The Island Trail The Newsletter of the Maine Island Trail Association • Fall/Winter 2005
by Brian Marcaurelle, Stewardship Manager It should come as little surprise that MITA volunteers once again carried a staggering amount of trash off the islands this year. As predictably as the birds migrate to and from their island nesting sites, MITA clean-up participants have been fanning out along the coast every spring and fall for more than a decade to collect Styrofoam cups and coolers, plastic bottles, used shotgun shells, and all manner of other refuse from island shorelines. The statistics from this past May and June are as impressive as ever: Over 40 volunteers spent a combined 380 hours removing flotsam from the shorelines of the 65 MITA islands that needed cleaning. In addition to the more than 200 bags of debris they collected, these industrious folks also hauled off some 13 automobile tires and one large propane tank. And that was just in
Holding the Fort Historic Fort Gorges Provides New Opportunities for Adventure and Stewardship on the Trail by Joel Eastman Though some of its shores may seem absolutely pristine, the Maine coast has a long and storied history of human habitation along its entire length. In this issue focusing on Maine’s colorful past, we explore some of the landmarks, characters, and events that are sure to add flavor to any adventure on the Maine Island Trail. See pages 1014 for more articles that investigate our rich historical and cultural heritage.
Joel Eastman
Young Volunteers Boost Annual Trash Tally
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In This Issue Test Your Island IQ
A new location has been added to the Maine Island Trail which extends the route into the center of Portland harbor. Fort Gorges, begun in 1858 to strengthen the defenses of the harbor, is now the southernmost site on the trail. Owned by the City of Portland, the two-story granite and brick structure is a landmark in the harbor and a fascinating place to visit.
See back cover
Protecting Portland Paddling the Oven’s Mouth See page 7
Exploring Suburbistan
In October 1775, the British Navy bombarded and burned the port of Portland, then called Falmouth Neck. After the Revolution the federal government took over the responsibility for defending the harbor, and the U.S. Army built Fort Sumner on Munjoy Hill in 1794, followed by Fort Preble on Spring Point and Fort Scammell on House Island in 1808. During the War of 1812 the British attacked and occupied eastern Maine but did not enter Portland har-
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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MITA Means Access by Karen Stimpson
STAFF Karen Stimpson • kstimp@mita.org Executive Director Tom Franklin • marketing@mita.org Director of Marketing & Membership Lisa Kelley • membership@mita.org Membership Manager
Brian Marcaurelle • brian@mita.org Stewardship Manager Dave Mention • trail@mita.org Trail Director Sid Quarrier Project Coordinator Jeannie Smith • business@mita.org Business Manager Drew Wyman • info@mita.org Executive Assistant
The Maine Island Trail is a 325-mile long waterway extending from Casco Bay on the west to Machias Bay on the east. Along the route, state-owned and private islands are available to members or the public for overnight stopovers where one can picnic or camp in a wilderness setting. The Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) is a nonprofit conservation organization, whose goal is to establish a model of thoughtful use and volunteer stewardship for the Maine islands that will assure their conservation in a natural state while providing an exceptional recreational asset that is maintained and cared for by the people who use it. This goal is achieved by encouraging a philosophy of low-impact use and environmental awareness among MITA’s members and island visitors. MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION 58 Fore Street, Building 30, 3rd Floor Portland, ME 04101 (207) 761-8225 • info@mita.org www.mita.org
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MITA would like to thank members who helped approve a $12 million bond to fund the Land for Maine's Future program - an initiative which we profiled last issue. The successful passage of the referendum means significant new resources will be available to protect wildlife, preserve farms and working waterfronts, and maintain public access to lakes and rivers.
While beach postings and easement disputes may grab the headlines, MITA is quietly working with dozens of civic-minded landowners who generously share waterfront access with others.
Kevin Lomangino • kevinl@maine.rr.com Newsletter Editor
Vol. 16
It seems like just about everywhere you turn these days, simmering coastal access disputes are starting to boil over into the headlines. In Michigan, a seemingly petty quarrel between neighbors sparked a state Supreme Court case challenging the public’s right to stroll along Great Lakes beaches. Out in California, meanwhile, waterfront homeowners have been sued for literally bulldozing away public beaches and piling the sand up on their private dunes. There is no shortage of controversial cases closer to home, either. Just down the road in Cape Elizabeth, for example, residents are crying foul over a new landowner’s attempts to restrict access to a local beach. Although neighborhood people have enjoyed the beach for decades under an easement, the new property owner apparently has a much narrower interpretation of who is and is not allowed to use the access path that crosses his land. As so often happens when coastal property changes hands, it looks like people who enjoy and sometimes depend upon access to the water are going to have that privilege challenged and, perhaps, rescinded. To be sure, waterfront property owners have plenty of legitimate gripes regarding disrespectful and unauthorized use of their land. And I don’t pretend to know who has the legal right to use this beach in Cape Elizabeth or the dozens of other beaches in Maine where access is an Dave Dunigan
MITA BOARD OF TRUSTEES Peter Adams, Yarmouth ME Greg Barmore, Harpswell ME • James Bildner, Boston MA • Scott Boak, Portland ME • Bill Brown, Brooksville ME • Scott Camlin, Belmont MA • Tony Jessen, Freeport ME • Annette Naegel, Camden ME • Chuck Remmel, Portland ME Joan Smith, Portland ME • Greg Shute, Wiscasset ME • Stafford Soule, Freeport, ME • Steve Spencer, Augusta ME • Natalie Springuel, Bar Harbor ME • Hans Underdahl, Yarmouth ME •Rod Vogel, Cumberland ME • Julie Wormser, Littleton MA
issue. What I do know is that the case is emblematic of what is happening up and down the coast as urbanization creeps further into Maine. Simply put, there are more and more people trying to crowd onto the same small slivers of shoreline. And despite the growing need for access, many landowners are reacting by closing off properties that used to be available for use. (Incidentally, in Maine the public is allowed to access private shorefront in the intertidal zone only for the traditional purposes of fishing, fowling and navigation; for a review of the landmark Moody Beach case that generated this ruling, see pages 20 – 21 in your 2005 Guidebook.) Thankfully, as MITA members well know, a day at the beach in Maine doesn’t have to lead to a day in court. While beach postings and easement disputes may grab the headlines, MITA is quietly working with dozens of civicminded landowners who generously share waterfront access with others. It’s a quintessentially Maine solution that is grounded in pragmatism and mutual respect: Members receive recreational access to more than 150 spectacular shorelines, while owners receive the assurance of respectful and informed access, as well as a helping hand in the cleaning, monitoring, and maintenance of their properties. Everyone in the MITA community should take pride in the innovative model that we have collectively developed and sustained. Still, this is no time for complacency. Vast swaths of coast are changing hands in the current real estate boom, placing access to some of our most treasured landscapes in jeopardy. To meet the
growing challenge, we must increase our capacity to manage and steward MITA’s network of far-flung coastal properties. We must also redouble our efforts to reach landowners and recreational visitors with the MITA message. How can members help? One way is to give generously to our Annual Appeal. Basic membership dues are an indispensable revenue stream for MITA, but they do not cover the cost of maintaining the Trail or its continued growth. The Annual Appeal helps make up the difference between our membership dues and actual operating expenses. Your support is crucial so that we may reach more users, build relationships with more property owners, and continue to
preserve Maine’s beautiful but fragile island environments. A solicitation for MITA’s Annual Fund should have arrived in your mailbox recently. You can also make a pledge online at mita.org; simply click the Annual Appeal button on the left-hand column of the web page.
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Call for Volunteers Marketing Researcher MITA’s marketing effort regularly generates research projects such as “How do other similar organizations deal with . . . ?”, “Who has tried doing it this way and how did it work?”, “Who could give us some pro bono advice about . . . ?”. The research could be done over the Internet and by phone from home; it would be episodic and sometimes with a short deadline, and always would include the opportunity for input from the researcher in addition to the research results.
Outreach Presenters MITA is expanding its outreach to the cruising community and other boating organizations throughout New England and will need qualified speakers to present the MITA story. A standard MITA Power Point presentation will be provided. Presenters should be willing to accept training and supervision in developing his/her individual presentation style and format, willing to travel to venues in southern New England, and willing to eat, drink and convivially hang out with cruising sailors and other boaters while presenting MITA in a positive and effective manner.
Going to Extremes: In his photography seminar at this year's MITA conference on Warren Island, volunteer Jim Dugan encouraged members to get as high or as low as they could in relation to the subject they were shooting. Jim certainly practices what he preaches, as evidenced by this stunning image he captured from the mast of the schooner Mary Day.
