Department of Conservation

AUGUSTA, Maine – (June 15, 2001) Two differently-colored buoys swap meanings this summer and boaters who head out on Maine lakes need to be on the lookout. Officials with the Department of Conservation’s Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) announce that the State’s navigational aids system will change to mirror the Federal system, impacting a total of 400 buoys, nearly a third of the total 1,275 buoys maintained by BPL.

By the end of the summer of 2001, the red and white vertically striped buoy will indicate the center of a channel, and the black and white vertically striped buoy will warn boaters to avoid travel between the buoy and the nearest shore. Last season, these buoys held opposite meanings on inland waters. Throughout the next few months, BPL staff will be swapping the buoys on the 25 State-marked water bodies. Boaters will be informed of the changes when they register their boats, and can find information on the Internet at www.state.me.us/doc/parks under “Boaters Alert.” Signs will be posted at state facilities, as well.

“The ultimate goal of the navigational aids change is to reduce the confusion based on the contradictory meanings of these buoys on either inland or coastal waters,” stated Bureau of Parks and Lands Boating Facilities Director George Powell. “Boaters are asked to use caution when approaching buoys on inland waters this season.”

The recent modification will bring Maine into compliance with a Federal mandate that the “Maine State Uniform Waterway Marking System” mirror the “United States Aids to Navigation System.” Maine had five years to complete the project and will finish one year early. At the end of this summer, the same navigational aids system will be used on both inland and coastal waters.

Maine's 2,500 lakes and ponds and 3,500 mile long coastline offer varied and outstanding recreational opportunities to owners of trailered or car-top watercraft.

Bureau of Parks and Lands marks the following 25 water bodies:

Brandy Pond, Naples
China Lake, China
Cobbosseecontee Lake, Monmouth
Damariscotta Lake, Jefferson
Eagle Lake, Eagle Lake
Embden Pond, Embden
Great East Pond, Acton
Great Pond, Belgrade
Hancock Pond, Denmark
Horn Pond, Acton
Lake St. George, Liberty
Long Pond, Belgrade
Tacoma Lakes, Litchfield
Long Lake, Naples
Maranacook Lake, Winthrop
Moosehead Lake, Greenville
Mooselookmeguntic Lake, Oquossoc
Mousam Lake, Acton
Messalonskee Lake, Belgrade
Rangeley Lake, Rangeley
Sebago Lake, Casco
Sebec Lake, Dover-Foxcroft
Sebasticook Lake, Newport
Songo River, Casco
Webb Lake, Weld

In addition to the Boating Facilities Program, the Bureau of Parks and Lands administers 32 state parks, 12 historic sites and more than 480,000 acres of public reserved land in Maine.