If you have a question about the status of your membership and when it may expire please feel free to call us at 207-442-8400 or email info@kennebecestuay.org. A renewal mailing will be sent to all current members in April.

We are working on correcting our mistake and appreciate your understanding as we try to grow our membership and continue protecting important land and resources in the Kennebec Estuary.

thank you!

BUT

Please reserve Saturday March 3 for a guided hike along Whiskeag Creek, the middle and most remote section of Whiskeag Trail.

Those natural gifts provided solace, income, sustenance and entertainment to Thomas Hanna as he relays in his 2006 memoir, Shoutin’ Into the Fog: Growing up on Maine’s Ragged Edge. Hanna tells the story of his childhood amidst the depression; his meager possessions and his rich life thanks to the benefit of his location.

The ways we measure scarcity and abundance, richness and poverty, needs and wants will be discussed in a series of community conversations as part of the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust’s second annual Winter Read, a community book group offered in conjunction with the Patten Free Library and the Georgetown Historical Society.

On March 8, Laura Sewall will guide a discussion at Hyde School from 6:00-8:00pm with delicious refreshments provided by Mae’s Café. Ms. Sewall is the Director of Bates-Morse Mountain in Phippsburg and the author of Sight and Sensibility: The Ecopsychology of Perception as well as the former Executive Director of the Kennebec Estuary Collaboration.

On March 14 at 6:30pm the Patten Free Library will host a public discussion on the book  as part of their monthly book group. Gene Reynolds of Georgetown will be the guest speaker . Mr. Reynolds and his wife had close connections to “Tommy” Hanna and shared many of the experiences described in the book.

The Patten Free Library Children’s Room has selected complimentary books for young readers, including Between the Tides by Fran Hodgkins.

Please contact the Patten Free Library, the Georgetown Historical Society or your local book store for a copy of Shoutin’ Into the Fog. These events are free and open to the public thanks to generous sponsorship from First Federal Savings Bank. To register for the March 8^th event please contact KELT at 442-8400 or email Alicia Heyburn aheyburn@kennebecestuary.org .

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust offered a free Winter Tree Identification walk on Saturday, January 21 at Thorne Head in Bath. KELT staff member Chris Cabot shared the knowledge he gained through years of walking in the woods of New England and honing his skill at the heels of Tom Wessels as a Conservation Biology graduate student at Antioch University.

What they Found:

Coniferous species

White pine – 5 needles in a fascicle/bundle, grows distinct whorls

Other native pines in Maine that we didn’t see: red, pitch, and jack

Balsam fir – (friendly fir) flat needles not in fascicles but arranged in spirals along the branches

Eastern hemlock – short flat needles (similar to balsam fir but a little shorter). Small, inverted needles on the top of the branch that run parallel to the branch. Large stands of hemlock (and other conifers) create a preferred spot for deer to have their wintering area.

Red spruce – (spikey spruce) looks similar to balsam fir but feels spikier and is generally a lighter shade of green. The needles are rounded (which you can test by rolling the needle in your fingers).

Other native spruce in Maine that we didn’t see: white and black

Northern white cedar – Soft, scale like needles, characteristic bark that peels in vertical strips

Other native cedars in Maine that we didn’t see: Eastern red and Atlantic white

We didn’t see any tamarack (they grow usually in acidic wetlands), but we did talk about how they are the only deciduous conifer in Maine.

Deciduous species

Beech – The biggest buds in the forest (they look like mouse cigars!) Often have leaves that stay on the tree through the winter (which is called “incomplete abscission” or “persistent leaves”)

Red oak – alternate buds/branches, buds clustered at the end of the branch, furrowed bark that increases in texture as the trees age, their acorns can be a good source of food

White oak – similar to red oak (clustered buds), but the bark is a lighter color and flakes off when rubbed. Leaves have rounded lobes compared to the sharp points of a red oak leaf.