If you are interested in volunteering your time for either of these positions, please contact Tom Franklin, marketing@mita.org. If you would like to learn more about other volunteer opportunities in MITA’s stewardship programs, please contact Brian Marcaurelle, stewards@mita.org
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Holding the Fort (continued from Cover) bor because of the new defenses. Fort Scammell and a British privateer exchanged shots in August 1813. After the war the army began strengthening harbor defenses around the country by building large, multistory fortifications of masonry mounting large numbers of cannons. Because of the expense of the new structures, funding for a new fort for Portland was not proposed until 1857 when Jefferson Davis (future President of the Confederacy) was serving as Secretary of War. Congress approved, construction began in 1858, and Davis toured the harbor the following year when he spent the summer in the city.
A New Fort Takes Shape The site selected by the Corps of Engineers was Hog Island Ledge, where the new fort’s proposed 95 guns with a range of three miles could fire south to protect the main channel, but also to the north and east to guard against enemy naval vessels entering through Hussey Sound or Chandler’s Cove. Private contractors working for the engineers built a wharf, a cofferdam, and then began construction of the granite foundation for the two-story structure. The fort was built in the shape of a truncated octagon, eight sided with the three sides on the rear cut off, so that the rear was 242 feet wide, and the remaining five sides 96 feet wide. The fort was named in honor of Sir Ferdinando Gorges (c.1566-1647), the proprietor of the Province of Maine, 1629-1647. The modern masonry fort featured “casemates” for the cannons, which were vaulted rooms where the guns were mounted. The guns would fire through small openings in the granite walls, called embrasures, which were shuttered with iron plates whenever the cannons were not in use. Thus, the men, cannons and ammunition were completely protected from the fire of the sail-powered, wooden warships
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The grooves inside this 10-inch Parrot rifle increased its accuracy over other cannons of the day. Photo by H. Lawrence. of the day. Gun powder magazines were built in the two rear corners of the fort where they were least likely to be hit be shells. Guns on the third level were protected only by granite parapets, but most ships could not elevate their weapons enough to threaten the cannon and crews at that height.
The Civil War Years With the outbreak of the Civil War, the construction of Fort Gorges was speeded up, and modernization projects were begun at Forts Preble and Scammell. Confederate cruisers preyed upon American shipping in the Gulf of Maine, and in 1863, raiders in a captured fishing boat entered the harbor without attracting suspicion, boarded the U.S. Revenue Cutter Caleb Cushing, and attempted to escape with it via Hussey Cove. The man on duty in the Portland Observatory noticed the ship leaving and alerted the mayor, who quickly commandeered two steam passenger boats, loaded troops and civilians, and gave chase. The Confederates set fire to the cutter after a brief battle. The ship exploded and the raiders were taken prisoner. By 1864 the first and second levels of casemates at the fort were completed and thirty-four cannons were
mounted. Even though the fort was not garrisoned, troops could have been sent from the other forts to man the guns in the case of a Confederate attack. Work continued after 1865, but the Civil War had brought great changes in military technology. Much larger and more accurate 15-inch guns were now in use, and to mount the huge cannons at Fort Gorges would require significant upgrades. Work was well along on the modernization program when Congress cut funding in 1877. Much of the infrastructure work was complete, but none of the guns were emplaced. A 10-inch Parrott rifle was raised to the third level, but never mounted. Fort Gorges sat idle with the cannons still in place on its first and second levels of casemates until the 1890s, when it was once again pressed into duty as a mine storehouse during the Spanish-American War. In 1900, all of the cannons were scrapped, except for the huge Parrott rifle, which was too difficult to remove.
and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the city lacked the resources to maintain it, and the parade ground and third level were soon overgrown. In 1990, Youth Building Alternatives, a program of Portland West, Inc., took on the fort as a project. The parade ground was cleared and mowed, and a new entrance ramp, bridges from the tower staircase to the second and third levels, and fencing on the third level were constructed. Each summer since then Youth Building Alternatives has given several days to the fort to mow the parade ground and wharf, pick up litter, sweep the casemates and stairs, and do minor repairs. In 2004, local philanthropist Bill Whitten was granted permission by the city to raise funds to mount a flagpole on the wharf which would be displayed during the summer season. A local nonprofit group, the Friends of Fort Gorges, is investigating the possibility of restoring the fort and making it more easily accessible to the general public.
Visiting the Fort MITA members can visit at their own risk and must provide their own transportation. Overnight camping is not allowed, there are no toilets or water at the fort, and visitors must carry out their own rubbish. Kayakers can land at any tide.
The fort in 1904 appeared much the same as it does today. Photo courtesy of Joel Eastman. At low tide, small boats should be pulled up at the end of the stone wharf, while at a high and mid tide, they can be pulled up on the sand bar directly behind the entrance to the fort. Large boats can tie up to the wharf at high tide. Visitors should wear shoes because of uneven surfaces and bolts in the floors of the casemates, and carry flashlights to enter the gun powder magazines. The wharf is in fairly good shape, although high waves have washed out the gravel fill from under the paving blocks on the north side. Be sure to notice all of the finished but unused granite blocks on and adjacent to the wharf, the result of the modifications of the 1870s. The location of the powder magazines in the rear corners of the fort can be determined by the narrow openings which ventilate the rooms. The other
Decline and Rebirth After serving as a navigational aid and Corps of Engineers storage site in the early 20th century, the fort fell into disrepair after World War II, was declared surplus, and in 1960 was acquired by the City of Portland
An enclosed staircase led up to a third-floor “bomb proof,” where soldiers would take cover during bombardment. Photo by Joel Eastman.
openings are windows, which double as rifle slits for defense against a landing by enemy troops. The fort has a moat, narrow and filled with sand, over which a drawbridge operated. Inside the entrance, or “sally port,” was a set of huge wooden doors which could be barred. Rifle slits line both sides of the entranceway, which ends at the parade ground where a second set of doors was located. Just ahead is the concrete foundation of the 1896 Mine Storehouse. On the east side of the rear of the fort are the officers’ apartments. The apartments accessed via the second door are in the best condition. The two lower levels each consisted of a living room and kitchen-dining area, with fireplaces and separated by pocket doors. Take the circular staircase to the second level to visit the bedroom and sitting rooms that went with each apartment. Walk to the northwest corner of the fort, and find the entrance to the gun powder magazine. Notice that the magazine is divided into three separate rooms, and that the brick walls were whitewashed to increase visibility. The brick walls had an air space behind them which led to openings in the side of the fort for ventilation. Note the remains of wooden flooring and the huge beams that held up the second floor. When you leave the magazine, walk over to one of the embrasures. A flue beside the opening carried away the smoke from the firing of the gun, and metal brackets above the embra(continued on page 19) 5
Young Volunteers Boost Annual Trash Tally
schoolers received a friendly lesson in LNT while combing the beaches of Little Chebeague and the interior of the fort for debris. By the day’s end, they had gathered two full bags of trash and returned a washed-up fishing barrel to a local lobsterman. For the kids, it was “a spectacular excursion with the perfect balance of education, excitement, and exuberance,” according to chaperone John Herrigel, who accompanied the children. “MITA facilitated a great adventure and service to our community.” Earlier in May, a group of
Christina Agro
pout with the students from Chebeague dovetail nicely with MITA’s other LNT educational (continued from Cover) efforts, which include printed materials, outreach booths, and presentathe spring! As this newsletter heads tions. Members can find the most to press, several more groups of current Leave No Trace information eager volunteers are making end-ofin the Stewardship Handbook & season sweeps of the shorelines and Guidebook, which is updated annucampsites to tidy up the islands ally, and on the island signs posted before their long winter’s nap. on most of the public and a few of While the tally from these “offithe private Trail islands. MITA also cial” events is remarkable, it doesn’t spreads the LNT message at several tell the whole story of MITA’s cleanoutreach shows during the boating up activity. During the height of the season, and staff members are availboating season we often organize able to give LNT presentations to smaller cleanschool up projects groups, on selected clubs, and Trail islands other as a way to organizaeliminate tions hotbeds of throughtrash, and in out the certain year. If instances, to you know educate curof a group rent and that might future island be interusers about ested in the imporan LNT tance of presentaLeave No tion (comTrace (LNT). plete with As MITA’s beautiful summer island Campers from the Small Point Summer School in Phippsburg join in the clean-up of Fort Gorges. intern photos!) Christina Chebeague Island High School stuplease give the office a call. Agro observes, the results of these dents got a similar lesson in LNT Combining stewardship with educaimpromptu forays can be every bit during a campout on Bangs Island tion yielded great results for MITA as rewarding as those of the larger with MITA staff members and this year, and it demonstrated once scheduled events. “An island cleanresearchers from the Island again just how diverse and rewardup can be a great way of communiMonitoring Task Force. Through ing the island experience can be. We cating Leave No Trace principles to games and demonstrations they all know that the islands are a kids,” she says. “The kids see first were introduced to the seven LNT tremendous source of inspiration; hand why it is important to walk on principles and taught the important but when they are viewed as living rocks and sand instead of sensitive role that younger generations play laboratories, the islands become areas, and they have fun cleaning in island stewardship. “Kids seem to places of learning as well. the island by competing to pick up grasp LNT concepts quickly when the most trash.” they are shown that their actions This was certainly the case on a have visible consequences on the sunny day in early August when a islands,” says Task Force group of six summer campers from Coordinator Natalie Springuel. “It is the Small Point Summer School in important to introduce these conPhippsburg joined Christina, myself, “Your Road Service at Sea”® cepts to them now, because they are and Jewell Island caretaker Vinny FREE TOWING FOR MEMBERS ! the ones who will be caring for the Marotta on a clean-up excursion to islands in the future.” Fort Gorges and Little Chebeague in Efforts like the clean-up with the Casco Bay. The crew of middle Phippsburg children and the cam-
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Paddling in the Oven’s Mouth Exploring Boothbay’s Back and Cross Rivers by Mike Perry The Oven’s Mouth: the name certainly sounded exciting and full of possibilities. We were not disappointed. This salt water outing, exploring the Back and Cross Rivers in Boothbay, has it all: birds, seals, interesting geology, swirling waters, and just enough solitude amidst the cottages and homes to provide respite from the cares of work and home. Just a few minutes out we were met with the gleeful calls of Laughing Gulls perched on seaweed-covered ledges. They were striking, each sporting a bright red bill, black head, white neck ring and breast. Osprey wheeled overhead with some clutching fish and others clutching sticks to improve their nests. Kingfisher calls rattled from shoreline to shoreline. It was great to be out on the water exploring a new place once again.
