volunteers who helped to survey sites and apply remediation solutions during our various watershed grants. He will train and coordinate the team involved with site assessments and help to determine and distribute funding. 
 
Thanks to both for helping to make these programs successful.

LAON merchandise is available! The new lake-specific long-sleeved T-shirts and crew neck sweatshirts introduced in 2025 were very popular. Many people bought them for holiday, birthday and other gift giving…..or for themselves!!! As you come back up to your cabin to enjoy “summer at the lake” please consider purchasing LAON t-shirts and sweatshirts.
These LAON items are available in hunter green, navy and gray. Adult unisex sizes come in S/M/L/XL/2XL. Youth unisex sizes come in S/M/L/XL. Long-sleeved t-shirts in adult and youth sizes are $25.00. Sweatshirts for adult and youth sizes are $30.00. Check out the photos of these: “Sweat Shirt and Long Sleeved t-shirts”. Place your order by completing the: LAON ORDER FORM – LAKE SHIRTS.
Please print off and complete the attached order form, enclose a check payable to LAON and mail it to Pat Daniels at P.O. Box 718, Norway, ME 04268. If you live locally, Pat will arrange delivery of your order when it is ready. If you live outside the Norway area and want the order mailed to you, please add $15.00 for postage on the order form and to your check.
We continue to have tote bags and short-sleeved t-shirts with the LAON logo on them. These are NOT specific to one of Norway’s four lakes. You can find information on these items here:  LAON Shirts and Totes.

The 11th Annual Length of Lake Swim  will be held on Sunday, August 16, 2026. This annual fundraiser and celebration of the health of our lakes welcomes individuals, 2 and 3 person teams. If you want to swim or help with a party boat, contact Susan Jacoby at: (617) 833-0646 or norwaylaon@gmail.com.

Of Interest

Our 2026 Newsletter highlights the challenges confronting us and the responsive programs we’ve developed. Our strength is based on our multifaceted approach, our success is based on lakeshore property owner involvement.

See the updates on the Lake Pennesseewassee watershed protection program:

Also, please review the summary of the highly successful North Pond Watershed Protection project, which was conducted during the fall of 2017 through end of 2019.

“As a result of our 2024 Watershed survey, LAON received an EPA grant to address issues in the Hobbs Pond watershed. We anticipate starting several remediation projects in 2026, but federal budgeting issues require delaying the start of most projects until the narrow time frame after October. The remaining projects will be addressed through 2028. The survey summary can be found here.

LAON Lost and Found page. If you have lost something or found something on or near your lake, you can check here to see if it has been located, or report a missing or found item. Click this link to get started: LAON Lost and Found Listings.

Sponsorship

Our sponsors are caring members and local businesses who recognize the connection between the quality of our lakes and local economic vitality. The Town of Norway is our main partner; we are grateful for its ongoing support. Our member and business sponsors are listed on Thanks to Our Sponsors.

We need you to Invest in our future.  We rely on annual membership dues and business sponsorship to support our work. (All donations are fully tax exempt).

Would you like to be on our email list?  (We only send a few messages each year and we won’t share our address list.) Just complete this form or Email: norwaylaon@gmail.com. Don’t forget to add us to your address book so that our messages reach you!

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