The Island Trail Newsletter of the Maine Island Trail Association
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Winter 2017
Granite Speaks To celebrate 30 years of the Maine Island Trail, members of our Granite Society (20+ years of MITA membership) were invited to submit personal stories and reflections. Here is one of our favorites! By Tux Turkel, Member #7213
I remember standing at Winslow Park on a bluff overlooking Casco Bay, staring out at islands I knew little about. I had two young, adventurous boys, lots of backpacking gear and a canoe. And it suddenly hit me: “This is crazy. I need to get a real boat.” It was 1994. After searching the newspaper classified ads I found a guy trying to move a 15-foot Corson runabout with a 35-hp outboard before winter, so I bought it. I had no idea how to run a small boat, much less take my family safely out on the ocean. By luck, I was in a bookstore and spotted the Outboard Boater’s Handbook: Advanced Seamanship and Practical Skills. The cover note said outboard boats were highly evolved and capable of much more than most people realize. “Here’s a book of possibilities,” it concluded.
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In This Issue The Original MITA Skiff....................................... 3 A New Market for Marine Plastic..................14 What’s Happening in Casco Bay.....................16 Mushroom Buoys Update..................................18
Monitor Skipper Michael Leonard tends to the skiff while MITA staff scout potential landing sites along the Bold Coast.
Shedding Light on Sunrise County
MITA Moves Forward on the Bold Coast By Brian Marcaurelle, Program Director
For the first time in MITA’s 30-year history, the 2018 Trail Guide and app will include information about the Bold Coast in eastern Washington County. The decision to formally recognize the Bold Coast as part of the Maine Island Trail was approved by the Board of Trustees this fall after a recommendation by MITA’s Trail Committee, following months of research, scouting, stakeholder engagement and internal discussion. With the listing of Trail sites, launch locations and boating guidelines for the Bold Coast, MITA seeks to close the largest remaining gap in the Trail and encourage safety for those who explore these waters. Until now MITA has characterized the Bold Coast as a place with unique challenges and elevated dangers that one should leapfrog if venturing east of Machias Bay. Our recent work only fueled our appreciation for the region’s uniqueness and risks. However, it also revealed a surprising amount of existing use and considerable demand for more information. After carefully weighing options, it became clear that MITA could add great value by sharing more wisdom about the Bold Coast rather than remaining silent. This winter, we will begin taking steps in that direction. continue on page 6
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An Inspiring Box of Memories B y D o u g We l c h , E x e c u t iv e D i r e c t o r
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Sam Adams, Freeport, ME Nick Battista, Camden, ME Stephen Birmingham, Cape Elizabeth, ME Dan Carr, Dayton, ME Nicole Connelly, Falmouth, ME Nancy Egan, Harpswell, ME Mark Fasold, Yarmouth, ME Tom Franklin, Portland, ME Lindsay Hancock, Gray, ME Alicia Heyburn, Brunswick, ME Cindy Knowles, Cumberland Center, ME Rob Nichols, Kittery, ME John Noll, Orland, ME Ford Reiche, Freeport, ME Andrew Stern, Falmouth, ME Odette Thurston, Falmouth, ME
STA F F Doug Welch • dwelch@mita.org Executive Director Greg Field • gfield@mita.org Director of Finance & Operations Maria Jenness • mjenness@mita.org Regional Stewardship Manager (East) Brian Marcaurelle • brian@mita.org Program Director Madison Moran • madison@mita.org Membership & Development Associate Jack Phillips • jphillips@mita.org Development Director Erin Quigley • erin@mita.org Membership Director Chris Wall • cwall@mita.org Regional Stewardship Manager (West) A special thank you to JillFrances Gray for newsletter design. The Maine Island Trail is a 375-mile long waterway extending from the New Hampshire border to the Canadian Maritimes. 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 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.
M A I N E I S L A N D T R A I L A S S O C I AT I O N 100 Kensington St, 2nd Floor, Portland, ME 04103 (207) 761-8225 • info@mita.org
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In preparation for moving the MITA office to a new location, and also our 30th anniversary, the staff had an unusual opportunity to review materials from deep in the MITA archives. While past office purges have taken their toll, some fun keepsakes survived. Most exciting was a shoebox full of some 700 paper photographs and slides from the 1980s and ‘90s. We recently digitized them and will endeavor to use them throughout the year. Even after 10 years at the helm of MITA, these old snapshots conveyed to me new themes and inspirations. There are myriad images of smiling people in all kinds of weather, engaged in island improvement and stewardship activities along the coast. Some elements are what you would see on a MITA cleanup today, but others feel notably dated. The boats are the same—literally the exact same boats! Some of the captains and passengers are the same as well, though more hirsute in the photos, and now as scratched and dented as the tin boats they ride in. But some differences between then and now are clear. Gone are the puffy, gaudy PFDs topped by unfortunate ‘80s haircuts. Also gone are the brightlycolored rain pants that were once apparently fashionable, rain or shine. In the old photos there is a brightness in peoples’ eyes reflecting raw excitement. They have somehow managed to find each other (pre-internet), secure a fleet of boats and set off on adventures among the wild islands of Maine. Their faces suggest they are getting away with robbing a cookie jar or filling their father’s slippers with shaving cream on April Fools’ Day. Even in grainy, faded photos, it is clear they are having
a fabulous time. Folks on modern cleanups are no less excited, but the vibe now is more well-oiled machine than kid in the cookie jar. A final sad difference is that a few of the people captured in the photos are no longer with us on the islands or on this earth.
Even in grainy, faded photos, it is clear they are having a fabulous time. In the current era, inclined more to virtual realities rendered in super-wide 1080 video and less to simple sociability, these photographs are a bright window on the past. They show men, women and a remarkable number of kids joining together for fun, productive activities. The folks started each day as strangers, but they’re having a good time together caring for and enjoying the outdoors. Happily, that dynamic is something that has not changed at MITA. But considering the world today, these old photos captured an age of innocence. I love my iPhone camera—it’s my constant companion. It began its evolution as a telephone, yet takes far better photos than the cameras of yesteryear. I’d bet if I took it on the next MITA cleanup I could capture some of the magic those old photos did: a group united by common purpose, having a blast. Rather than posting the images to hundreds of unknown ‘friends’ online, and eventually losing them in the cloud, maybe I should print them on glossy paper and put them in a shoebox to curl and yellow. Perhaps then a MITA staffer in 2047, looking for ephemera for our 60th anniversary, will discover them and be equally grateful. •
Torngat: The Boat That Charted the Trail B y D av e G e t c h e l l , S r . , M I TA C o - F o u n d e r
In honor of MITA’s 30th anniversary we asked co-founder Dave Getchell, Sr. to recount the tale of the original MITA skiff—his legendary 37-year-old workhorse that set the standard for MITA vessels and inspired the Trail itself. The Maine Island Trail had its conception on the wild coast of northern Labrador. The germ of an idea was implanted unknowingly at the time, and took several years in its gestation. The instigator was an unlikely vessel called Torngat, named after the coastal mountain range toward which it was headed. There were two of us in that little 18-foot aluminum skiff on a mountain-climbing venture, and though we had traveled 450 miles up the virtually uninhabited coast in our boat, we had yet to reach our destination and were now out of time. But what a trip it had been! It all started in the winter of 197879 in Camden, Maine. We had just finished an exciting (to me, at least) ice climb on a local cliff, and Geof Heath, my companion, said “Let’s go on an expedition.” Geof, an ex-mountain guide, had a persuasive way of duping me into climbs above my pay grade, and this was no exception. “Great idea,” I casually replied. “Where are we going?” “I’ve been reading a great book on Labrador,” he said. “We can sail a boat up the coast and climb in the Torngats, a mountain range that has some great routes rising right out of the sea.” All I could say was a doubtful, “Oh.” Then, not wanting to be a wimp, I offered an, “Okay, I guess.” At the time Geof was building a little 15-foot Friendship sloop and suggested that we might go in that. But it would take weeks for us to sail so far in such a tiny boat, and I was quick to say so. “We need a boat we can trailer to
Dave Getchell, Sr. and a crew member explore the Maine coast in Torngat.
Newfoundland and then power up the coast after that.” A sailor at heart, Geof sorrowfully agreed. That evening Geof broke out his copy of Alexander Forbes’ 1938 book entitled Northernmost Labrador Photographed From The Air. The superb pictures taken from far above would stir the juices of any mountain climber. Instead, the white ring of ocean surf right at the base of several peaks stirred my butterflies. One thing Geof and I didn’t have a lot of was money. We needed a boat that was seaworthy, roomy, reasonably fast, lightweight, trailerable—and cheap. One boat catalog after another proved to be disappointing: fiberglass was too heavy, wood was too costly and heavy and most aluminum boats were too small or too large and expensive. Then, in the back of a catalog for Lund Boats, a Midwest builder, I saw what appeared to be a possibility—a plain-Jane skiff with the jazzy name of S-18. I called Lund and talked with a salesman, telling him of our unusual requirements.