There are a number of homes on both sides of the river for the first mile, and less as you venture further up the river. Barters Island is the high profile of land on your left, featuring many dramatic cliffs and rock outcroppings bulging out from steep forested slopes. Three islands march up the middle of the river, each about a mile apart. At low water you will want to pass them on river left as the river becomes shallow to the right at low tide. For this reason it is best to time your visit within three hours before and after high tide. The other variable is the wind. We planned an early morning start in anticipation of any sea breezes that might spring up around noon. Even though the Back River is fairly protected from the open ocean the wind can be an issue because of the river’s north-south orientation.
Getting There
An Exhilarating Ride
There is no immediate put-in spot if you just want to venture into the Oven’s Mouth, a narrow 3/4-milelong east-west running channel where the Back River and Cross River meet at the Edgecomb and Boothbay town lines. The nearest public boat launch facility is at Knickerkane Island Park on Hodgdon Island four miles to the south on the Back River. From Route 1 in Edgecomb follow Route 27 for 9.3 miles to Boothbay center. Turn right onto Corey Lane at the Civil War statue. Go straight at the stop sign and take the first right onto Barters Island Road. Knickerkane Island Park is located 1.4 miles to the west just after the bridge over to Hodgdon Island. Refer to the Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map #7 for help in getting there. Plan five or six hours for a paddle up and back including time spent poking about various coves, and enjoying some island rest stops.
As you pass by Tibbet Island you will see High Head directly ahead. Paddle over to river right where you will soon see a red and white No Wake sign on the shoreline. The narrow entrance into the Oven’s Mouth is fifty yards beyond. The water flow really starts to pick up here and, depending on the time and direction of the tide, may be hissing and swirling. If you hit it on the flow it is like stepping onto a conveyor belt as you are suddenly whisked into the narrow waterway and borne toward the wider expanse of water waiting at the other end of the canyon. The water was deep and green, and etched with small whirlpools and bubbling bursts of upwelling water. It was magical and exhilarating. First our boats would be pulled one way, then another. We were totally at the whim of the swirling waters. Paddlers exploring this area should be confident in moving water
Wish List Please call or email the office, 207761-8225 or info@mita.org, to find out more or to make a donation. Stewardship Supplies • Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, socket set, pliers, crescent wrenches • Small toolbox—metal or plastic • Chart kits • Boat compass • 4 Maglite flashlights (3-D Battery size) Boats • Inspection-worthy four-wheel drive pickup truck capable of towing 1500lbs, 1992 or newer • Boats (in seaworthy condition): yachts, sailboats, powerboats, kayaks, canoes, etc., for Boat Donation Program (see ad on page 20) • 16’ or larger aluminum skiffs on trailer • Indoor winter storage for MITA boats (22’x 8’) in the Portland-Freeport area (November 1- April 1) • 25 – 40 HP Honda 4-stroke motor for caretaker boat • 5 HP long-shaft outboard motor (kicker motor for MITA workboat) • Working VHF radios (battery operated or with charger) • Buoyant boat cushions Services • Volunteer data entry help, 3-5 hrs month, in office, hours flexible • Volunteer office filing help Tech • Laptop computer capable of running Windows 2000 (Pentium II or better) • Digital projector
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Cruising Community a New MITA Constituency
Paddling in the Oven’s Mouth (continued from page 7) situations and proficient with bracing strokes. On river right there are two thin fingers of water cut back into the shadowy bluffs. Each one begs for exploration. The first finger leads a mile back into a peaceful expanse of marsh grasses. The second cut is shorter and even more interesting. Near its end look for a pile of huge boulders and shards of rock from an obvious rock slide. They sit at crazy angles like the statues of Easter Island. We sat still listening to the call of songbirds echoing through the trees, and watched a solitary blue heron lift off and head out toward the river.
The Oven's Mouth offers an exhilirating ride at the right tide – though not quite as challenging as the reversing falls on Vinalhaven, pictured here. Photo by Chris Guzofski with the first few strokes not yielding much result. We put it into overdrive and started to make progress. Utilizing the back eddies provided by the undulating line of cliffs we had no problem working our way back through the passageway. On river right a twenty-foot-high cliff plunged down into the water. Hanging from the cracks in its face were rows of brilliant red and yellow columbine bells suspended out over the water. We were dazzled by the beauty, and by the sheer tenacity of life displayed in those tiny cracks. There wasn’t much time to gaze up in wonder as the flow pushed us back ten yards before we started paddling again.
Against the Tide Then it was back out to the fast water for the last few yards of flow out into the vast eastern reaches of the Cross River, which becomes at this point a large tidal salt water basin. You could spend many more hours poking about in here. It certainly was pretty, dotted with lobster pots and with the heads of curious harbor seals popping up behind us. But the shoreline was plastered with No Trespassing signs and we felt uncomfortable in that kind of atmosphere. So back into the Oven we headed, this time against the tide. We had our work cut out for us, 8
The Outside Option If you are paddling a sea kayak instead of a canoe you might consider the option of paddling out into the Sheepscot River and circumnavigating Barters Island on the way back to Knickerkane Island Park. Keep in mind that the wind will be much stiffer out in the wide Sheepscot, and that the chop will be much increased. We worked hard in a fifteen-knot breeze making slow progress down the western shoreline, giving us thought that staying inside might have been the more pleasurable option.
The Trevett Country Store is located just west of the launch site and adjacent to the bridge that connects Hodgdon to Barters Island. They feature an array of sandwich specials and a great deck on which to enjoy the food and views. Or bring your own charcoal and end the outing with a picnic at the park at the launch site. There are grills and picnic tables spread under a grove of pines with the sounds and sights of the sea nearby. If you still have energy to burn you can enjoy a walk at the nearby Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. The entrance is on the right as you head back toward Boothbay just a half mile from the launch site. A number of short loop trails offer exposure to an extensive variety of trees, ferns, and wildflowers. It is well worth the stop.
Michael Perry is the former director of the L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools, and founder of Dreams Unlimited, specializing in inspiring outdoor slide programs for businesses, schools, and civic groups. E-mail: dreams@ime.net. This article was first published in the Portland Press Herald and is reprinted with permission.
