Our Fall Newsletter (paper version) has been posted on this page at right, but we also send out monthly email newsletters. The November edition can be found here.
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Stewardship is just as important to a land trust as is the protection of new lands under threat. If good stewardship practices are not followed, lands are at risk and the efforts at protecting land can all be wasted. This is true of lands that conservation organizations own (the “fee”) and lands over which a land trust holds a conservation easement.
Maine A.T. Land Trust is fortunate enough to work with landowners like Paul Comtois, who are good stewards in their own right.
Paul wrote an article for our Summer Newsletter about the process of putting his land in conservation, and he has remained an active steward ever since. He’s even directed land trust staff and board members to other properties along the Appalachian Trail which he thinks might be a good fit for future conservation. Landowners know their terrain better than anybody, and Paul is proof positive of this rule.
By William L. Plouffe, Board President
Fulfilling the Maine AT Land Trust’s mission to enhance protection of lands surrounding the Appalachian Trail in Maine requires collaboration with others; non-profits, governmental agencies, corporations and individuals. To that end, Board member Tony Barrett and I recently took AT related field trips with representatives from some of those partners.
In August, we joined the Trust for Public Land, the Appalachian Mountain Club and Trout Unlimited on a site inspection of Bald Mountain Pond and Moxie Bald North Peak. After driving over ten miles of dirt roads, we launched canoes and kayaks from the State owned boat launch at the south end of Bald Mountain Pond and paddled north. Bald Mountain Pond has an essentially undeveloped shoreline, clear water and great depth that provides habitat for one of the very few Arctic Char fisheries in New England. On this clear day we took in the views of Moxie Bald and other peaks that border the pond and listened to a pair of loons. After a two mile paddle we pulled out at the Moxie Bald Lean-To and headed up the AT to the North Peak side trail. From the open summit of North Peak there are expansive views of Bald Mountain Pond and of the route of the AT both north and south. As of now, the majority of the shoreline of Bald Mountain Pond and a portion of North Peak, with old growth woodlands, are owned by Plum Creek. If they could be acquired for conservation they would be a great addition to AT experience; the type found in few places outside of Maine.
In October, Tony and I were part of the annual AT Partners Hike sponsored by the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. We were joined by Appalachian Trail Conservancy, National Park Service and Maine Department of Agriculture and Conservation. MATC President, Lester Kenway, led us on the AT as it follows Long Pond Stream to Slugundy Falls and then climbs steeply to Barren Mountain. Lester discussed the long running “debate” in the AT community about stream crossings in Maine, which are notoriously difficult. Should bridges be built? Should alternative routes that avoid the worst crossings be offered to hikers? Should the crossings be left as is as part of the adventure? MATC’s Overseer of Lands, David Field was also along and provided many historical anecdotes about development of the AT in Maine. While standing at Barren Ledges looking across Lake Onawa to Boarstone Mountain, Dave related the story of a dispute between Myron Avery and the Moore family, owners of Boarstone, over the correct spelling of the mountain’s name; Boarstone or Borestone. Things apparently got pretty intense and in the end Avery’s request for permission to have the AT linked to the mountain by a side trail was denied. To this day, the MATC map uses “Boarstone” and the DeLorme Atlas uses “Borestone.”
Having Maine AT Land Trust Board members out on the AT with partner organizations is not only very important but also a way to leverage the work of out one person staff. Besides that, it’s great fun!
Note: The following comments were submitted to the Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency in response to the Environmental Impact Statement the agency is currently compiling.
Thank you for providing the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process regarding the proposed additional location for the Continental United States Interceptor Site (CIS) at The Center for Security Forces Detachment Kittery Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Facility (SERE East), Redington Township, Maine.
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust was formed in June 2002 as an independent land trust for the purpose of acquiring and protecting the land surrounding the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) in Maine for public benefit. The A.T. lands in the High Peaks Region of Maine represent some of the most diverse natural communities in the state and provide an important recreation resource. Maine A.T. Land Trust owns the land just east of the Appalachian Trail corridor on Saddleback Mountain and has interests in other properties in the High Peaks region. We are concerned that the locating of the CIS at the SERE East facility will adversely impact not only the Appalachian Trail itself (the corridor of which is surrounded by the facility for over two miles) but the surrounding natural landscapes and intact forest blocks which are integral to the region.