My question to him was, is it rugged enough for a long trip and big water? “Yes, we sell most of the S-18s to Alaskan guides and commercial fishermen.” What is the lowest power that will meet our needs? “Twenty-five horsepower will do just fine.” How much will it cost? “You can have the bare boat for $1,400.” Where is your nearest eastern dealer? “Columbus, Ohio.” Columbus, Ohio. Gulp. I was in Maine, a big gas shortage was on, and I didn’t have a trailer. But the price was only $1,400. Yes! I’ll take it. I, with my ever-loving wife Dorrie, arrived at the Columbus warehouse a couple weeks later with a borrowed boat trailer behind my Volkswagen Golf. Once aboard, the boat dwarfed the car, but it towed with little effort. Back in Maine I tried several outboard motors and settled on a Japanese-built Mariner—with it the boat jumped up on a plane. The Lund salesman was right. continue on page 4
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Geof then took over and built a small foredeck under which perishables could be stored. I made a high grab rail system so that we could safely move fore and aft over fuel and supplies stored between the seats. In local tests, the boat was considerably heavier but still moved adequately with the 25-horse outboard. We were ready.
[Torngat] had proved herself a safe, simple and able companion, dealing equally well with rough weather and rocky shores. In the summer of 1980 we hitched the rig to my International Scout and headed north across Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to North Sydney. We ferried across the Cabot Strait to Newfoundland, drove up the West Coast of the big island, ferried across the Strait of Belle Isle to Québec and drove 60 miles over a gravel road to Red Bay, Labrador—the end of the road at that time. We slid Torngat into the water off a friendly fisherman’s boat launching cribwork built over a rocky shore, parked truck and trailer in a nearby field and headed off into a fog. There followed two weeks of coastal exploration among wild islands, wide bays, lovely coves and tickles (narrow passages behind large islands) and towering headlands. We stopped every few days for fuel at isolated coastal villages, far apart and served only by water. Each night was spent tenting on some empty beach or sleeping aboard under a canopy attached to the grab rail. The coast was not unlike Maine but steeper, wilder and all but treeless except in the hollows between the hills. Late each day it was exciting finding a place to anchor out or haul up a beach. We developed a variety of ways to moor our boat 4
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while camping ashore, being extremely careful to set up rigs that would ensure that Torngat, our only ticket home, would still be there come daybreak.
a separate member organization within the Institute to developed the “Trail.” Thus the Maine Island Trail Association was born.
The town of Nain was the last bit of civilization going up the coast, and 40 miles north of there we came into a bay called Port Manvers (all Manvers and no port). Time was running out and 20 miles of exposed coast lay ahead before any chance of shelter. We agreed it was not worth the gamble if we were to become stormbound this far north. We beached Torngat on a sand spit and climbed and explored for a couple of days before launching the boat and pointing south for another round of boating adventures. Our expedition had taken just a month.
Growth was steady. After a couple years I stepped aside to allow for a full-time Trail Director. In 1993 MITA was spun off from the Island Institute to become an independent organization.
We came out of our trip with a real feeling of warmth and admiration for Torngat. She had proved herself a safe, simple and able companion, dealing equally well with rough weather and rocky shores. Over the next few years I cruised the Maine coast and fished Maine’s big northern lakes in Torngat, and then went to work for the Island Institute in the mid-1980s. The Maine Bureau of Public Lands, with dozens of wild islands under its care, contracted with the Institute to explore these islands and see if any might be opened to recreation. A wildlife expert was hired, and he and I spent a summer in Torngat checking islands between Portland and Eastport. A treasury of beautiful places was revealed. In the winter of 1986-87, while we were selecting content for the Island Institute’s annual Island Journal, I suggested writing about weaving the best state islands together into a watery trail with overnight camping spots for people in small boats. I was confident in the feasibility of the idea from my experience along the Maine coast, and especially our memorable trip to Labrador in Torngat. My article, titled “The Island Trail,” was well received, and I was given the go-ahead to set up
I sold Torngat to a MITA member thinking I needed a smaller boat in my old age—not a very smart move on my part. I bought a 16-foot aluminum skiff and soon started missing my old boat. Torngat cruised Maine waters in private hands for several years and was then given to MITA. The old girl was showing her age when I saw her on a trailer at a MITA stewardship meeting in Rockport in 2008, but she was still sound. I was able to work a swap—my newer 16-footer for Torngat. Pleased to have her back in the family, I spruced her up, made a few repairs, painted her inside and out and put her back in action on lake and sea. After several more seasons she finally proved too heavy for these old bones to push off the rocks, so I gave her to my husky sonin-law. We had our first outing under his ownership on May 1, 2017, and I lolled smugly in the bow trolling for salmon in a nearby lake. Life is good. And so is Torngat, the boat that wouldn’t die. •
The first known public reference to the Maine Island Trail appeared in the 1987 issue of the Island Institute’s annual publication, the Island Journal, which contained a multi-page article by Dave Getchell, Sr. outlining the potential for a water trail along the Maine coast. Later that year Dave penned the following column for Small Boat Journal, concisely summing up the idea. These two pieces helped garner critical early support for the movement that led to the formation of MITA and the Trail.
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A Summer of Discovery As described in the last issue of The Island Trail, we began our Bold Coast exploration by asking two basic questions: can the Trail be extended in the region, and should it be done? Throughout 2017 we sought input from a wide range of individuals and partners while exploring the Bold Coast by foot, kayak and powerboat in a variety of conditions. Our conversations and experiences taught us a great deal, confirmed several suspicions and debunked a few misconceptions. One of the unanticipated discoveries was that far more people were boating in these waters than we had previously thought. More than half of the roughly 160 respondents to our spring boater survey indicated that they had explored the Bold Coast by boat. Most of them were paddlers, and many had done it more than once. We encountered or accompanied several paddlers in the region this summer. We also learned that people typically traverse the Bold Coast by blasting
through in one tide cycle on the “escalator” of strong currents offshore. Since it is only practical to travel with and not against the current here, and since MITA provided little information outside of warnings, paddlers seeking a more intimate nearshore experience were forced to search elsewhere for trip planning guidance. With no approved stopovers in the region, camping occurred wherever practical and often without permission. Perhaps most surprising was the realization that MITA’s characterization of the Bold Coast as separate from the Trail was largely immaterial to the outside world. Given the inclusion of sites in Cobscook Bay, many people already considered the Bold Coast to be part of the Trail. It was simply a section where MITA provided insufficient information.
Reframing the Discussion When the Trail Committee convened in August for a retreat to share and discuss our findings, we confronted the realization that, for better or worse,
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the Bold Coast was already part of the Maine Island Trail. Instead of debating whether we could or should expand the Trail there, we shifted our focus to a different fundamental question: was it better for MITA to provide more or less information about the Bold Coast? Put another way, would we be elevating risk or increasing safety by adding sites and expanding the trip planning resources offered in the guidebook and app? On this matter stakeholder feedback was understandably mixed. Some feared that providing additional information would encourage more use, potentially by underequipped boaters. They argued that any form of promotion was unwise, given the unique boating challenges and extreme hazards. The investment of time required to independently scout out good information served as a necessary filter for those who might not be prepared to boat in these waters. Others pointed to the number of people already boating in the area as evidence that the information is already available through other means and that people will continue to come to the Bold Coast regardless of whether or not MITA serves as a resource. They reasoned that the existing information has not been sufficiently vetted, and that the absence of sanctioned day use and overnight sites only adds to the safety risk. In their view, MITA would help improve safety by providing good information for boaters, including approved places to get off the water. Despite differing views about how to handle it, nearly all stakeholders agreed that boating safety is not to be taken lightly on the Bold Coast. The conditions truly matter there. Good information, good judgement and good timing are crucial. This was brought into sharp focus on one of MITA’s scouting missions. What began as a beautiful day with a favorable forecast ended with a hasty retreat when the weather changed abruptly and ushered in dense
fog and heavy chop without warning. The ocean can often humble you, but rather than providing fodder for a good story, surprises along the Bold Coast can turn into matters of life or death very quickly.
A Matter of Trust Concerns over boater safety and improving the quality of the boating experience were the driving forces behind MITA’s decision to formally acknowledge the Bold Coast as part of the Trail and to begin sharing what we’ve learned about it. In the end, it came down to MITA’s founding philosophy of trusting people to make responsible decisions when boating on the Maine coast. Trust in others has
been a hallmark of the organization since the beginning. It is the cornerstone of the relationships between members, staff, volunteers and landowners. The Trail Committee reasoned that MITA should aim to provide as complete a resource as practicable for boaters and trust that people exhibit the same good judgement on the Bold Coast as elsewhere on the Trail. To that end, information is now being assembled for the 2018 Trail Guide and mobile app with an initial focus on safety, launch locations and emergency egress options. Landowner permission is also being sought for day use and camping spots, with the hope of adding sites to the Trail in the years ahead.