For many years MITA has suffered terrible frustration – it has recognized its appeal to the cruising community but has lacked resources to engage cruising sailors and yachtsmen more effectively. Now that has changed – the addition of new staff in Portland, together with a generous grant from the Bonnell Cove Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cruising Club of America (see sidebar), will support an initiative to reach out to cruising sailors. Cruising sailors and yachtsmen have appreciated Maine's coast and islands for generations, and many have participated in MITA as members and donors. We want to build on this promising start and strengthen the ties between the cruising and island stewardship communities. Cruisers nowadays are caught in an era of transition from the traditional practice of “permissive trespass” (you can go ashore so long as the shore is not posted) to a more restrictive access norm (you cannot go ashore without permission from the owner). Although there are many gradations between these two extremes, many cruising sailors have been embarrassed by a rude eviction from a mainland or island site, often one they have visited before without incident. Cruisers generally have a light footprint while ashore and rarely camp out or kindle fires, but they still need the assurance that they are welcome to land – whether for a picnic, to gather blueberries or mussels, or just to stretch their legs and soak up some sun. MITA membership is an obvious way to answer this need, and increased participation in MITA is an obvious way for cruisers to respond to MITA’s stew-
ardship and educational programs. MITA’s Director of Marketing and Membership, Tom Franklin, will spearhead the new initiative, and will call upon his more than 20 years of Maine coastal cruising experience as he does so. “MITA offers so much to the cruising community it is difficult to catalog the benefits with any sense of priority,” he said. “For example, sand beaches or smooth granite ledges are perfect lunch picnic sites from which one can admire a steady procession of sail boats, lobster boats, kayaks and bird life. Tidal pools can provide genuinely warm bathing as well as mini-aquariums to study marine biology. Many islands offer shoreline walking or inland trails from which to discover the abundant bird life that inhabits Maine islands.” Tom observes that islands which may have been open to cruisers in the past are becoming more restricted today as new owners react to an ever-larger number of casual visitors. MITA’s emphasis on stewardship has helped us counter the effects of such closures by cultivating new access opportunities. But perhaps more importantly, Tom notes, we provide assurance that the same incomparable beauty and natural variety found on the islands will be preserved for future generations. A planning meeting in November drew upon the expertise and experience of a small advisory committee representing a cross-section of the cruising community. The larger initiative to engage cruising yachtsmen in MITA will ramp up later this winter and into the spring. If you’d like more information about the campaign, contact Tom in the office,
Many cruising sailors have been embarrassed by a rude eviction from a mainland or island site, often one they have visited before without incident.
Cruising Club of America Supports MITA Outreach MITA’s efforts to reach cruising sailors and yachtsmen received a substantial boost recently from the Bonnell Cove Foundation of the Cruising Club of America. Their generous $10,000 grant will support MITA’s continuing efforts to “reach beyond the choir” and engage more members of the cruising community in the stewardship of Maine’s islands. “We are very grateful to the Bonnell Cove Foundation for recognizing and helping fund this important initiative,” said MITA Executive Director Karen Stimpson. “This support will result in a greater understanding and commitment from the cruising community to conserve and protect Maine’s wild, accessible islands.” The grant will help pay for MITA-sponsored mailings and presentations to yacht clubs, marinas, and boating groups. It will also provide some of the resources needed to integrate this new constituency into MITA planning and programs. Our goal is to enhance knowledge of MITA and encourage greater participation in its activities by members of the cruising community. The Bonnell Cove Foundation was established in 1989 by the Cruising Club of America to support boating safety and environmental conservation initiatives. The Cruising Club of America is a non-profit organization whose members are dedicated to the sport of yachting, with special emphasis on long distance ocean cruising to remote and interesting areas. For more information, please visit their website, www.cruisingclub.org
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How Did I Get Here? The Origins of Maine Tourism by Lincoln Paine In the nineteenth century, Maine’s shipbuilding industry was the envy of the world and her Down Easters dominated the main shipping routes of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. At the same time, the state was earning a reputation as an unspoiled playground far removed from the squalor and congestion of large cities burdened by rapid industrialization and rampant immigration. The start of the tourist industry cannot be fixed precisely, but it owed something to the published musings on the state’s natural beauty by such authors as Harriet Beecher Stowe, who lived in Brunswick from 1850 to 1852. Stowe was particularly taken by the juxtaposition of Maine’s closed and unadorned forest with the changeable vitality of her seas. “You are riding along in a lonely road,” she wrote, by some bay that seems to you like a secluded inland lake; you check your horse, to notice the fine outline of the various points, when lo! from behind one of them, swanlike, with wings all spread, glides in a ship from India or China, and wakes up the silence, by tumbling her great anchor into the water…and that ship connects these piney hills and rocky shores, these spruces and firs, with distant lands of palm and spice, and speaks to you, in these solitudes, of groves of citron and olive. In fact, there was little direct commerce between Maine and oriental ports, but Maine merchants and shipbuilders were actively involved in Asian trade. Among the earliest published reflections on the essential beauty of Maine, Stowe’s essay ran in the National Era, which was also publishing her Uncle Tom’s Cabin in serial form. At the same time, American painters were capturing on canvas 10
the majesty of the Maine coast. Starting in the 1830s, the area around Mount Desert attracted a growing number of artists drawn by reports of “scenery so grand and beautiful as to be unsurpassed by any on the whole American coast.” So wrote Francis Stevens, of Castine, describing an 1850 visit to Mount Desert with his friend Fitz Hugh Lane. “The beauties of this place is [sic] well known and appreciated among artists…. But how unsatisfying a few days to an artist, when many months sketching would scarcely suffice amid such exhaustless wealth of scenery.” Among the other painters who happened to be on Mount Desert at the same time were Benjamin Champney, John Frederick Kensett and Fredric Lane Church—all of them practitioners of a romantic style that sought to announce their personal affinity with nature in contrast to the sootbegrimed factories and dreary hovels of the cities. In the work of these mid-century American artists, people and their creations—whether ships or lighthouses or buildings—exist in the shadow of a nature variously threatening or serene. While painters of the Maine coast are identified with particular schools or styles of painting—the Hudson River school in the case of Church, luminism in that of
Lane, for instance—Maine itself was not identified with any style in particular. It had a universal appeal for artists of all stripes who sought to render the coast on canvas. From the vantage of a completely different artistic tradition eighty years after Lane, the modernist John Marin could still write of his adopted home on Cape Split, “Here the sea is so damned insistent that houses and land things won’t appear much in my pictures.” An unintended consequence of these artistic celebrations of the inconstant yet changeless seascape was the promotion of Maine to growing numbers of visitors who “even the prosaic folk, go prepared to enjoy the picturesque, the beautiful, the sublime.” Tourism in a variety of forms was beginning to assume a significant role in the life of both coastal and inland Maine. Mount Desert’s Bar Harbor—then named Eden—was one of the first communities to become a summer destination. After the Civil War, the number of hotels grew rapidly. At the height of the season in 1880, the town was host to some 5,000 “rusticators,” most of them young and well to do. In that decade, the town experienced a building boom as railroad barons, lottery kings, politicians, philanthropists and other scions of the gilded age threw up an
The Faces of Stewardship: Michael and Rachel Warren, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, join dozens of MITA volunteers at the annual Stewardship Party in Rockport. Full story and award-winners on page 23.
Photo by Georges Nashon
imaginative assortment of “cottages” with architectural styles that ran the gamut from Italianate villas like “Buonriposo” to eccentric piles like “The Craigs,” which an architectural historian has described as “a kind of fantastic feudal castle, a hodge-podge of picturesque bits and romantic skylines, an exacerbation of the industrialist’s dream of the picturesque.” The locals’ seasonal devotion to visitors was so pronounced that in the autumn of 1884, the Mount Desert Herald quoted the prayer of a local church elder: “Oh, Lord, now that our summer visitors have departed, wilt Thou take their places in our hearts.” This droll assessment of the economic role of tourism reflected the underlying tension between Maine residents coping with the new economy of the late nineteenth century and visitors actively profiting from the same changed circumstances.
Lincoln Paine is the author of Down East: A Maritime History of Maine (Tilbury House, 2000), from which this is adapted. He is currently writing a maritime history of the world.
Help Protect Seabirds New Signs to mark Seabird Nesting Sites by David Cadbury, Executive Director, Friends of Maine Seabird Islands
Seabird Nesting Island - Area closed to public use April 1 – August 31 to protect sensitive nesting birds. Please help us conserve this island and the future of Maine’s seabirds.