In our role of carrying out our mission to protect the land surrounding the Appalachian Trail, the siting of the CIS in such close proximity to the A.T. must be examined closely. At a minimum, approximately 350 acres in seven non-contiguous blocks would be converted from mature spruce/fir and mixed hardwood forest to CIS facilities. The facilities would have to be brightly lit around the clock and would be entirely powered by generators. Approximately 1200 to 1500 individuals would be operating the CIS. All of this activity would be occurring approximately one half mile from the most famous walking path in the world, in the midst of one of the longest stretches of the Appalachian Trail without a public road crossing (twenty miles).
The region in which the SERE East facility lies depends on outdoors tourism, and the Appalachian Trail is a considerable draw. But other aspects of outdoor recreation would also be effected by the CIS. Naturalists are concerned with the impact on wildlife habitat – those in the A.T. area are likely to have a significantly lower chance of seeing threatened or elusive species like the Bicknell’s Thrush or the Canadian Lynx. They will be concerned with water quality and the increased potential for industrial accidents. The SERE East facility also contains Redington Pond which is the source of Orbeton Stream – headwaters of an Atlantic Salmon which has just recently been successfully reintroduced.
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is concerned that the choice of The Center for Security Forces Detachment Kittery Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Facility (SERE East), Redington Township, Maine, as a site for the CIS would jeopardize the Appalachian Trail experience and environment. We request that you examine closely these and other impacts on the trail and the natural setting through which it passes in this region.
We all had a great at Tuesday night’s Greendrinks on Peaks Island. There were about 300 attendees who came for the beer and to hear a little about the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative (of which Maine A.T. Land Trust is a member). Some of them also took home great raffle prizes, thanks to Otto Pizza, Longfellow Books and Patagonia.
Thanks to all who came! And to our sponsors and Portland Greendrinks. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to do it again.
Photo album here.
As part of Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust’s membership with the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative, we are going to be attending the next Portland Greendrinks event on October 14th! We are very excited to have the opportunity to take part in this, and even more excited about the setting on Peaks Island. If you didn’t know already – the goal of Greendrinks is pretty simple: good times shared among people working in, or interested in, environmental and sustainability issues. That’s us and that’s you.
The way it works is this: 1) buy your ticket here; 2) show up at the Casco Bay Lines ferry terminal at 5:15pm, 5:35pm or 6pm with your own beer cup/mug/tankard; 3) have a good time, network and enjoy a beer or two from brewers like Peak Organic, Sebago, Allagash and Rising Tide at the Peaks Island Lions Club.
This is a great opportunity to meet some very fun, very cool people in a great setting. And you can learn more about all of the land trust who work with the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative.
Maine A.T. Land Trust’s Great Maine Outdoor Weekend hike took place on Saturday and as you can see from the photo above, we had a good sturdy crew on board tackle Mount Abraham via the Fire Warden Trail. We had six members of the Colby College Outing Club (COC), longtime Maine land trust supporter James, and Maine A.T. Land Trust Vice President Pete McKinley. The weather couldn’t have been nicer – temps in the low 80’s, low humidity with just a bit of haze on the horizon.
After crossing the two branches of Rapid Stream and leaving the ATV route that leads to the trailhead, we quickly headed up through the low-elevation hardwood forest and stopped for a break at the Maine Appalachian Trail Club-maintained campsite 3.5 miles from the parking lot.
We headed above treeline and some of us actually had to apply sunblock. Everybody hiked at a different pace but we all made it to the summit for a much-deserved lunch break in the sunshine.
The trip down was uneventful and the easy terrain was easy on the knees in the waning afternoon sunshine. The temperature dropped to about 70 degrees by the time we had to cross back over Rapid Stream.
We did have one hiker fall into the water, but he took it in stride since Maine A.T. Land Trust Executive Director Simon Rucker let him take home the leftover granola bars. It was a great trip and COC is planning to attend the land trust’s winter Great Maine Outdoor Weekend hike as well.
More photos can be found here.
The Great Maine Outdoor Weekend is rapidly approaching (September 26 to 28) and we want to know where you want to go. Our Executive Director, Simon Rucker, will be leading a hike…somewhere. Head over to our poll and let us know where YOU want to go.
The 2014 Rangeley Trail Town Festival, which is an annual celebration of towns along the Appalachian Trail that support hikers and work to protect the land and trails, was held this past Saturday in downtown Rangeley. It was a beautiful day and lots of people came out to see what different groups who work on the trail do. Among the crowd were many thru hikers who were happy to spend an afternoon off the trail. Also, they got to join the ice cream eating contest for free (courtesy of Gifford’s).
Special thanks to Linda Dexter of Ecopelagicon for organizing the festival. This year will be hard to top but we can’t wait for next year!
Congratulations to the Kallin family! They completed their hike ahead of schedule and became just the sixteenth family to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. You can read more about their final day on the trail here.