With the decision to move forward on the Bold Coast, we hope that MITA also moves closer to fulfilling its strategic plan goal to provide “an inspirational border-to-border recreational experience for boaters of all kinds.” While our investigation into this region is complete, our commitment to the Bold Coast is only just beginning. We look forward to ongoing collaborations that will fill in information gaps, add sites to the Trail and improve the overall safety and experience of those boating in the region. We sincerely thank all who contributed to this effort and we look forward to continued guidance from our members and partners as we advance this exciting endeavor. •
So You Want to Boat the Bold Coast? A Quick Look at Some Considerations
Timing & sound judgment matter: Go only when conditions
allow, and have the wisdom to stay ashore or stick to more protected waters when conditions are not right. Know that conditions can change quickly, and cannot always be predicted by forecasts or reading the skies. It is important to identify bailout options and be prepared to seek shelter, perhaps for extended periods. Pay close attention to the weather and get off the water before things turn sour. Favorable conditions may not line up with your time frame, so have a backup plan such as sheltered water paddling, hiking or biking when conditions are poor.
Experience counts: This is no place for the unprepared. Only boaters comfortable in moving water and dynamic environments, and proficient in self rescue techniques, should venture out on these waters. Tides and currents are strong and surprisingly
unpredictable here. When close to shore and traveling in the direction of the flooding or ebbing tide it is common to encounter strong back eddies or currents opposite to the overall tidal direction. These conditions can change depending on the height of the tide. Boaters should possess a good understanding of tides and currents, and be familiar with how they interact.
Proper equipment is essential:
With substantially colder water and landing conditions that are never guaranteed, boaters should be prepared with proper attire for prolonged immersion. Cell phone reception is unreliable in the region. Redundant VHF radios, emergency beacons and GPS units are considered essential items for these waters. Coast Guard response time may be longer than other areas of the coast, and there is little commercial or recreational boating activity to rely on in emergency situations.
There is safety in numbers:
Boating with other experienced and properly equipped individuals can increase safety and assist with rescues.
Do your homework: Extensive
trip planning is more important here than most other sections of coast. Consider scouting areas from land before venturing out on the water, and be respectful of the concerns and limitations of landowners. Much of the Bold Coast shoreline has been conserved by Maine Coast Heritage Trust and the State of Maine and is open to the public. In addition to their websites and the MITA Trail Guide, online boating forums can provide useful trip planning information. Respect traditional uses including fishing, aquaculture and shoreline recreation, and of course, support local businesses while you are in the area.
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I didn’t know at the time that the book’s editor, David Getchell, was the founder of the Maine Island Trail. Or, that a year later, he’d take me onto the Trail in Muscongus Bay aboard one of his tin skiffs. I certainly didn’t realize how the book would change my life. I studied that book like it was the Torah. In the spring, I trailered my little Mainebuilt runabout to Winslow Park and launched it into the bay. That began a lifetime of small-boat adventures— camping and gunkholing along the Maine coast, traversing Moosehead and the big inland lakes and navigating the 24-foot tides in New Brunswick’s Passamaquoddy Bay. Yes, possibilities. The Outboard Boater’s Handbook is long out of print. But the techniques that Getchell popularized have become the foundation of safe travel along the Trail. Getchell rigged his 18-foot Lund aluminum skiff the way a hiker provisions a backpack. Everything is chosen for a reason, maybe two.
Weight and size really matter. Today, in an age of 40-foot “day boats” with quad outboards on the transom, this minimalist approach has stood the test of time, a counterpoint to the excesses of recreational boating. Over the years, I’ve incorporated many of Getchell’s standbys into my vessels, including my current, 17-foot Polar Kraft aluminum bowrider. I’ve made some refinements. But Getchell liked to keep things simple, something I saw firsthand a year later when I asked him to take me out in his boat. I’m a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald, and I decided to review his book for a special outdoor section. I called him and suggested that a trip afloat would be a better way to describe the book. It was sort of like telling Eric Clapton you’ll review his album, if you can sit in on a practice session. But Getchell was willing, and he picked me up one July morning on the Medomak River in Waldoboro in
Our Founding Partners
In the fall of 1987, Dave Getchell, Sr. submitted a proposal to L.L.Bean on behalf of the Island Institute and the State of Maine. It requested a modest grant to establish the Maine Island Trail. L.L.Bean approved the request and has supported this remarkable public/private partnership every year since. Thirty years on, we thank our three original partners—the Island Institute, State of Maine and L.L.Bean—for their founding vision and steadfast support. 8 M I TA . O R G
a 16-foot skiff. On the transom was a 10-hp engine, which struggled to get the boat on plane with two men aboard. But Getchell liked to do more with less. Here’s what I wrote in my review: “The biggest mistake small boaters make in the ocean, Getchell said, is going too fast. They treat small boats with too-big engines like cars on the interstate. In their haste, they fall victim to ledges, driftwood and lobster trap buoys.” Our first stop was Hungry Island, one of the largest islands on the Trail, where Getchell checked on a campsite. Twenty years later, one of my sons and I would camp there when we took the Polar Kraft on an epic journey from Freeport to Vinalhaven. Southwest winds were whipping up a stiff chop as we pushed far into the bay, and Getchell slipped on his raingear. I took mental notes of how he wove the underpowered little craft through the waves to Black Island. Out of the breeze, we landed on a beach for a mussel lunch that he harvested from a tide pool. That trip was inspirational. It gave me confidence that I could learn how to safely visit these wild, offshore destinations in a small boat. I was able to pass on those skills and desires to my two oldest sons, who today are quite comfortable piloting small motor craft. I was even motivated to acquire Maine Guide and Coast Guard licenses, for a short-lived but satisfying side business taking people to the islands of Casco Bay. Over the years, I’ve reflected on how many people visit Maine, even live in Maine, and only experience the ocean from the land. It’s as if they’re looking through a window to another world. I like to imagine that at least some of them will gaze offshore, wonder about the islands scattered just beyond reach and say: “This is crazy. I need to get a boat.” •
Donors Making a Difference Wild Islands Campaign Donors
The Maine Island Trail Association gratefully acknowledges the following individuals and institutions for their commitment to the Wild Islands Campaign. Their support will ensure that Maine’s wild islands will be well cared for in perpetuity. *Listed below are all new campaign commitments made between November 15, 2016 and November 9, 2017. A grant from a component fund of the Maine Community Foundation Anonymous Katie Donovan Bayard C Ewing James B Gagnon & Margaret Hausman
Susan George & Miles Epstein Arthur W Gregg & Family Edward & Nancy Haley Elizabeth B Johnson Joan & John Kelly Doug Malcolm Anne & John Marshall
M Scott McGovern & Peggy Brown Rob Muir Robert Nichols David A & Julie Pease Sara Pierce David Pincumbe & Pamela Shields
Paul Robie & Karen Young David Shepler Sonia Turek Martha & Walter Ulmer Jr John & Julia Ver Ploeg Harry Williams Louisa & Nick Witte
Supporters in Fiscal Year 2017
MITA thanks the many individuals, families, businesses and institutions who helped the Trail thrive during the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2017.