Starting this fall, 150 seabird nesting islands will be posted with a new sign (see above), which will be easily visible from the water. This “universal symbol” for nesting islands will help inform boaters that access is restricted during the spring and summer breeding season (April through August) when all seabird nesting islands are closed to visitors by state and federal law. The Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Friends of Maine Seabird Islands are working with state, federal and private island owners to designate the most vulnerable nesting sites. As recreational boating has increased, so has the frequency of disturbance to nesting seabirds. Simply landing on nesting islands during the breeding season can frighten birds and force them to abandon their nests, leaving eggs and chicks vulnerable to predation. Seabirds are species which live over the open ocean and return to land only once a year to nest. They symbolize both the wild beauty and the biological fragility that characterize the environment of the Maine
coast. Because of their sensitivity to environmental pollutants and their stringent nesting and feeding requirements, seabirds are an excellent barometer of both the health and productivity of the Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem. Along Maine’s coast, there are 170 islands which are designated as nationally significant seabird nesting sites. These islands provide crucial nesting habitat for an incomparable range of seabirds including Arctic, common and roseate terns, puffins, guillemots, razor-bills, Leach’s storm petrels and eider ducks. Most seabirds prefer to nest on small treeless islands either on bare ground or among grass and shrubs. Islands on the Maine Island Trail generally do not have significant populations of nesting seabirds. However, MITA members should take note of the new signs and keep a healthy distance from any designated seabird nesting sites they may encounter. For more information about protecting seabird nesting areas, see the appendix articles in the MITA guidebook.
A map 15”x 40”of the entire coast of Maine showing the location of significant nesting locations is for sale for $25.00 from Friends of Maine Seabird Islands by calling 207-2363383. A sample of the map is available online at www.maineseabirds.org. All proceeds from the sale of the map will be used to support seabird conservation and restoration. To receive copies of the educational brochure Island Ethics: Recognizing and Protecting Colonial Nesting Seabird Waterbird and Waterfowl Islands in the Gulf of Maine, contact the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service at 207-781-8364 or contact Friends of Maine Seabird Islands at the number above.
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Machias •
EARLY EXPLORERS QUICKLY FOUND OUT THAT THE PREVAILING WINDS BLEW FROM THE SOUTHWEST, AS THEY DO TODAY. THEREFORE,
Machias: Birthplace of American Navy A little over a month after the battle of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, a ship bound for Machias left Boston Harbor to pick up a load of muchneeded lumber and firewood for the beleaguered populace of that city. The merchant ships Unity and Polly were accompanied by the armed British schooner Margueritta under the command of James Moore. News of “the shot heard ’round the world” had already reached Machias and therefore, the arrival of the three ships was met with some resistance by the newly formed Sons of Liberty. The Unity and the Polly were seized and the Margueritta weighed anchor, fighting off pursuit with her light armament, firing one-pounders the size of ping-pong balls. The Unity and another commandeered boat closed in and the Sons swarmed over the rails, armed with axes and pitchforks. With the captain fatally wounded, his crew quickly surrendered. So ended the first naval battle of the American Revolution.Though overshadowed in the history books by their celebrated comrades in Boston, Machias’s revolutionaries rated a superior assessment by the enemy. “The damned rebels at Machias were a harder set than those at Bunker Hill,” Sir George Collier, a British naval commander, was said to have commented. 5 Fort O’Brien, south of Machiasport, is now a day-use site on the Trail.
’way
DownEast THEY MOST FREQUENTLY SAILED WITH, OR DOWN THE WIND, AS THEY MOVED EASTWARD. HENCE, DOWN EAST.
In the 1860s, former actor and expelled Mormon George Adams returned to Jonesport from a trip to Palestine and founded a peculiar religious sect called the Palestine Emigration Association. Stirred by Adams’ tales of the abundance awaiting God’s chosen disciples in the Holy Land, some 150 disciples joined Adams on a migration to Jaffa in August 1866. But the paradise of Adams’ sales pitches bore little resemblance to unforgiving desert that awaited the hapless settlers. Their land deal fell through, the climate was punishing, no one could speak the language, crops failed, dysentery was rampart, and Adams ran off with the ready cash. Many emigrants died before either the American consul or a sympathetic reporter from the New York Sun arranged to have the survivors sent home— although a couple die-hards held out until the 1870s.3,4
In 1954, this private island (not a MITA island) was sold to an out-of-state couple for “ample compensation but no money.”3
Addison
•
Five miles north of Harrington lies the Geodetic Survey Baseline laid out in 1858. An unassuming dirt road, it nonetheless runs deadstraight for five miles and was used to establish state Harrington boundaries and property lines in northern New England.1
•
• Cherryfield Sarah Hayford of Milbridge began sailing with her seafaring father at the age of four, crossing the equator eight times before her voyaging ended with the birth of her first child in 1892 near the Cape of Good Hope. Bereft of sons, the master of the JS Rabel raised Sarah on the principles of navigation and the operation of sailing vessels. When she was 20, she proved her mettle during a return voyage from South America when her father was stricken with a fever. She took command of the vessel and guided it safely back in New York a week later.2
•
The beach at Bucks Harbor is composed entirely of red, brown and green jasper pebbles, tumbled smooth by the tide.
ENGLISHMAN BAY
ROQUE
• Milbridge
• B EA L S
RR
PLEASANT BAY
I.
Jeremiah O’Brien, who’d commandeered the Unity and captured the Margueritta as well as the Diligent in Bucks Harbor, a few years later skippered a privateer owned by his brother. After a two-day chase by two British frigates off of New York, he was captured and sent to prison in England. “Here he concealed his decent clothes, wore rags, neglected his appearance, became dirty, unshaven, lousy, a repulsive and disgraceful spectacle. Then, when he felt the time was right, he washed, shaved, put on his good clothes, and walked out of the prison, stopping at the bar in the warden’s house for a drink with other gentlemen, and took a boat to France.” 5 In June 1943, the Liberty Ship, SS Jeremiah O’Brien, was launched in South Portland and today she stands as the last operable Liberty Ship of the more than 2,000 built during WWII. The O’Brien made 11 crossings during D-Day carrying troops, armor, and explosives for Omaha and Utah beaches. Later she served in the Pacific and South America before being mothballed at war’s end. After restoration by volunteers in the late 70s, she was declared a National Historic Landmark and today is berthed in San Francisco. Fifty years after the war, she sailed to Normandy for the D-Day anniversary, the sole survivor of the original 5,500-vessel armada.
Jonesport
NA
• Steuben
Jonesboro
I.
•
AG
South Addison
UA
CA P E
S P L IT
GU
G R EAT WA S S
I.
S BA Y
“What’s in a name?” MoosabecReach has been known variously as Muspecka Rache (1675), Mispecky or Mispecki Reach (1770), Moose a Becky’s Beach (1776), and Mrs. Becky’s Reach.3
•
Gouldsboro
B O I S B U B E R T I.
Corea
•
• Prospect Harbor
The French explorer Samuel Champlain arrived in Maine in 1604 under the misapprehension that 45 N here would be the same climate as 45 N back in France. It started snowing on October 6 that year and by winter’s end, 35 of Champlain’s 79 men had died. Champlain became the first (though hardly the last) to remark that there were “six months of winter in this country.”7 He also noted: “Mosquitoes (which are little flies) annoyed us excessively”8 and thus also became the first European victim of the Maine black fly.
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Samuel Champlain
SCHOODIC
12
P T.
For 147 years, Moose Peak Light Station on Mistake Island boasted a manned lighthouse. A decade after the keeper permanently disembarked in 1972, it was proposed that his now-unused dwelling be razed as part of a training exercise by the Green Berets. Twenty-one men arrived via a Coast Guard cutter with 500 lbs of TNT. After a day of (apparently inadequate) instruction in appropriate demolition techniques, the soldiers placed and detonated the charges. Contrary to expectations, the walls exploded rather than imploded, which resulted in damage to the lighthouse lantern and adjacent helicopter pad. 3 1
The Maine Way www.mainerec.com Assignment Down East by Henry Buxton (1938) 3 Islands of Mid-Maine Coast by Charles McLane (1989) 4 The Coast of Maine by Louise Dickinson Rich (1975) 5 Coastal Maine, A Maritime History by Roger Duncan (1992) 6 The Quoddy Tides, 1998 Summer Guide 7 Maine Off The Beaten Track by Wayne Curtis (1992) 8 The Wild Wild East: Unusual Tales of Maine History by William Lemke (1990) 2
The Old Sow, the second largest whirlpool in the world and the largest in this hemisphere, lies east of Eastport and is formed through a combination of 26-foot tides, 6-knot river currents, and undersea trenches 400 feet deep. Many boats and at least 10 people are known to have perished within. However, since the introduction of boat motors and the possible benign influence of two dams built in the 1930s, the number of incidents has dropped. 6
Eastport •
Lubec •
On July 11, 1814, a convoy of British war ships sailed to Eastport and demanded the surrender of Fort Sullivan. The six officers and 80 men, facing over 200 guns, promptly complied and martial law was declared. “All public property [was] taken over by the British but for the most part, private property was respected. The British found customhouse bonds in the names of five residents in the amount of $64,580.27 and tried to collect. The debtors fled and established the town of Lubec.” 5 • Cutler According to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, the strongest tidal currents on the east coast flow through the “Narrows”: 12 knots or 15 mph.