Other native oaks in Maine that we didn’t see: black, swamp white, bur, chestnut, and scarlet

Red maple – oppositely branched, rounded buds (sugar maple has sharp buds)

Striped maple – striped bark, long reddish buds, (we talked about its photosynthetic bark)

Other native maples in Maine that we didn’t see: sugar, silver, mountain, boxelder

We also talked about the non-native, invasive Norway maple

White (or paper) birch – large peels to the bark

Gray birch – similar to white with much less peeling and distinct upside down V markings at the branch locations (“Chevrons”)

Other native birches in Maine that we didn’t talk about: yellow, heartleaf

Shrubs

Huckleberry – the small shrub we saw near the top of the hill. Looks very similar to lowbush blueberry but a little bigger. Has very tasty dark berries. Prefers sunny, warm sites.

Witch hazel – an understory shrub with naked buds that look like deer hooves. Often has persistent leaves.

Winterberry holly – the wetland shrub with distinctive red berries. Very common in wetlands.

Speckled alder – wetland shrub with distinctive catkins; purple, stalked buds; prominent lenticels on the bark; common in wetlands

William D. Sewall generously donated the majority of the 91 acre preserve to KELT to guarantee access to the land for future generations, and to see the forest managed in an ecologically sensitive manner, and to protect wildlife habitat. The land is primarily mixed forest of red and white oak as well as white pine and some red spruce, threaded with old stone walls and includes over 2,300 feet of shore frontage on Whiskeag Creek in Bath.

Results are in from the December 17, 2011 Merrymeeting Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

74 total species (down from prior years) were counted in Southport,  Westport Island, Woolwich, Arrowsic,  Georgetown, Five Islands, Reid St. Park, Sebasco, West Point, Parker Head and Small Point.

Click here to see the tally.

Unfortunately, the area has been closed to harvesting since late 2008 when water quality testing by the Maine Department of Maine Resources (DMR) indicated bacterial levels high enough to threaten public health. No one was able to determine the sources of the pollution.

The effects of the closure had an immediate economic impact on the town. Town shellfish landings dropped by approximately half between 2008 ($80,221) and 2009 ($41,240), and the number of commercial shellfish harvesters in the community shrunk from 14 to 4; significantly reducing municipal and private revenue.

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) was approached by the Woolwich Shellfish Conservation Committee to assist in reopening the valuable clam flats. The non-profit conservation group was able to draw together local shellfish harvesters, municipal and state agencies, and volunteers to perform water quality testing.

“KELT helped do the work the diggers couldn’t do themselves due to state policy,” said Dan Harrington chairman of Woolwich Shellfish Conservation Committee.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Woolwich Shellfish Committee and DMR, partnered with Maine Conservation Corps members Becky Kolak from KELT, and Ruth Indrick from DMR. They trained two Morse High School volunteers, Schuyler Mace of Georgetown and Max Rawson of Bath, and thoroughly surveyed Brookings Bay to understand the sources and movement of bacterial water pollution.

The ten month survey included water and stream sampling, a shoreline survey conducted by the DEP, and the impacts of tide, rainfall, season, and salinity on pollution levels. By fall, DMR felt confident to revise their management plan for Brookings Bay, opening an area for harvesting under specific seasonal conditions and an area open to harvesting year round. By mid-October the diggers of Woolwich were on the flats again, harvesting softshell clams.

KELT’s work with the shellfish industry continues. The Woolwich shellfish harvesters have indicated other areas rich with softshell clams but closed to harvesting. KELT is planning to partner with agencies and community members to collect more data in 2012.

“We are thrilled that the work completed in Brookings Bay provided positive results,” said Becky Kolak, KELT’s Education Coordinator, “Taking the approach of tailoring data collection to a clam flat’s unique ecological characteristics seems to work. We are looking to apply this approach in other shellfish harvesting communities in the estuary.”

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) is the manifestation of that plan and has been protecting the land and natural resources in eight communities stretching from Merrymeeting Bay to the mouth of the Kennebec River since 1989.

The non-profit organization recently was awarded $1000 from the Alfred M. Senter Fund to upgrade outdated computer equipment. The volunteer run organization hired its first staff member in 2004 and now employs three full-time and three half-time staff members at its office on Front Street in Bath. Additionally volunteers contributed over 2,000 hours this year, performing projects such as trail maintenance, data base entry, event support, water quality monitoring and monitoring the eight preserves which are available free of charge to the public from dawn to dusk.