Trailblazers
MITA recognizes the extraordinary generosity of our Trailblazers, individuals whose annual operating support reached $1,000 or more during Fiscal Year 2017. E Davies Allan Anonymous Robert & Francis Barchi Donna & Greg Barmore Linda Bean Roger Berle & Lesley MacVane Stephen & Paula Birmingham Jeff Bistrong Erno & Victoria Bonebakker Josephine P Briggs & Jurgen Schnermann Scott Camlin & Beth Uptegrove Daniel & Pamela Carr Tom & Heather Carr Alan Chebuske & Melissa Hewey Barbara Chilmonczyk George Cogan & Fannie Allen David Coulter & Susan Weeks Mazie Cox & Brinkley Thorne Sara Crisp & Gregg Lipton
Robert Dawson & Evelyn Landry J Martin Devine Charles Duncan & Laura Blutstein Peter Edwards Elizabeth Ehrenfeld Joseph Faber & Family Mark & Patricia Fasold Scotty Folger Mr & Mrs Benjamin Fuller Landis & Dominique Gabel Wyatt & Rachel Garfield Mr & Mrs Herbert H Gowen II James & Mary Gribbell Harriette & Peter Griffin Morris Hancock & Linda Peyton Whitney & Elizabeth Hatch Rodger & Jillian Herrigel Henry & Alicia Heyburn Timothy T Hilton John Huth & Karen Agnew
Elizabeth & Lewis Incze Michele Janin & Tom Linebarger Peter A Jay James P Kelly & Margaret Mahoney Jonathan & Cindy Knowles Rebecca & Michael Lambert Charlotte Lawton William & Gail Legge Wayland Linscott & Susan Fuller George R Lucas Mark Mason & Trish O’Donnell William McCue & Cara Chebuske Cornelius & Suzanne McGinn Kevin R & Sheila McManus George & Elizabeth Murnaghan Robert Nichols Rick Oleson Halford Park & Annie DeFeo James Parmentier & Elizabeth Fowler Michael Perry & Christine Wolfe
Elise Pettus John & Charlotte Phillips Karen & Ford Reiche Kristen Roos & Dan Smith Diane & Raymond Rymph Ellen Shockro Karl Sims & Pattie Maes Cynthia Sortwell MD Yemaya & Lucas St Clair William P Stewart Odette & Scott Thurston Joan P Tilney Diane T & Ian R Walker Doug Welch & Caitlin Gutheil Gregory W Welch & Ann Lewnes Blake Whitman C Scollay Whitney Jonathan Winthrop Gary Lee York
$10,000+
PW Sprague Memorial Foundation RBC Wealth Management Sand Dollar Foundation The Donnelley Foundation The Edmund & Betsy Cabot Charitable Foundation The Heart of Oak Foundation Woodin & Company Store Fixtures
David & Heidi Fitz Win & Mary Lee Fowler Suzanne Fox & Moritz Hansen Mark & Betsy Gabrielson Mark Goff & Anne Powelson Lisa Gorman Beth & Mike Gregg Cyrus Hagge Lindsay & Bill Hancock Mr & Mrs Edmund L Harvey Jr Erik Hayward & Carrie Duley Robert L Hazard Joseph Higdon & Ellen Sudow Peter Hochschild Mark Isaacson & Karen Herold Mr & Mrs Edward C Johnson IV Johnson-Wortham Family Joan & John Kelly Sue Klem Paul Knight & Kimberly Keaney Ron Leeking & Donna Roggenthien Linda & Jeff Lennox John MacKinnon
Malcolm W & Emily D MacNaught Bruce & Linda MacNeil Mary Maran Benjamin McCormack & Andrea Black David L. McDonald & Florence Varleta Steven McInnis & Nancy Jamison Craig & Pam Mudge Eric & Linda Murphy Suzi Osher James & Janet Owen Beth & Tony Owens Arthur & Constance Page Lucius Palmer & Sloane Lederer Bob & Susan Peck Jack & Jane Phillips Ronald R & Mary Pressman Ian & Deb Riddell Mr Andrew C Rockefeller Jean-Andre & Vicki Rougeot Tyson Sawyer & Emilie Phillips William Schroeder & Susan Boyer
(institutions only) Anonymous Dorothy Suzi Osher Foundation Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund Quimby Family Foundation Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation
$1,000-$9,999
(institutions only) Acadia National Park Aetna Foundation Inc Becton Family Foundation Charles L Read Foundation Diana Bean Trust Farnsworth Fund from Essex County Community Foundation Fields Pond Foundation Inc James & Betty Jacobs Family Charitable Trust L.L.Bean Margaret E Burnham Charitable Trust
$500-$999
Anonymous Nick Battista & Meredith Mendelson Beard Family Charitable Trust Peter & Sofia Blanchard Carl & Pat Bredenberg Cameron & Patricia Bright W Morgan & Sonia Churchman Jennifer & Tom Clancy Les & Joyce Coleman Sheridan & Richard Collins Mr Rory & Dr Charlotte Cowan Robert & Norma Davee Martin Dodd Bayard C Ewing
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Edward & Shirley Sherwood Robert Spann Tee Taggart & Jack Turner Jeff & Abby Troiano Robert & Lisa Tully Hans & Rosemary Underdahl Michael & Rachel Warren Richard & Frederika Welch Jeremy R Wintersteen
$250-$499
Jim & Patricia Allen David & Holly Ambler Scott Anderson & Kelly Baetz Christopher Angell Atayne William & Victoria Baetz Bank of America Matching Gifts Drs Jane & Roderic Beaulieu David A & Maureen E Bluett Roberta & Bruce Boczkiewicz Julia & James Brady John & Wendy Brown Sean Brown Alvin & Emily P Bugbee Carrine Burns & Pete Bouman Susan & Jeremiah Burns Laura & Christopher Carrigan Robert & Laura Chapman Catherine Chute Thomas & Rachel Claflin Ham Clark Susanne & Benjamin Clark Katherine & Thomas Clements Nicole & John Connelly Linzee & Beth Coolidge Madeleine G Corson Richard & Barbara Couch Archibald Cox Jr Hilary Creighton Peter H Creighton William Crouch & Family Joseph Davis James & Elizabeth Deane Ciro de la Vega Charles J Doane & Clare O’Brien Mr & Mrs Joseph C Donnelly Janet Dooley & Kathryn Bell Michael P & Jan Douglass Thomas R & Margaret Downing Jim Eaves James Emery & Allison Runsey Emsbo-Mattingly Family Johan & Patricia Erikson Matthew Faulkner & Alice Grant Rol & Averil Fessenden Douglas & Judy Fitzsimmons James & Allison Flowerdew Susan & Peter Forster Wendy & Stephen Gaal Susan George & Miles Epstein William Ginn & June LaCombe Robert & Sarah Gould Peter Graham Stephen S Gray & Linda Baron Thomas R Guare Mr & Mrs Gordon S Hargraves Jr Karen Hartman Robert & Margery Healing Donald Hendrich & Lynn Jenness Doug Hermann Dr & Mrs George Higgins Jean Hoffman Betsey Holtzmann Marion & Mark Howard Wade & Nancy Judge Edmund C Kielty 10
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James & Elizabeth Kilbreth Owen Kiley Joy & Kenneth Kleeman Paul & Cindy Laprise Dennis C & Jayne T Leiner Karen Leland Richard Lenz & Jean Tibbetts Charles Lowell & Family Werner E Maas & Suzanne Hutchinson Robert MacEwen Harris & Felicia Markhoff Dana & Alison Martin Jose Mas & Deirdre Strachan Thomas Mason & Emily Vickers Thomas & Marcia Mason H Turney McKnight David Michaelis & Nancy Steiner William Moore & Ann MacLauchlin Harold & Deborah Moorefield Daniel A Morgenstern & Moriah Moser Katie Murphy & Peter Lindsay Sigrid Noack Ian S Ogilvie Bart Osgood & Holly Steele David A & Julie Pease Martin Phillips & Anmiryam Budner Alan & Kathy Pickering Plimpton-Shattuck Fund Michael Prior Sheldon & Yvonne Prosser Nathan & Sarah Raab William K Raabe John R Rader & Catherine Wilkinson Ron & Deborah Ratner Marc Reardon David Reinholt Michael Roberts & Family Mr & Mrs Martin G Rosansky Wickes Rossiter & Leila Schueler James & Emily Rowan George & Constance Russell John W Ryan & Jenny Potter Scheu William & Sandra Savage Hayden & Cathy Sears Robert Sessums & Susan Inches Marguerite Shaffer Andrew & Sybil Shiland Jesse Smith Andrew Soloway Ann & Marc Sonnenfeld Regina Snyder & Brevard Garrison Richard Stewart Keith Stone & Steven Watts Valerie & David Stone Kevin Strange R Gordon & Carole Talley The Triton Foundation TripAdvisor Charitable Foundation Bert Troughton Frederick & Heather Veitch Gregory Walsh & Louise Valati Peter Wasem Jane Cassidy Wellehan & David Ruff Edward & Mary Wendell Mark & Dawn Werner William J Wiegmann
$100-$249
David Acton Peter & Elizabeth Adams Dr & Mrs Frank Adshead Jonathan & Nancy Aldrich Doug Alexander David F Allen & Leann Diehl