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Annual Trail Trip Is a Voyage of Discovery
BOOKS
The Enchanting Coast of Suburbistan by Kevin Lomangino
The Lobster Coast; Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier, by Colin Woodard, Penguin Paperback, New York, 2004, 384 pages, $15.00. There is a scene in the last chapter of Colin Woodard’s excellent book that conveys with astonishing vividness the human toll of changes taking place today on the coast of Maine. A woman from a proud Maine fishing family is visiting the new McDonalds restaurant in Damariscotta for the first time. While she waits in line to be served, her friend directs her to one of the many vintage photographs of the community that have been hung on the walls as decoration. There, staring back at the woman from one of the sepia-toned prints, is her recently deceased father, struggling with several buddies to haul a net loaded to the gills with herring. The unexpected trip down memory lane felt more like a carjacking than a nostalgia ride. “It just horrified me it was so overwhelming,” she says. “I got emotional and I grabbed my kids and I ran out to my car. I couldn’t bring myself to go back inside.” Few of us would appreciate having our family heritage exploited to improve the ambience at the local Mickey D’s. But that, or something analogous to it, is exactly what Woodard sees happening up and down the coast as creeping sprawl turns rural, working-class towns into suburbanized, theme-park versions of their former selves. “Suburban Boston arrives plot by plot,” he laments, “forever erasing landscape and memory in favor of 14
meaningless conformity.” Woodard’s observations feel like an unjust rebuke to those of us (this reviewer and many MITA members included) who hail from what Woodard calls “Suburbistan” and come to Maine to celebrate, enjoy, and help protect its natural and cultural heritage. But our pique merely proves the thesis that Woodard so deftly and entertainingly argues for well more than 300 painstakingly researched pages: that the struggle between natives and those “from away” has always been, and continues to be, the defining narrative of life on this rockbound coast. Woodard is a talented journalist, and his light touch helps bring to life the characters and events from 400 years of Maine history. He is at his best and most informative when chronicling the schemes and intrigues that led vast swaths of coastline to change hands at the stroke of a pen. The players in this outsized game of Monopoly included men like Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Colonel David Dunbar, Anglican royalists who claimed authority from the crown to colonize Maine and profit from its bounty. Competing for this right were merchant-class Puritan land speculators, known as the Great Proprietors, who lived in Massachusetts and sought to expand their influence north from Boston. Caught up in this struggle were impoverished coastal settlers whose survival was constantly challenged by the brutal climate, Indian raiding parties, and a never-ending stream of surveyors and sheriffs trying to confiscate their hard-won property.
According to Woodard, Scottish families from Northern Ireland were the first group of frontiersmen to put down lasting roots in Maine. Having withstood hundreds of years of warfare with the English and then the Irish, the Scotch-Irish were inured to harsh conditions and proved to be particularly adept at rebuffing – sometimes violently – Massachusetts speculators trying to claim title to their settlements. They turned the Midcoast into a “cradle of ScotchIrish culture” and imparted “a tradition of fierce pride, independence, and communal resistance to outside authority,” Woodard writes. This legacy survives today, Woodard argues, and is at the heart of Mainers’ famous antipathy to those who come from away. Woodard goes on to describe the subsequent boom and bust cycles of the granite, lumber, and ice industries, as well as the arrival of summertime “rusticators” and the rise of the tourism economy. He devotes considerable space to discussion of Maine’s fisheries, and chronicles with depressing consistency the depletion of nearly every commercially valuable species in the Gulf of Maine’s once-plentiful stocks. This is a very readable history that provides fresh insight into why Maine and Mainers are the way they are today. Though Woodard sounds a somewhat gloomy note about the future prospects for Maine, he does credit “citizen groups” for trying to mitigate sprawl and tackle the many other challenges the Pine Tree State faces. He would no doubt count MITA among these groups, and members can be proud that they are proactively supporting traditional Maine values that are worth protecting—from public access to shorelines, to stewardship of natural areas, to enjoyment of the great outdoors. Kevin Lomangino edits The Island Trail and welcomes submissions from members. You can reach him at kevinl@maine.rr.com.
by Dave Mention, Trail Director Every year MITA staff make an effort to travel the Trail, stopping at the islands and mainland sites, checking that everything is in good condition. This year Stewardship Manager Brian Marcaurelle and I had an added incentive to hit the water: as new MITA staff members, we needed to see and understand each island and the issues that it faces. I have been a MITA member since 1989, and was a Board member in the late ‘90s. I have guided kayak trips and explored our coast for many years, but as the Trail Director, Suitable for framing. Brian Marcaurelle (left), Karen Stimpson, and Dave Mention on I realized that there were gaps in my Daniels Island - one of dozens of stops on this year’s Trail Trip. knowledge. Brian had similar gaps, nied our launch in the Kennebec beginning to get too trampled, and so we teamed up to visit the islands River at Bath. Our guest skipper for made careful notes on the other and get some first hand knowledge. this leg was volunteer veteran Ted islands. The private islands that are We chose May so that we could Scharf. We explored up to tiny Bird only open to MITA members were in assess island conditions before the Island and down river to Goat and excellent shape. season started. Perkins. In Hockomock Bay we saw the first pair of many eagles of the trip. What a stunning sight! On Storms and winds kept us office Clear skies marked our inaugural Wednesday we joined a group from bound until June 8. We launched in launch. Joining Brian and me were Chewonki to participate in an island South Addison and motored west to fellow staffers Drew Wyman assessment of Hungry. Our partnerBois Bubert and then east to a camp(Executive Assistant), Vinny Marotta ship with Chewonki remains strong, site on Stevens. Joining us on this (Casco Bay Caretaker), and Karen and it was clear to us that collaboraleg were Karen Stimpson, and longStimpson (Executive Director). We tion with them and other like-mindtime volunteers Sid Quarrier, Katie were traveling in Avocet and Nellie, ed organizations results in better Donovan and Scottie Folger. two of the vessels in our trusty fleet health for the islands. On Little Water we were met by a of Lund skiffs. The wind kicked up out of the small red motorboat named Mr. We cruised all of MITA’s Casco north on Thursday, pinning us down Toad, skippered by island owner Bay islands. On each of these islands on Black, and Friday we scooted into and adopter John McMurray. John we reviewed the campsite, checked Rockland with spray in our faces. has nine islands on his watch, and for missing signs, and cleaned up. he was out making the circuit and The evening campsite was Jewell keeping an eye on things. There was Island. Jewell gets heavy seasonal virtually no evidence of camping or use and had a variety of projects, so visitation on Little Water, a reminder Tuesday we headed out from Vinny started making his “to do” list of the remote nature of this region. Rockland with skippers Jeremy for the summer. The easternmost point of the Trail Wintersteen and Sid Quarrier joining The next day we hit the remainder is Cross Island, and again there was us. We visited the islands around of the islands in Casco Bay. On Little little evidence of use at the MITA Vinalhaven, then headed over to Snow we were chased off by osprey campsite. The moss was soft and Stonington. We camped for the and Canada geese. The birds are vibrant, tufts of grass dotted the site, night on Hells Half Acre. Although clearly thriving! We continued on, and the atmosphere was one of this area gets consistently high use, seeing many islands (and a pair of enchantment. MITA members by we found that it was the stateporpoises!) before landing at New nature are “light travelers,” and owned islands in particular that had Meadows Marina and taking the these places encourage us to walk the most campsite sprawl. Outfitters boat out at dusk. carefully. are limited to public islands, and so these islands see more visitors. We closed a site on Steves that was (continued on page 16) Drizzle and gray skies accompa-
June 8 – 10, Down East
May 5 and 6, Casco Bay
May 17 – 19, Rockland to Western MDI
May 9 – 13, Western Rivers
15
Annual Trail Trip... (continued from page 15)
Brian Marcaurelle (left), and Jeremy Wintersteen prepare to dismantle a cairn on The Hub.