Alfred M. Senter Fund is a private charitable foundation promoting the cultural, educational, environmental well being of the residents of Brunswick, Topsham, Durham, Harpswell, West Bath and Lisbon and Bath.

John Swenson of Bath was formerly employed by Lucent Technology/Bell Labs. He is a member of Bath’s Planning Board, the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee and Bath Trails. John has been a member of KELT’s Stewardship Committee for two years and serves as the Volunteer Preserve Steward of Sewall Woods off Whiskeag Road in Bath. He is an oyster gardener and enjoys sharing this hobby with others.

Betsy Ham of Bowdoinham is a project manager for the Maine Coast Heritage Trust working with landowners to protect properties of significance to people and wildlife in mid-coast Maine. Betsy is also on the board of Maine Rivers and enjoys hiking, canoeing and backcountry skiing.

Nancy Perkins of Bath first became acquainted with KELT through her participation as a GIS map maker for Bath Trails, where she also serves as Secretary.  She is secretary for Bath’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee and develops curricula for Maine Audubon using digital habitat data and GIS mapping software. She has degrees in Plant Ecology, Sustainable Technology and Education.

Land Trust Grant Program

BATH- A popular trail at Thorne Head Preserve in Bath will be upgraded next summer to provide recreational opportunities for people with disabilities, thanks to recent funding from the L.L. Bean Land Trust Grant Program.

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT), owner of the preserve, received $5,000 to make the Overlook Trail accessible to people with mobility issues who want to be outside enjoying nature. The trails at the High Street property are open and free of charge to the public from dawn to dusk.

This trail upgrade involves putting a firm and stable surface on the half-mile long trail, and is just one component of KELT’s Thorne Head Preserve Improvement Project. In July the parking lot was redesigned and expanded to accommodate up to ten cars; including one new space that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Late this fall volunteers and a trail crew from the Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) rehabilitated the Narrows Trail, which runs along the Kennebec River, to control erosion.  This trail project helps protect water quality. The MCC and volunteers also completed a large section of a new technical trail that runs along the face of the headland.  Sixty-nine stone steps link the Mushroom Cap scenic overlook with the riverside Narrows trail.

KELT is the fiscal agent and co-leader of Bath Trails, a partnership comprised of citizens and organizations working to create a high quality trail system in the City of Bath. Upgrading the Overlook Trail to make Thorne Head Preserve more accessible to people with mobility issues helps fulfill one of the Bath Trails’ goals to provide recreational opportunities for people with disabilities in the city of Bath.

“Thorne Head Preserve is a wonderful asset to our community, and now even more of our citizens will be able to enjoy the beauty of this special place with the grant award”, said Kevin Shute, Program Director of the Bath Area Family YMCA and member of Bath Trails.

KELT purchased Thorne Head in 2000 with generous public support and a grant from Land for Maine’s Future, a program created by the Maine legislature which supports conservation of lands that have exceptional recreational or ecological value along with working lands for farms, forests, tourism, and working waterfronts.

Join one of several Merrymeeting Audubon teams in the field for this annual event which brings together experienced and inexperienced birders alike. A pizza party will be held immediately following the count to compile the data and share any special sightings. For additional information on participating, contact Don Hudson at 207-443-9795 or wdonhudson@gmail.com.

O Lower Kennebec-Sheepscot Count – December 17, 2011 (Bath, Arrowsic, Phippsburg, Georgetown, Southport, Newagen)

O Freeport-Brunswick-Harpswell Christmas Bird Count – Jan 1, 2012 (Freeport, S. Freeport, Brunswick, Harpswell)

FEEDER/YARD COUNTERS:

For those living in the area, but not going out into the field, consider recording high counts of birds at your feeders and in your yard.

Merrymeeting Audubon - Backyard and Feeder Count

Count the highest number of each species that you see all at the same time. Record the time you spent watching.
Report your sightings by emailing merrymeeting@earthlink.net or returning this sheet to Stella Walsh, 13 Juniper Ledge, Yarmouth, ME 04096

Name______________________________________________

Address____________________________________________

Phone______________ email___________________________

Time I spent counting:  _______ hours   ________ minutes

Not sure you are in the Count Area or have questions? Contact Stella Walsh at 207.807.3679 or merrymeeting@earthlink.net.