Jonathan & Joanne Allen Philip & Lorrie Allen Mr & Mrs James M Anderson Reid Anderson Robert Anderson Jennifer Andrews & Mark Battista L Scott & Robin Andrews Anonymous (2) Colin & Rachelle Apse Mr & Mrs C D Armstrong Frederick & Jennifer Aronson Matthew Arrants & Stacy Smith Keith & Donna Attenborough Patricia Axelsen JoAnne & Ross Babcock Philip S Babcock Stephen Babcock Regina Badura & Egbert Most Duane & Robbin Bailey Eliza Bailey & Sidney S Quarrier Walt & Corinne Bailey Colin Baker & Elaine Cinciva Alan Baldwin Arthur Baldwin Warren & Jane Baldwin Michael Ballo & Joanna Pi-Sunyer JoAnne & Michael Bander S Brian Banner Penelope & William Bardel Robert & Drusilla Barkalow Bill Barker & Shirley Jordan-Barker Henry & Doris Barlow David & Cynthia Barnard Richard Barnes Wendy Batson & Robert W Eaton Constance Bauer & Mark Zahniser Karen Baumgartner & Bill Roebuck Prudence Baxter Sam Beatt Jeff Beauchamp & Stephanie Ley Emily Beck & Geoffrey Young John & Harriet Beckerman Meranne & Lucas Behrends John Benning & Family Dan & Ellen Benthal John R Bergeron Timothy Bergeron & Susan Lee Stefan & Gretchen Bergill Russel & Terry Bernard Ted Berry Franklin S Beveridge John & Carol Bianchi Llewellyn B Bigelow MD Constance & Peter Bingham Bob & Janet Bing-You James A & Betty Bird James & Sarah Birkett Richard Birns & Madeleine Sann Stephen Bishop Jeremy Blaiklock Gary Blake Scott F Bloom Dennis J Bobilya Andrew & Henrietta Bollinger Mr Charles P Bolton Henry H Booth Stephen Booth Elizabeth Bordowitz Chris & Rose Borkman Julie Boughn Jonathan Bourne Roland H Boutwell H Blane Bowen Michael Boyson & Nancy Grant Leslie Bradford & Webb Long Steven D & Joan Bradley
Allan & Florence Braff David M Braslau & Yain Y Lu James & Linda Breece Deborah & Matt Bria Brian & Gretchen Briggs Carolyn J Britt & Michael Schaaf Karen Brobst & Robert Spielvogel Elizabeth Broderick & Gregory Giotopoulus Deborah & Witter Brooke Dr Bobbie Brown Dr Bruce & Catherine Brown Rebecca Brown & John Connolly Allen Browne & Family Michael B & Janet M Bruehl Carolyn Bryant & Donald P Sarles Claudia Brzoza & David Nagler John & Susan Buck Lucius Bugbee Daniel & Holly Burnes Nicholas Burnett & Susan LoGiudice Paul Burns & Kristin Jhamb Peter Butler Weld Butler Renee & James Cabot Rob & Emlen Cabot Cecilia Caldwell & Philip Scavotto Caitlin Callahan & Eli Gallaudet Jerry Callen Mary E Campbell & Deborah A Chase Stephen Carbone David & Kathy Carlson Michael J & Anita Carrano John C Carroll Matthew Carroll & Mallory Nakamura Gregg & Emily Carville Dr & Mrs Bruce R Cassidy Kathryn Henry & Rob Center Naneen & Mike Chace-Ortiz Peter B & Karen A Chapman Glenn Charles Tom & Caroll Charlesworth Reid & Jessica Charlston Aquila Chase Will & Lee Cheever John Chiungos & Family Cloe Chunn & David Thanhauser Bruce Claflin Roger & Judy Clapp Caren M Clark Joshua & Portia Clark Roxanne & Kevin Coady Henry J Coffey Jr Theodore Coladarci Virginia & Ken Colburn Eben & Tara Colby Jamie & Greg Cole W Douglas & Harper Lee Collins Peter Collins Douglass & Katherine Compton Henry Conklin & Carol Pierson Tim & Anna Cook Albert Coons Karen & Jay Corson Lisa & David Cowan Neal Cowles John & Davilynn Cowperthwaite Margaret Cox & Eric Johnson Leo Coyle Rob Crane Bruce Craven Joseph & Jennifer Lane Crosby Carol Cross & Family Holly J & Stephen F Culver Ellen & Bruce D Cummings
Rachelle Cummings-Gerry & Chuck Gerry Dick & Margaret Curran Peter & Monique Curtis James & Katherine Cuthbertson David Dalena Jim Daley & Family Paul Dangerfield Joan & Jim Darby David Dardano Kirsta & Christopher Davey Mark & Virginia David Darwin & Jacqueline Davidson Joe & Jane Davin J Staige Davis & Sarah Spink Leverett B Davis Jr Sandra Davis Whitney Davis Mr & Mrs Endicott P Davison Harriet & Charles Day Douglas J DeAngelis Christopher DeCardy & Tracy Morris Michael Dedekian & Family Nick DeFriez William J Deignan & Molly Ruffle Noah & Chelsea DeLorme Paul & Linda Demers Anne Desjardins Jesse Deupree Deborah DeWitt & Charles Lucas Charles & Marylee Dodge Lisa Doughty & Ian Huss James Douglas & Crystal Shamas-Douglas Walter L & Doris Downey James S Draper & Family Grace Drown & Tom Demarest Susanna & Rich DuBois Stephen F Dubord Henry & Margie Dudley Michael & Patricia Duffy Richard J Dumler Tomas & Mya Dundzila Clara F Dunham Sandra & Tom Dunham Michael Dysart & Petra Hesse William Eacho Mike Eastman Blake & Wendy Eaton Jim Eaton & Family Mr & Mrs Larry Eaton Jeffrey L. Eberle John & Jay Ebersole Frederick Ebinger & Family Jon H Edwards & Nancy J Fox Lea Edwards & Alan Green Robert & Blythe Edwards Nancy Egan & J Otey Smith Susan Eggenberger & Douglas Rogers Anne Eldridge & Charles Kane Jr Beate & Russell Ellis Jamie & Henry Ellis David & Marilyn Ellwood Brian & Liz Elowe Dan & Ginny Emerson Russell Emerson & Family Mr & Mrs Samuel Emerson Benjamin & Dianna Emory Ingeborg Endter Mimi Englander & David Morrell Juan & Nico Enriquez David & Nancy Erb Chris Erikson Barbara & Penn Estabrook Elizabeth S M Estey Bradley Esty
David Etnier Devon & Heather Evans Preston & Sarah Everdell William & Rebecca Ezzard Elizabeth Falade & Gerald O’Grady Frank & Michelle Fassett Greg & Ginny Field Daniel Fink Lynnette Flaccus & Gregory Shute Ann Flannery William Fletcher Jeffrey & Sonja Florman John Flumerfelt & Creighton Taylor Mr & Mrs Charles M Foote Jr John Foote & Kristen Rupert Bruce & Pam Foshay Capt John & Kathryn Foss Karen Francoeur Roger & Kimberlea Francoeur Alfred & Polly Frawley Gail Frazer & Philip Gerard Julie & Daniel Freund Richard Fried & Family Steven Fried Brion Friedman Ed Friedman Marilyn & Peter Fuchs Amy Fulton & John Laterra Spencer Fulweiler & Family Steven Gabis Santiago Galaz & Family Peter P Gates David & Elizabeth Geho Jeffrey & Margie Geiger John Gephart Robert Gerber Chris Gerkin Herbert Germann Charles W Gesner Jan Getgood & Ernie Johnson James C & Judith W Gibbons Frank Gibney Jon & Selene Gibney Karen Gibson Don Gilbert Thomas T & Margaret Gilbert George & Martha Gilmore Albert Ginouves Robert & Molly Giordano Eric Girardi & Family John Gooch Paul & Susan Gooch John & Judy Good Jeannie & Dale Goodwin Jeffrey Gordon & Donna Jean Ahigian Kenneth F & Susan B Gordon Sarah Gorham Pete Grabenstetter & Chris Newcomb Donna Grant & Peter Hinsch Marion & Howard Gray Samuel P M & Gerry Gray Doug Greason & Pegeen Mulhern Ron Greenberg & Family Janice & Richard Greene Joel P Greene & Ann T Lisi Arthur W Gregg & Family Richard & Sarah Gregory Bryan & Holly Griffin Corey & Christine Grobe Brent Groce & Donna Cordner Richard & Susan Grondin Andy Grundberg Gary Gustafson Amy & Leif Gustavson Robert & Karen Gutheil Chris Anthony Guzofski
Dick & Carol Habermann Stuart & Juli Haddon Lawrence Haff Bo & Chris Hagler Christina Haiss-Koehl & Hans Koehl Edward & Nancy Haley Sandra & Arthur Hall Christine Halvorson Jodi & Rob Hamilton Leonora Hamilton Dr Karen Hancock Denzel Hankinson Ken & Maggie Hann Albert Hansen Kathy Harding Alex & Anne-Marie Harris-Drummey Donna Harris Robert & Elizabeth Hart John Hartmann & Gabrielle McDermit Mark & Donald Hastings Pat Jennings & James Hatch Carol Hawran & Matthew Schwartz Michael Hayward Larry & Martha Healy Mr & Mrs David Heap Carol & Kevin Hebert Atwell B & Elizabeth Hedly William M Heinz Erling Heistad & Kim Rheinlander Doug Henderson & Kerri Lynn Ratcliffe Steve Herbert & Ursula Ziegler Wayne Hermanson Richard Hero & Jane Whitney Alan T Hill David & Lois Hinman Thomas Hitchins & Shelly Shapiro Caroline & John Hodsdon Tim & Emily Hoechst Christopher & Andrea Hoff Donald & Lee Holmes Robert J Holmes Mark & Peggy Horton Neil Houghton & Family Douglas & Susan Houston Sue Hriciga John Hubbard & Family Samuel Huber Patrick & Carole Hughes Hans & Betsy Humes John Hunt Jonathan Huntington Peter A & Kathryn A Hussey Stephen & Amy Hutnak Dr Nathaniel Hyde & Polly Arnoff Chuck & Ellen Irose Caitlin & Michael Ivester James L Jackson Edwin & Bonnie James Herbert & Kathleen Janick Bridget Jeffers Judith Jellinek Martin Jensen Joe & Bryn Jerome Anthony & Hilary Jessen Carlos & Karen Jimenez Evan Johanson Judith C Johanson Theodore Johanson & Patricia Lundholm Robert Johnston Jason Jones Joyce Jones Larry Jones Mark Jones
William M Jones Caren & Robert Journagan Monica Joyce & David Lawrence Kathy & Brian Kaczor Crystal Kane Robert & Patricia Kane David Kantor & Michael Hampton Barbara & AW Karchmer James W & Priscilla Keene Stanton & Eileen Kelton John & Marily Kerney Geoff Kerr R Ross & Dale Ketchum Robert Kilpeck Kimo Dennis P & Sandra E King Liana & Don Kingsbury Charles Kinney & Pamela Myers-Kinney Arthur Koenig Kyle & Sarah Koerber Denis & Donna Kokernak Kroka Expeditions Suzanne Kuendig David Kuhns & Patti Lerwick Sal Taylor Kydd Andrew Lackoff Tom & Maureen Lafferty Fernando & Kate Laguarda Kevin Lake Patricia Lambert Jeffrey & Susan Landon Lorrie Landsberg Adam & Ellen Lauer Robert Lawrence Edward & Gail Lawson Dick Leask Christian & Marcy Leger John & Susan Lehmus Deb Leon Dana & Georgiana Leonard Kirk & Judith Leoni Jonathan Lesser Lynne Lewis Lowell & Melissa Libby Jon Lichter Douglas Lind & Family Linda & Steve Lindsay Albert & Ann Lingelbach Carl Linley & Family Nancy & Bob Lipper Eric D & Marcie Lister Larry Litchfield Margie Litman Daniel K Livingston David A & Judith Lloyd John & Stephanie Locke Kevin Lomangino KJ Lombard William & Beth Long Jeffrey & Beth Longcope Richard D & Elizabeth Lord Fred Lorensen Richard Lorenson Robert & Elizabeth Loring Kyle Losik & Jillian Dunbar Douglas & Sarah Lowry Timothy Luehrman & Ann Velie John A Lumbard David W Lyon John & Donna Mabus William & Luz MacArthur Richard MacKinnon Stephen & Adrienne Major Linda Malcolm Peter & Susan Maloney M I TA . O R G