June 22 – 24, New Brunswick This final leg was a special end to our trip. Although thick fog and rain are typical in this region, we encountered blue skies and very light winds. We were joined here by Bob Stewart, longtime member and supporter of MITA and former owner of the islands we were visiting; Margo Shepard and Jamie Simpson, MITA partners at the Nature Trust of New Brunswick; and Peter Wilson and Susan Lapides, new owners of Barnes Island. We explored the area, marveled at the 24-foot plus tides, and were treated to a finback whale cruising past our island campsite!
Late August 2005 In the months following the trip, we have had the chance to go back and visit many of the islands in popular areas during peak season. June was a rainy month, and many island sites actually had quite a bit of new grass and other vegetation growth. So when the visitors came in July and August the islands were in good shape. We found both Muscongus Bay and Stonington areas to be in excellent condition at peak season. MITA use seems to be consistent: small groups, light use, and clean
16
campsites. Even the public islands looked good and visitors have largely been considerate and thoughtful. Eagles are more plentiful than ever, and with the help of spring rains the vegetation is stable. Problems remain, of course. We are constantly worried about the large group users that we can’t contact until after they arrive. Some islands (such as Steves near Stonington) had to have a campsite closed because a few users were carving out new tent sites. MITA continues to seek out islands where we can gain permission to land, explore, and maybe camp. The evidence is overwhelming that MITA members are thoughtful people who are caring for the places they visit. Our challenge is to get all visitors to attain the same ethical use level.
Member Shemaya Mountain Laurel wrote to us recently to offer a very generous donation in remembrance of her mother, Eileen Fahnestock Miller, who passed away six years ago. Included with the gift was a touching tribute to Ms. Miller that resonated deeply with MITA staff and which we would like to share with other members: “In loving memory of my mother, Eileen Fahnestock Miller, who died in 1999, and is still missed like it was yesterday. We spent so many hours in canoes on the river, when I was young enough for paddling to learn itself into my bones. With gratitude and thanks for that time on the river, and for this present where places to paddle are so carefully valued.” Shemaya, a member since 2000, has said that she would like to pool resources with other MITA members to purchase an island and place it on Trail. If you are interested in joining forces with Shemaya and other members to purchase an island, please contact the MITA office and we will put you in touch with one another.
Island Monitoring Task Force Update by Natalie Springuel Summer 2005, the second field season for the Island Monitoring Task Force, was a busy one! Fortunately, Sea Grant, MITA and the Bureau of Parks and Lands were able to pool resources to hire College of the Atlantic (COA) graduate student Jodi Jacobs for the summer to manage the data aspect of the project. And data-process she did! Jodi was kept busy doing everything from updating field sheets, to visiting islands, to processing data for geographic information systems (GIS) mapping back in the lab.
comparison between layers of information. Readings made at the initial site visit, known as baseline data, form the first layer of information. In a few years time, new data will be loaded into the system to provide additional layers. This layering system can help us identify and track changes that may be happening too slowly to notice from year to year. If a campsite is slowly expanding, for example, the layers of GIS data will reveal that steady creeping of the boundaries over time.
Data Mining Protects Islands Tracking for the future As Island Trail readers will recall, the Task Force kicked off last year with a pilot program to identify and track markers of social and environmental change out on the islands. When it's fully operational, the program will help us recognize when island conditions are deteriorating and develop appropriate management strategies to address problem sites. This year, in addition to reviewing the three islands initially monitored in 2004 (Hell’s Half Acre, Bangs and a third non-MITA Acadia National Park island), the Task Force collected baseline information on four new islands as well. Working our way west to east, the new islands were Little Snow, Steves, Mink and Halifax. We performed systematic documentation of campsites, shoreline and intertidal zones, and overall island-wide surveys. Methods were streamlined this summer to produce the most comprehensive system of data collection possible while using simple tools that were accessible to volunteers and staff in the field. Back in the Island Research Center and GIS labs at College of the Atlantic, with the help of Jodi and fellow COA graduate student Sarah Boucher, we were able to transfer the data to a usable format and digitize trails, campsites and other features onto GIS maps. GIS is a powerful tool that enables
This technology-based approach to island data collection enables visual clues to an island’s ecological process. It is a combination study for the sake of understanding the human/island relationship, and a process to inform island management. The goal is to provide MITA, the Bureau of Parks and Lands, and other island managers with insights on managing user impacts. Linda Welch, biologist from the Maine Coastal Islands National
Wildlife Refuge, spent a day with Task Force members collecting data on Halifax Island. At the end of the day, Welch explained that she now had baseline information that would help the Refuge track changes on the island that can be correlated to recreational use. MITA members and volunteers have always been the most valuable eyes, ears, and on-the-ground stewards of the islands, helping the staff manage for conservation. The Task Force may be looking to enlist some of you next season to help collect specific pieces of data on the islands we all love to visit.
Natalie Springuel is a Marine Extension Associate with Maine Sea Grant and a member of the MITA Board of Trustees. For more information on how to become involved with the Task Force, contact Natalie at Maine Sea Grant, (207)288-2944 x298 or nspringuel@coa.edu.
Christina Agro
In Memoriam
The Island Monitoring Task Force has the next generation of island users in mind. Young clean-up participants like these are already taking responsibility for their island heritage. 17
New Coalition Seeks to Protect Sears Island Openings Abound at The Island Trail
Sears Island, an undeveloped 941acre property at the head of Penobscot Bay, has been the proposed site for a great variety of industrial projects over the past 40 years – everything from a nuclear reactor, to an aluminum smelter, to a coal-fired plant and a liquefied natural gas terminal. Against all odds, the island has remained to this day in a relatively unspoiled state. And now, according to some MITA members, it’s time to protect the island forever from impending attempts to develop it. “Sears Island is a priceless piece of Maine’s natural and cultural heritage,” says member and MITA volunteer, Marietta Ramsdell. “And unless we act now to permanently protect it, the island will always be threatened by new development schemes.” Ramsdell is an active participant in Protect Sears Island (PSI), a loose coalition of conservation groups that has come together to promote alternatives to industrial use of the stateowned property. By preserving the island’s spectacular natural features, PSI contends, we can protect critical wildlife habitat while also drawing additional visitors, investment, and jobs to the surrounding region. Traditional recreational uses, such as boating, fishing, picnicking, hiking and cross-county skiing, would all be encouraged under the PSI vision. Moreover, says Ramsdell, PSI would continue to push for public access to all five and a half miles of the island’s ocean frontage. Because the town of Searsport and 18
surrounding communities look to Sears Island as an opportunity to bring revenue into the area, Ramsdell says that PSI has proposed development of one or more low impact, environmentally friendly structures for the purpose of cultural or environmental/marine education. “An education center could enhance the island experience while providing jobs and revenue,” she notes. She adds that businesses related to the island could be opened nearby on the mainland. Sears Island offers stunning landscapes and provides critical habitat for a variety of plant and animal species. More than 150 species of birds have been identified on the island, which is a stopover on migratory routes between the Arctic and South America. In addition, the island’s eelgrass and clambeds are an important nursery for marine life in Penobscot Bay. Ramsdell says that PSI’s goal of protecting the island is entirely consistent with – and, indeed, a prerequisite for – future economic growth in the area. “As the industrial economic base in Maine declines, tourism remains a strong and growing area of our economy,” she says. “Visitors come to Maine to be in the outdoors and enjoy the scenery. And as far as that goes, you really can’t get much better than Sears Island.”
MITA members are invited to join the effort to protect Sears Island. For more information, contact Marietta Ramsdell at rramsdell@acadia.net.
We are always looking for ways to bring new and interesting content to MITA members through The Island Trail. However, sometimes we have a perfect idea for a new feature but lack the perfect person to make it happen. If you have writing experience and think you could fill one (or both) of the following positions for which we are currently recruiting volunteers, please contact Kevin Lomangino at kevinl@maine.rr.com.
“Life in Maine” Columnist: We envision this contributor as someone who can write confidently about Maine island and coastal life, bringing some of that unique Down East character, charm and wit to members. We are not looking for the next Will Rogers or Thoreau, just a good writer who can share the beauty and pleasures of living in Maine with our readers.
News and Events Columnist: This contributor would keep tabs on happenings and events on the Maine coast and keep our members up to date on developments of interest. The coverage will relate loosely to boats and boating, but with plenty of opportunity to diverge into other topics. The news can be peppered with opinion and observation, à la Peter Spectre in Maine Boats & Harbors. The Island Trail extends a grateful thank you to Leanne Dech for editing assistance and to David Wasklewicz and Ron Recchio of McCabe, Duval + Associates for probonodesign services on this issue.
