Portable Housing on the Jack Mountain Road in T10 R8 WELS near the Spectacle Pond Road
Portable Housing on the Jack Mountain Road near the Spectacle Pond Road (2015)
As part of the North Maine Woods management area, the township hosts some related facilities, such as these temporary, mobile buildings, probably to provide shelter in this remote area for the area management and maintenance people..
The Jack Mountain Road cuts through the northwest of the township, connecting with several unimproved roads that link to a network of logging roads in the interior. The latter also lead to the three ponds in the center of the township.
Lakes and Ponds
Spectacle Pond
The 122-acre Spectacle Pond in T10 R8 has two basins separated by a rocky thoroughfare. Most of the two basins is less than 4 feet deep and has water temperatures about equal at all depths. Few springs exist in the pond to serve as refuge during the critical summer months, so brook trout habitat is very marginal. Access is off the Jack Mountain Road on the unimproved dirt Spectacle Pond Tote Road. See a list of five other Spectacle Ponds.
Center Pond
Nearby, and smaller, 107-acre Center Pond is the source of the Machias River (North) South Branch, which joins the Machias River (North) in adjoining T10 R7 WELS. The Pond is very shallow, with a soft mud bottom and a rich growth of aquatic plants. Water temperatures become very warm during hot weather, and trout must seek the cool water of springs and inlets to survive. Conditions are considered marginal for trout.
Lost Pond
This pond is indeed “lost.” Aroostook County has three other Lost Ponds, but this one did not make inclusion on the State’s survey of Maine lakes, possibly because it is not a “Great Pond,” being much less than 10 acres. No road is nearby, but its small stream runs about a half-mile to Center Pond.
Surrounding Townships:
T11 R09 WELS T11 R08 WELS T11 R07 WELS
T10 R09 WELS T10 R08 WELS T10 R07 WELS
T09 R09 WELS T09 R08 WELS T09 R07 WELS
Additional resources
“Center Pond, T10 R8, Aroostook County.” Revised 1994. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Funded in part by Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act under Federal Project F-28-P L1582G. http://www.state.me.us/ifw/fishing/lakesurvey_maps/aroostook/center_pond.pdf (accessed June 25, 2015)
“Spectacle Pond, T10 R8, Aroostook County.” Revised 2003. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Funded in part by Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act under Federal Project F-28-P L1580G. http://www.state.me.us/ifw/fishing/lakesurvey_maps/aroostook/center_pond.pdf (accessed June 25, 2015)