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Bill & Paige Mangum Carter Manny III & Elizabeth Chapman Thomas & Denise Marcaurelle Frank Marinace Jeanne & Steve Maritz Laurence Marner & Elisabeth Post-Marner Greg Martin Joan Martinez Paul Martino Phil Mason Edward & Ann Matlack Don Maurer David & Joan Maxwell Paul & Lyn Mayewski John McClelland Alyssa McCulloch & Adam Feiges Sharry McDermith & Jonathan Stansfield Chessell McGee & Rob Smith Richard McGinley & Debbe Davis Thomas McHugh Nancy W McKelvy Larry McKenna Tom & Jane McKinney Jeff McKinnon Elisabeth McLane Stephen & Diana McLaughlin Douglas McLellan Jonathan & Jessica McNally Ruth McNamara Irwin Megargee William Meier Richard & Toni Merrick Scott Merritt & Loren Swift Mary Merser Robert & Missy Mial Frederick & Avis Miller Alex Millspaugh & Winky Lewis Glenn & Erin Mitchell & Emma O’Dell Kent & Ann Mohnkern John Monroe Michelle & Stanley Moody Doug & Tara Moran Anne Morehouse & Family William Morris Samuel C & Anne N Morse Cyndi Morse & Carolyn Stevenson David Morton John B Murphy & Anne W Moulton Randall & Mary Mraz William & Ingrid Mroz Burke & Denise Munger Elliot Murphy Peter Murray Jeff & Elaine Musich Drew & Jenna Mutlick Janet Myers & Family Ellen & Duane Nadeau David & Jill Nagle Leonard & Merle Nelson Barrett W Nichols & Family Charles T Nichols Ben & Anne Niles Megan Nolan Richard P Noonan MD John Norris III & Catherine Houlihan Tori Norton Michael D O’Keefe Kenneth & Sharon Oehmig Douglass Oeller Lisa & Frederick Oettinger Chad & Susan Olcott Scott Ollinger Bob Olney & Catherine Richards 12
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Donna & Al Olsen John & Sage Oram Charlie Osborn Victor & Liz Otley John Overton Richard Owens & Margaret McGoldrick Melissa Paly Deborah Panitch & William Wertz Richard Papetti Tony Parr & Family Eric Paul John Pawle David S Payne & Annie Piatt Karen Payne & Michael Pilkovsky Andrew Pease Frederic Pease John Peckham Bob & Susie Peixotto Rick Pelmas Ned Perry Trevor Peterson & Sarah Rodgers Asa & Marnie Phillips Tyler Philpott Arthur & Deborah Pierce Mike & Kate Pierce Michael Prokosch & Rebecca Pierce Leslie & Winslow S Pillsbury Katie Pindell & Robert Sabolefski Stephen & Cynthia Pitcher Steve & Jane Plaisted Gail & James Plotts Tim Plouff & Kathryn Silsby Pamela Plumb & Family Joseph A Plumbo Malcolm F Poole & Family Judith G Pott Robert F Preti Gloria & Donald Quigley Tom & Gail Quinby Craig Raabe Martin Rachels Thomas Randall Lucia & Kenneth Rapple Michael & Lisa Ravicz Peter & Ellen Rawlings Abbie & Bart Read Daniel & Elizabeth Reardon Ken Reardon Gregory & Jayme Rec Robert & Susan Reece Paul Reinert & Family Patricia Rettaliata W Edwin Reynolds III & Family Mr & Mrs William P Rice John Richardson Jane & Chip Ridky Rachel Riemann Janet Riesman Jared Roberts Paul Robie & Karen Young Craig & Amy Roebuck W Allen & Selina Rossiter Victor & Barbara Roth Juanita Roushdy Gary & Leslie Rudolph Ben & Nancy Russell Joshua Rutland Michael & Pamela Ryan Steve & Liz Ryan-Langan Joy & John Saams Barry Salussolia & Joanne Draghetti Job & Sascha Sandberg Chuck & Cathy Sanders Paula Sandler & Sue Hill Renate Sands & Charles Sands Jr
Kara & Tom Santacroce Piero Sarti Steve Saudek Brian & Susan Schanning Harm Scherpbier Michael Schimpff Susan R Schnur & Family Susan & Tommy Scholl Amy Schrag David & Jane Schwartz John & Josie Scully David & Valerie Seaton Tim Seifert Tom & Alexa Seip Edmund Semeneshen Robert J & Kristine Shabunia Kathleen Shafer & James Patterson Howard Sharp & Family Marcia & Larry Sharp Joanne M Sharpe Bill & Eileen Shaughnessy Aaron Sheer Martin & Ellen Shell G Dudley Shepard John & Judy Sherman Michelle Sherwood & Shauna Sanchez Richard Short David Shove Jonathan & Suzanne Sibley Robert Sidlow Mark & Linda Siegmund Kevin Siegrist Michael Silverstein Kent Simmons Roger Simmons Stephen Simonds John H Singleton Dr & Mrs C B Sledge Walter Slocombe & Ellen Seidman Malcolm M Smith Ned Smith & Megan Thorn Richard W Smith Scott & Lynn Smith Sherry Smith Peter Snedecor & Anne Scarff Jeffrey Snover Jessica Snyder Robert B Snyder Jeff Solof John Sommer Joan & E Paul Sorensen Michael & Linda Soukup Irwin & Sonia Spalding Alison & Kevin Sparks Eric L Speed Daniel Starer Robert D & Roberta M Steele Ned Steinberger & Denise Soucy Jeffrey Stenberg & Karen Landry Mason & Linda Stephenson Robert K Stewart Marcia & John Stewart Andy & Sue Stoessel Gregg & Lisa Stone Ryan Storey & Family Sherry Streeter Sandra S Strine Gust & Jan Stringos Kristen G & Robert A Strong Jonathon & Nicole Jacobsen Sundberg Dr Charles Sutherland & Marilyn Vogel Paul Sylvester Jean Talarico
Gina Tangney Scott & Betsy Taylor Cathy Thomas & Brian Wells Cynthia Thompson & Matthew Rawdon Lee M Thompson Seth Thompson & Karen Egly-Thompson Scott Thomson & Family Wayne & Elizabeth Tobiasson Allan & Kathleen Toubman Kim & Jeff True Sara Trunzo Carl & Sue Von Saltza Alfred A Voskian Jr Katharine & Jerry Wall Oscar Wallace Brian Walls Eric Walowit Phyllis & James Wansiewicz Don & Hilary Ware Hans & Lee Warner John Wasileski Mary & George Wawro Morrison Webb & Family Margaret & Peter Webster Tamara Wederbrand Ingrid Weigel & Patrick Meere Michael Weinberg & Jeanne Rotunda Alan & Sarah Weinstein Jeff & Gerri Weiss Jan & Susan Wejchert Carolyn Welch Elizabeth Welch Stephen M Weld Jr Ben & Pam Wellumson Jim Wenzke Caroline Werth David Westerlund Fred & Joanna Weston Kenneth & Barbara Wexler Harry Weyher Jean A Whelan Malcolm & Nancy White Marion & Ray White William & Pamela White Will & Lisa White Robert Whitehouse Terrell R Whiting & Family William F & Barbara Whitman Steven & Barbara Whitney Charles D Whittier II Markus Wiles Theresa Willette Warren & Holly Williams John Wilson Karin Wilson Anne & John Winchester Katherine Pharibe Wise Gordon Wissinger Rikka Wommack Jeff & Ruth Wood William Wood & Clare Mundell David Woodall Andrew Woodin Charles & Susan Woodman Jeffrey Wooster William J Wright Jr David B & Rosemary Wyman Bryan Yates Cal & Mary Anne Young Martin Zalud & Lydia Reyburn Nancy Zane Erik & Christy Zavasnik Daniel & Frances Zilkha John & Sheila Zittel
Memorial and Honoraria
In memory of Matt Abercrombie In memory of Marilyn Boutwell In memory of Doug Leland In memory of Bob Patten In memory of Robert Pawle In memory of Jim Rasmus In memory of Georg Rymph In memory of Ann Katherine Seamans In memory of Steve Titcomb In honor of the marriage of Sam Beatt & Elizabeth Nelson
In honor of Steve Birmingham’s birthday In honor of Erno Bonebakker’s 75th birthday
Boat Donations
Ian M & Lisa Bennie Virginia Betts Joe Guglielmetti Andrew Klaber Jeff & Elaine Musich Fred Quivey
Gifts In-Kind
William J Baguskas Eric Baldwin Edgar Boyd Browne Trading Company Alvin and Emily P Bugbee Damariscotta River Association Mr & Mrs Benjamin Fuller Marian Brown Hazzard Elizabeth & Lewis Incze David Kuhns & Patti Lerwick L.L.Bean Maine Island Energy
Maine Sport Outfitters Brian & Melissa Marcaurelle Tom & Jane McKinney Bill Mozak Craig and Pam Mudge New Meadows Marina Inc Old Quarry Ocean Adventures Inc Pond Cove Millwork Jim Shula Alan Spencer and Amy Havener Spencer Sweet Sensations Pastry Shop Chris & Lynda Tadema-Wielandt
Corporate Sponsors
MITA is fortunate to receive support from the following sponsors in 2017. Compass ($5000+)
L.L.Bean Rising Tide Brewing Company
Anchor ($3000+) IDEXX Kittery Trading Post
Chart ($1000+)
Bangor Savings Bank LandVest Sabre Yachts Sea Tow Sellers Publishing
Buoy ($500+)
Cribstone Capital Management Green Clean Maine Kamasouptra Lee Auto Malls Lower Falls Landing Associates
Malone Auto Racks Penmor Lithographers Robert’s Maine Grill Toad & Co WoodenBoat
Splash!
MITA thanks the following individuals and businesses who helped make Splash!, our second annual boating season kick-off party, a smashing success! Splash! Host Committee
Paul & Meredith Allen Joel Antolini & Meeghan McLain Steve Barr & Martha Leggat Nick Battista & Meredith Mendelson Roger Berle & Lesley MacVane Stephen & Paula Birmingham Sissy & Sandy Buck James & Beba Cabot Nicole & John Connelly Sara Crisp & Gregg Lipton Noah & Chelsea DeLorme Oakley Dyer & Jill Sady Katie & Peter Eichleay Mark & Patricia Fasold Lindsay & Bill Hancock Morris Hancock & Lin Peyton Alicia & Henry Heyburn Liz & Lew Incze Bryn & Joe Jerome Tony & Hilary Jessen Joel Johnson & Emmie Theberge Jon & Cindy Knowles Bree LaCasse & Chris Moore Geoff & Anne LaFond Rebecca & Michael Lambert Adam & Diana Lee Ben Leoni & Reade Wilson David & Anne McLain Ned & Allison Merrick
Peter & Lisa Molloy Doug & Tara Moran Chip Newell & Susan Morris Bo Norris & Cathy Houlihan Richard Perry & Elaine Carlson Karen & Ford Reiche John Ryan & Jenny Scheu Steve & Lynn Smith Carl & Judith Spang Lucas & Yemaya St Clair Alan Stearns & Austin Brown Jack & Susan Thomas Odette & Scott Thurston Kim & Jeff True Jeremy & Amy Wintersteen
Splash! Auction Donors
Adventurous Joe Coffee ARTiPLAQ Atlantic Coastal Kayaker Nick Battista & Meredith Mendelson Kim Bernard Bicycle Coalition of Maine Big Tree Hospitality Bufflehead Sailing Charters Casco Bay Catamaran Adventures Casco Bay Frames Casco Bay Lines Casco Totes Cohill’s Inn
Devenish Wines Dolphin Marina East Ender Restaurant Eric Hopkins Mark & Pattie Fasold Jeffrey Florman J Thomas Franklin Good To-Go Great Lost Bear Restaurant Lindsay Hancock Hardshore Distilling Company Jillian Herrigel Home & Away Gallery Hyperlite Mountain Gear Henry Isaacs Izakaya Minato K&C Ocean Adventures Kokatat LL Bean Landing Boat Supply Local Muscle Movers Maine Huts & Trails Maine Island Trail Association Malone Auto Racks WB Mason Sharon McHold Ned Merrick Originals Migis Hotel Group MTI Adventurewear Northern Outdoors
NRS Old Quarry Ocean Adventures Packit Gourmet Melissa Paly Patagonia Portland Paddle Press Hotel Rising Tide Brewing Company Matthew Russ Sea Cliff Kayakers Sea Tow Lucas & Yemaya St Clair TACK Studios The Pig Exchange Three Rivers Whitewater Odette & Scott Thurston True Course Yachting Waterfront Restaurant Randall Williams WoodenBoat Publications Yale Cordage
Splash! In-Kind Donations East Coast Yacht Sales Hardshore Distilling Company Louis Latour Maine Magazine Rising Tide Brewing Company
Donate your boat to care for Maine’s wild islands! If you are interested in donating your seaworthy boat—power, sail or paddle—please contact the MITA office at 207-761-8225 or info@mita.org.
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From Island Shores to Your Shower A New Market for Marine Plastic
By Maria Jenness, Regional Stewardship Manager
Members of the MITA community are familiar with the image: a group of smiling volunteers posing by dozens of black trash bags filled with debris hauled off island shorelines. The smiles reflect satisfaction after a hard day’s work in a beautiful place and the reward of leaving islands clean in the wake of skiffs piled high with barely enough room left for the crew. But getting trash off the islands is only one part of the cleanup story. What’s missing from that image is a recognition of what the bags contain and what happens to it all when the day is over. Ask the volunteers what their haul consisted of and invariably the answer is primarily plastic—bleach jugs, oil containers and countless drink bottles top the list. And where does it all go? To date virtually all the debris, except for reusable lobster buoys kept aside for fishermen, has gone straight into the dumpster, destined for incineration or landfills.
Volunteers on the fall Downeast cleanup pose with a Terracycle “super-sack,” filled with recyclable marine plastic that otherwise would have been landfilled.
A Better Way MITA has featured companies doing cool things with repurposed marine debris in previous newsletter stories, but most of those products have been on a small scale and didn’t fit the volume or type of debris that cleanups tend to
Volunteer Werner Brandmaier sorts marine debris on Little Chebeague Island using a clear bag for plastics and a black bag for other trash. 14
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generate. Given the need for quality and consistency in conventional recycling, there hasn’t been demand for the dirty, photodegraded plastic that sadly is ubiquitous on the Maine coast. Enter Terracycle, a New Jersey company that specializes in converting items generally considered cost-prohibitive to recycle into reusable material. Terracycle’s model is to work with corporate sponsors who fund specific recycling programs. This makes them financially viable and fulfills the sponsor’s sustainability initiatives. This season MITA participated in Terracycle’s new beach plastic recycling program. For the program, the company is working with Proctor & Gamble to create shampoo bottles out of recycled marine plastic. Their goal is to collect 2,600 tons of plastic from shoreline cleanups annually. This year, instead of just using black trash bags on MITA’s cleanups, volunteers were also given clear plastic bags and asked to sort the debris that they collected. Rigid plastics went into the clear bags for recycling, and all other debris went into the black bags. On its face this was fairly simple, but the change took some getting used to for volunteers and staff alike.
Introducing the recycling component added to the logistics of the cleanup process, not only on the islands but also back on the mainland. Rather than simply filling a dumpster or taking a trip to the transfer station at the end of the day, the clear bags were set aside. Their contents were emptied, crushed and placed in large “super-sacks” for shipment to Terracycle. On average we filled one super-sack per cleanup, resulting in 460 pounds of plastic from the spring cleanups alone.
It All Adds Up Anyone who spends time recreating on the islands is all too familiar with how pervasive plastics are along the coast. But can it actually be cost-effective and environmentally friendly to recycle low
quality marine debris sourced from hundreds of miles away into shampoo bottles? Terracycle believes it is. The company has developed a process to use these plastics by experimenting with ratios of recycled to virgin plastic. By using only 25% beach plastic they create a product that can subsequently be recycled using conventional means. While it is possible to make a product composed almost entirely of recycled marine plastic, that product would not then be recyclable, and Terracycle’s goal is to extend the life of the plastic beyond just one more use. Additionally, when manufacturers use raw plastic there are typically twelve transportation steps between source and end product. Because Terracycle processes all their plastic on site, the use
“We support MITA because we love cruising the Maine coast and we want to make sure that the coast stays open to responsible boaters. That’s why we have included MITA in our estate plan. Who else does so much to give boaters a good name and works so hard to keep island options available to us all?”
of marine plastic cuts the number of legs in the journey down to only three, reducing the costs and carbon footprint. Add to that the volume of plastic being diverted from landfills, and you’ve got a compelling case that Terracycle hopes will resonate with environmentally conscious shoppers. For MITA’s part, our goal is to continue working with Terracycle to recycle plastic we collect along the Trail. We’ll look for ways to fine-tune our cleanup process, and work to incorporate plastic recycling into more stewardship activities beyond the cleanups. As brimming dumpsters are replaced by piles of plastic destined for a second life, that will surely give volunteers another reason to smile at the end of the day! •
Give the Gift of the Maine Coast!
- Dave Parker and Lisa Marchi, Somersworth, NH
Chart Your Course
To learn more about the advantages of planned giving, visit mita.org/plannedgiving or contact Jack Phillips at jack@mita.org or (207) 761-8225.
Spread holiday cheer to the boater in your life with a MITA gift membership. All memberships include the annual Trail Guide and full access to the MITA mobile app. Add a hat to any gift membership for only $12!
mita.org/gift
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What’s New in Casco Bay? Jewell Renewal Fund a Success Jewell Island is consistently the most visited site on the Maine Island Trail, and has a long history of human impact before the Trail’s founding in 1988. MITA’s involvement with the island, especially the addition of a caretaker sixteen years ago, has helped foster a sustainable model of visitation. In 1991 the Brunswick Rotary Club recognized the need for more infrastructure on Jewell to deal with some of the problems of overuse during that time. A group of motivated individuals from the Club organized to build privies and fire rings across the island. However, few updates have been made since the Club’s effort 26 years ago. This summer, MITA decided that our first ever crowdfunding campaign—the Jewell Renewal Fund—would focus on a round of much needed infrastructure updates so that long-time island caretaker Vinny Marotta could continue to properly care for the island. When all was said and done, the campaign reached $25,000 in contributions. Over 70 inidividuals and other funders donated to the effort. Thanks to this generous support, significant improvements were made on the island this summer. Investments in infrastructure and the caretaker program included improvements to all 5 of the island’s privies, construction of a new storage shed attached to the caretaker cabin and acquisition of new maintenance tools and stewardship equipment for the island. MITA is grateful to caretaker Vinny Marotta, Bill Mozak of Bill Mozak Carpentry & Masonry, Tom Carr, the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, Foundation House, IDEXX and Alere for making this project a success. 16
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Tables for the Trail This fall, for his Eagle Scout Project, Ryan Flaherty and a group of volunteers built 10 picnic tables as a donation to MITA. Ryan delivered six of the tables to Little Chebeague Island, while the remainder will replace aging picnic tables at other Trail sites. MITA thanks Ryan for choosing MITA as his beneficiary and Pond Cove Millwork and KL Jack for donating materials.
Experiential Art on Little Chebeague visitors were greeted by a couch colorfully upholstered with Parks’ screenprints and O’Connell’s poem “Home of Air.” Parks’ tarp-like canvas painting in the Cottage Grove is a reaction to O’Connell’s poem “Under The Music.” Other artists participating in the exhibition included Isabel Neal, Jared Haug and Chris Battaglia. •
Late this summer, Little Chebeague Island played host to a temporary experiential art exhibition entitled Surface First Tilts West. Curated by artist Jordan Parks, the exhibit invited visitors to interact with works of contemporary art while exploring the trails and ruins of the island, providing a unique outdoor art experience. The two pieces pictured here were collaborations between Parks and poet Jennifer O’Connell. At the Chandler Cove trailhead M I TA . O R G
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Can Mushrooms Help Solve the Derelict Fishing Gear Dilemma?
Checking in with Sue Van Hook, Chief Mycologist at Ecovative Design and c0-creator of MycoFloat What is MycoFloat and how did it originate?
How long do mushroom buoys last in the marine environment?
At Ecovative Design I joined forces with two engineers who had grown a new biocomposite material from crop waste and fungal mycelium called Mushroom® Material. We used it to create MycoFoam, intended to replace plastic foam packaging material like Styrofoam™. While exploring the physical and chemical properties of wild fungi in the research and development lab at Ecovative, we learned that the Mushroom® Material is buoyant! Hence our idea for a new kind of buoy called MycoFloat.
The results of field testing show that the MycoFloat persists for 4-5 months without an added waterproof coating. With an environmentally friendly water sealant they last varying amounts of time beyond 5 months.
Why the focus on lobster buoys? I spent summers on North Haven with my grandparents and I was fascinated watching Poppy carve wooden lobster buoys on his ShopSmith lathe. While I never carved one of these buoys, I often painted them. Fast forward to the 1970s when closed cell plastic foam buoys made from expanded polystyrene (EPS) began to replace wooden buoys. They were less expensive, easier to handle while hauling traps, floated higher in the water and required painting less frequently. While plastic buoys made life easier for fishermen and fisherwomen, the ecological impacts of using them have not been accounted for until recently.
What do the fishermen think? I took a prototype to the Maine Department of Marine Resources Lobster Advisory Council in 2012 and asked them to critique it. The lobstermen had a lot to say as they tossed the buoy like a football back and forth across the room. I left with a list of all the properties MycoFloat would need to succeed. Will you continue to work on mushroom buoys at Ecovative? For the past 5 years I have experimented with a few different species of fungi and multiple combinations of crop wastes to create the ideal buoy. Meanwhile, the problem of plastic
particles fouling the oceans has gained international attention. I was contacted by a Korean documentary filmmaker in 2013 who was looking for ecologically compatible solutions to Korea’s massive Styrofoam™ pellet problem, which comes from oyster and tilapia farms. Ecovative’s Mushroom® Materials seemed promising. Whether we grow toggles, lobster buoys, barrel buoys for suspending oyster lines, dock flotation or wetland rafts, success will depend upon an environmentally compatible coating that is waterproof and withstands impacts, submersion and ultraviolet light. I keep tabs on 6 paint coating companies to see which will be the first to develop something that meets these requirements. In the meantime I will try natural waterproofing from paper wasp saliva and hagfish slime. If you have suggestions, contacts or an ah-hah moment, please be in touch. • Sue can be reached at suevanhook@gmail.com
You’re referring to all that plastic accumulating in the ocean? Yes. EPS buoys degrade in sunlight over time and fragment into nanoparticles that persist in the water column. Filter feeders such as clams, mussels and oysters, as well as fish and marine mammals filtering water through gills and gut, are full of nanoplastics.
2017 Annual Fund
Celebrate the Trail’s 30th year by making a gift today! mita.org/donate 18
M I TA . O R G
Here’s to another 30 years of adventure and stewardship on Maine’s wild islands!
On Thursday, October 26th, more than 80 members of the Granite Society (MITA members of 20+ years) gathered at our office in Portland to commemorate the 30th anniversary (to the month!) of Dave Getchell, Sr.’s essay in Small Boat Journal that first envisioned the Maine Island Trail (reprinted in its entirety on page 5). Several charter members attended the event, including Dave and his wife Dorrie—former trustees and longtime Monitor Skippers. In his remarks MITA Executive Director Doug Welch noted, “It was an audacious vision that united a remarkable group of people in their common love of the Maine islands, and that same energy continues today.” Board Chair Lindsay Hancock added, “Our charter members should rest assured that MITA is currently in excellent hands in terms of its dedicated board, remarkably capable and committed staff and 400plus volunteers helping to steward one of Maine’s greatest assets.”
Explore the Trail in style! Locally-made shirts crafted from recycled plastic bottles
mita.atayne.com M I TA . O R G
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NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION
100 KENSINGTON ST, 2ND FLOOR PORTLAND, ME 04103 MITA.ORG 207-761-8225
HELP WANTED: MITA MONITOR SKIPPERS
We’re seeking hearty volunteers to join our Monitor Skipper team! Looking for experienced skippers coastwide, but especially in the Deer Isle, Mount Desert Island and Downeast regions.
Qualifications and Commitments: • Significant power boat experience • Tow vehicle • Willingness to embark on full-day monitor
Benefits • Use of MITA skiffs • Reimbursement for mileage and other direct expenses
runs a minimum of twice a month
• Active participation in keeping wild islands
Maine’s coastal islands
• Being part of a close-knit community of
• Dedication to and passion for stewardship of
clean and accessible
conscientious boaters
To learn more, contact Maria or Chris at 207-761-8225 or stewards@mita.org
Photo: Jim Dugan