Holding the Fort (continued from Page 5) sure held wooden-handled swabs and rammers, which were used to clean the muzzle after firing and ram in powder bags and cannon balls. Walk to the tower staircase, climb to the third level, and carefully cross the bridge. Turn right and enter a “bombproof,” a place where the men who manned the cannons could take shelter during a bombardment by enemy ships or artillery. After passing through the second bombproof, you will see a gun emplacement, a cannon and the entrance to a gun powder magazine. The cannon is the 10-inch muzzle-loading Parrott rifle. If you place your hand inside the muzzle you can feel the rifling which provided a tight seal and gave a spin to the projectile which made it more accurate. Step inside the magazine and then move to the fence in the corner of the fort. Do not climb on top of the magazine or the bombproofs because it causes erosion of the earth cover and there is a danger of falling. Visitors can return to the tower staircase, climb down to the second level, and walk east to explore the other side of the fort. Highlights of that area include the 100-foot-long “great” magazine built of concrete in the 1870s. If the tide is dead low, you may also want to walk all the way around the exterior. As we approach the 150-year anniversary of its groundbreaking, Fort Gorges continues to serve a valuable purpose in Portland harbor (albeit one very different from what its creators envisioned). It beckons us to explore our history and provides a picturesque setting for a summertime picnic and adventure. Maintaining the fort is an ongoing challenge to which MITA and its members can make a significant contribution. Joel W. Eastman, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Southern Maine, has led tours of Fort Gorges and supervised its maintenance for over 15 years.
The Island Trail Asks: “What’s Your Favorite Island?” Henry Gignoux: Stevens “It’s off the beaten path and there’s plenty to explore.”
Doug Welsh: The Basin “It’s tucked away and out of the way. You feel like you’re the only one there.”
Colleen Seymour: Whittum “It’s right at the transition from brackish water to the open ocean. You get that rush of cold air on your face – there’s just something about it.”
Dave Prescott: Bar Island/Muscongus Bay “The little tent platform there gives you a beautiful view of the sunset.”
Bob Summers: Little Snow “I weathered the worst thunderstorm I’ve ever seen in Maine there, and we still had a great time.”
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Avocet Available Take Home a Great Boat and Own a Piece of MITA History! MITA is genuinely pleased to offer for sale Avocet, one of the trusted 18’ aluminum Lund skiffs that has been an icon of Trail stewardship for 12 years. Though still in seaworthy condition, Avocet is being retired from active Trail duty to make way for a newer vessel. It remains an excellent vehicle for recreational visits to Trail islands or to other coastal and inland lake destinations. We are asking $5,000 for the boat – an amount that will cover its fair market value and will also help fund a substantial portion of MITA’s
stewardship activities for the coming year. She will come with a set of souvenir photos and a compilation of monitor logs to document the boat’s impressive contribution to the care of Casco Bay. The trailer is included, but will need some TLC to provide optimum performance.
18' Hydra Tandem
SO LD ! This kayak sold within 48 hours of being posted on our website. Whether you are looking for a “new” boat or looking to offload your old one, check out Boats For Sale at the MITA website. For more information, contact Drew at (207) 761-8225 or email info@mita.org.
www.mita.org
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Please note that Avocet does not come with a motor. For more information, please contact Drew at 207-761-8225.
Coast Guard Asks Us to Keep a Look Out The United States Coast Guard has asked MITA for help in its effort to keep America’s waterways and related infrastructure secure from terrorist attack. MITA members can assist by participating in the Coast Guard’s America's Waterway Watch (AWW) program, a nationwide initiative similar to the Neighborhood Watch program. What should members do? The Coast Guard suggests adopting a heightened sense of sensitivity toward unusual events or individuals you may encounter in or around ports, docks, marinas, riversides, beaches, or waterfront communities. If you see potentially suspicious activity, simply contact local law enforcement to report the details. The Coast Guard stresses that “people are not suspicious, behavior is.” For more information about the program, go to www.americaswaterwaywatch.org.
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Picture Perfect
VOLUNTEERS
A Photo Gallery of Member Talent
Celebrating Stewards
Chris Guzofski hides from the swell on the eastern side of Jewell Island. Photo by George Planansky.
A view from the summit of Russ Island near Stonington. Photo by Richard Anderson.
As far as Maine coast living goes, it is hard to beat an evening on the shores of Rockport Harbor in late August. That’s doubly true when the evening happens to be the night of the MITA Stewardship Party! As we have for a dozen years running, MITA gathered at the Rockport Boat Club to wine, dine, and thank its corps of volunteers for a season of hard work out on the islands. We hope members will join us in offering special thanks to the standout volunteers who were recognized in this year’s award ceremony (see awards list). We also would like to acknowledge the huge contributions of this year’s Margaret C. Emerson Stewardship Award Winner, Jeremy Wintersteen. Of course, this night of great food and reverie would not have been possible without the tremendous outpouring of support we receive from local restaurants and other businesses. The spread was simply fabulous, and a well deserved reward to volunteers for keeping the islands in such good condition.
Stewardship Party Donors
Award-Winning Volunteers
Amato’s Deli & Catering Arabica Coffeehouse Aurora Provisions Big Sky Bakery Browne Trading Company Dimillo’s Floating Restaurant Great Lost Bear Harmon’s & Barton’s Flowers Izzy’s Cheesecake Market Basket Micucci Wholesale Grocer Morrison’s Maine Course Nappi Distributors Pepper Club RSVP Saltwater Grille Shaw’s Supermarkets Sparhawk Brewers Standard Baking Company State of Maine Cheese Company Street & Company Target Vessel Services Inc. Village Café Walters Café
Georges Nashon
Since its inception last fall, MITA’s online member photo gallery has attracted nearly 100 photo submissions and over 36,000 visitors from around the world. Here are a few of the most recent eye-catching images posted on the site. To see these images in color and to learn how to submit your photos, visit www.mita.org/gallery.
Jeremy Wintersteen accepts MITA’s highest honor. Margaret C. Emerson Stewardship Award Jeremy Wintersteen Adopter Award Joy Vaughan Clean-up Award Bill Baker Monitor Awards Chuck Sanders (Rookie of the Year) Don Parker Henri Gignoux Trailblazer Award Arthur Pierce Bowline Award Greg Shute Outreach Award Matthew Faulkner
Bottles found on a beach in Casco Bay. Photo by Gregg Bolton. 22
Georges Nashon
Most Valuable Partner Chewonki Foundation
Executive Director Karen Stimpson addresses the assemblage. 23
Test Your Island I.Q. Take our quiz and enter to win a free night’s getaway at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. Quiz Questions 1. Funding for Fort Gorges was initially proposed under which Secretary of War?
Think you’re an island aficionado? Put your knowledge to the test as you match wits against other MITA members in our first-ever Island Trail Quiz. Participation is easy and could be very rewarding: One lucky contestant will win a fabulous gift package, including luxurious accommodations and meals, at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport! Here’s how it works: The answers to the island-related quiz questions at right can all be found inside this issue of the MITA newsletter. To participate, simply find the correct answers and send them to the MITA office no later than January 10, 2006. (Detailed instructions below.) Anyone who answers all three questions correctly will automatically be entered in a drawing for the free stay at the Harraseeket.
• Full breakfast buffet • $50 gift certificate to L.L. Bean MITA extends a very heartfelt thank you to Chip Gray and friends at the Harraseeket for donating this wonderful prize!
A Prize Worth Playing For
The
The Harraseeket is a sumptuous country inn located just blocks from L.L. Bean and other factory outlets in Freeport. It offers award-winning dining, an indoor pool, and all the amenities any discriminating traveler would expect. The prize package has every detail to make your stay an unforgettable one, including: • Luxurious room with fireplace and jacuzzi • Complimentary champagne, fruit and cheese, and floral arrangement • Afternoon tea • Elegant dinner for two in the Maine Dining Room
2. How many hours did MITA volunteers spend hauling trash off of islands in May and June of this year?
Contest Instructions To enter for the prize drawing, write your correct answers, along with your name, address, and phone number, in an e-mail with the subject heading “Island Quiz” and send them to info@mita.org. Or you can mail the information to MITA, Attn: Island Quiz, 58 Fore St, Bldg 30, 3rd Floor, Portland, ME 04101. Remember: Entries must be received no later than January 10, 2006. The winner will be drawn in January and will be notified of their prize by mail.
MAINE ISLAND TRAIL
Association 58 Fore Street, Bldg. 30, 3rd Floor PORTLAND, ME 04101
3. “Eden,” one of the first communities to become a summer tourist destination on the Maine coast, is better known by what name today?
NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE
PAID MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION