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Contents New Trail at Parker Pond Headland President's Message Board of Directors Advisory Board Gott Pasture Trail Dedication Thank You Annual Campaign Donors KLT Annual Meeting Welcome To Our Newest Members KLT Winter Calendar of Events KLT Thanks our Business Partners in Conservation Your Investment in Conservation Thank You for Supporting KLT's Conservation Programs Notes from Main Street New Land Conservation Incentives for Farmers Nature Notes

Create a Legacy: Plan a Bequest to KLT Your bequest will protect lands for future generations. Remember KLT in your will. For more information, please contact: Norm Rodrigue, Chair, KLT Development Committee Phone: 207-557-4133 E-mail: normrod@hotmail.com.

Established in 2004, the Parker Pond Headland Preserve was created to protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and the scenic and natural character of the heavily forested 100-acre peninsula. To provide access to this spectacular property, the Land for Maine’s Future program awarded an access improvement grant to KLT to support the development of a small parking area and a trail that loops through the preserve.

Bill Rogers, Parker Pond Association Stewardship Board Director, and the KLT recently worked with a three-person crew from the Maine Conservation Corps and Parker Pond Association volunteers to build a new trail at the Headland. The new path offers a moderate hike of about 1.5 miles in length. The trail begins at the parking lot located at the end of Fellow’s Cove road (a private road; please drive carefully) and skirts the lake shore to reach the tip of the point. Around the point, a side trail provides access to a rocky landing that is a popular destination for canoeists and kayakers. The main trail then leads hikers up the spine of the peninsula and offers a spectacular view of the lake. It then loops back through groves of large, dense white pine and hemlock that provide intimate forest views.

The Trust purchased the land for the preserve from Erica Karp and her brother Tony Diller with the financial assistance of the Parker Pond Association, the Land for Maine’s Future Program and KLT members. KLT in turn granted a conservation easement over the entire property to the Parker Pond Association, ensuring that the area would be protected for years to come. KLT stewards Clyde Walton and Glenn Hodgkins are working closely with the Parker Pond Association stewardship committee to carry out a management plan crafted in 2005 that guides access improvements and property use. A formal dedication of the new trail is planned for National Trails Day in June, 2007, but visitors can currently enjoy towering stands of white pine and hemlock, massive maple and oak trees, and clusters of glacial boulders. They can stare into crystal clear waters, enjoy the infinite variety of mushrooms in season, peek through fern-filled openings, and gaze out from the ledges over the sparkling lake and the forested lands that stretch to the horizon.

Editor’s note: Many thanks to Bill Rogers, Parker Pond Association, and Jim Connors, KLT, for your long hours of stewardship work at the Headland and your dedication to the Parker Pond Headland management process.

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Dear KLT members,

I hope that you were able to enjoy at least one of our programs this summer/fall. They were wonderful. I will admit that a few took place under what can only be described as a deluge, but we won’t dwell on the weather. KLTers are a hardy crowd, with some very good rain gear!

Following up on our Lyceum theme, three of our programs brought experts to the field to educate us on the geology of KLT lands.

• We had a great hike up Mt. Pisgah, mostly looking down, led by Bob Marvinney.
• Stone walls and other geological features were the focus at the Webbers-Rogers Farmstead Conservation Area field trip.
• An intrepid group toured Lake Androscoggin by boat with geologists Henry (Spike) Berry and Andrea Nurse. A huge thank you to those who lent their boats to make this trip possible.

Although these excursions just scratched the surface of the geological significance of our region, participants came away with a deeper understanding of its natural and cultural history.

In addition to the Parker Pond Headland trail, KLT opened trails on the Webber-Rogers Farmstead in Litchfield and the Davidson Nature Preserve in Vassalboro, and dedicated the Gott Pasture Preserve trail in Wayne. Please check out these trails — they are meant to be enjoyed in all seasons. Each was constructed with much help from volunteer labor and generous donors. Major thanks go to master trail planners Paul Johnson, George Rogers, and Jim Connors, and also to Bill Rogers and the Parker Pond Association, the Maine Conservation Corps, the Unitarian Universalist Youth Group, the Land for Maine’s Future program, the Fields Pond Foundation, the Ladd family, and stewards Charlie Jacobs, Ron Joseph, Clyde Walton, and Glenn Hodgkins.

Finally, I must mention something about three of these events. George and Judy Rogers, Elizabeth Davidson and Gloria, and Lincoln and Bob Ladd each went way beyond what could reasonably be expected and invited us to their homes for refreshments (even the wettest and most bedraggled of us). As they shared their thoughts informally, not only the beauty of each property, but its unique history and personal significance came into focus. This is a new dimension of land conservation to consider — to paraphrase Elizabeth, we are preserving a way of life as well as wildlife habitat and water quality. It makes the trust that has been placed in our organization all the more meaningful.

Wishing everyone a most happy holiday season,
Deb

The dedication of the Gott Pasture Preserve on Hardscrabble Road in Wayne took place on Saturday, October 7, 2006. KLT president Deb Sewall thanked the Ladd family and the Fields Pond Foundation, and spoke a few words about the property before the trail walk. Gott Pasture steward Charlie Jacobs was unable to attend so KLT steward Paul Johnson and Theresa Kerchner led the walk which included about 30 people. Charlie Jacobs has been involved with KLT for three years and is the steward of Torsey Shores Conservation Area as well as Gott Pasture Preserve. KLT awarded him an Outstanding Steward of the Year award along with Paul Johnson this year. A luncheon was served at the Ladd Family camp on Upper Wilson Pond for all participants after the trail walk.

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The Kennebec Land Trust annual meeting was held Sunday, August 20, 2006, at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester, Maine. There were approximately 80 people in attendance. President Deborah Sewall welcomed the members and highlighted the successful projects of the 2005/2006 season. Deb spoke of the progress realized by the hard work of many people this past year.

Stewardship Chair Diana McLaughlin presented two Outstanding Stewardship Awards, one to Charlie Jacobs for his work at the Gott Pasture Preserve and one to Paul Johnson for his work at the new Webber-Rogers Conservation Easement. Stewardship and Education Director Theresa Kerchner gave the annual report and a slide show of the latest land acquisitions.

Volunteers are the heart of KLT’s efforts. Two individuals, Ed Lake and Andy Tolman, were selected to receive the Outstanding Volunteer Award this year.

Ed is known for his chain sawing, brush piling and burning, and trail clearing at the Curtis Homestead Conservation Area. Andy designed KLT’s first member property map and is involved in KLT’s long range planning process for mapping and GIS services.

Deb also lauded the three new land donors and their properties. Jean Scudder and Joe Fulmer, donors of the Torsey Pond Outlet conservation easement in Readfield, were the first to be honored. They, along with steward John McPhedran, are preserving twelve and a half acres, including 1228 feet of shoreline, with scenic views and a vernal pool.

George and Judy Rogers were recognized for their donation of a conservation easement on 117 acres in Litchfield, including 2200 feet of wooded shoreline on Upper Pleasant Pond, along with stonewalls, a hayfield, a vineyard, and woodland. Steward Paul Johnson has worked extensively with George, installing trails, signs, a bridge, and a registration box at the Webber Rogers Farmstead Conservation Area in Litchfield. Last but certainly not least, Elizabeth Davidson was applauded for her gift of the Davidson Nature Preserve in Vassalboro, which includes 97 acres of blueberry fields, wetlands, and woodlands, an active heron rookery, and habitat for many birds and other wildlife. Steward Ron Joseph, who is a wildlife biologist, was called a “perfect fit” for this property. Elizabeth spoke of how gratifying it is to know that families will be able to pick blueberries and hear birdsong on the land. She read a quote from a recent note sent to her by a young girl. “Thank you for the berries,” the youngster said. Elizabeth thanked the KLT Board for helping her preserve “the birds and the blueberries” for young people such as this child for years to come.

In conjunction with the annual meeting, the annual walking tour took place at the Webber-Rogers property earlier in the day. About 40 people made the trek around the new 1.5 mile loop trail, which was formally opened that day. Guest guide Robert Thorson, Professor of Geology at the University of Connecticut, accompanied the group and discussed the property’s stone walls and other rocks of interest. The rain did not deter the group, which met after the walk at George and Judy Rogers’ ancestral farmhouse for tea and cookies.

Thank you to all those who helped to make the Annual Meeting a success! Tamara & Scott Gleason Ann Judd & Ron Giard David Michaud Jim Perkins Hank Redmond & The Augusta County Club George & Judy Rogers Syd Sewall, Mary Ellen Tracy & Loni Welch of Con Brio Jym St. Pierre Robert Thorson

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• 43 properties
• 2,937 acres of forests, fields, hills and wetlands, protecting wildlife habitat and water quality
• 6.8 miles of shoreline on lakes, rivers and streams, providing public access and protecting scenic views
• 17 miles of trails for hiking, skiing, snowmobiling & wildlife viewing

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Sarah brings several years of experience working with non-profit environmental and educational organizations, along with degrees in Geography and Public Relations. She has led campaigns to protect wilderness in Utah, enforce clean air standards in Massachusetts, and preserve the National Wildlife Refuge system. She has managed projects to promote environmental and natural resource research to the business, environmental, media and policy communities in Washington, DC, and most recently produced policy and development newsletters for Teach For America in Miami, Florida.

Sarah’s skills are a perfect match for us as we approach our 20th anniversary of conservation work in 2008. Sarah welcomes your calls and e-mails, her address is: sfuller.kennebeclt@fairpoint.net.

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New land conservation tax benefits for family farmers are included in recently passed federal legislation. The law combines an adjusted tax incentive for land conservation with reforms that ensure the public benefit of conservation donations. Many farmers want to preserve the land that they have lived and worked on for generations, but need some help to do so. Conservation tax incentives can help them preserve their land without putting their family’s economic future at risk.

The new law extends the carry-forward period for tax deductions for voluntary conservation agreements from 5 to 15 years and raises the cap on those deductions from 30 percent of a donor's adjusted gross income to 50 percent–and to 100 percent for qualifying farmers. This allows modestincome landowners to get a much larger benefit for donating development rights to their land.

Conservation easements allow landowners to protect resources by giving up future development rights, while retaining ownership and management of the land. The new law protects the public interest by tightening the rules for appraisals of donated property, and including stiff penalties for inflated appraisals.

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Norris Island: On a bright summer day in August, volunteers from the New England Wildflower Society and the KLT spent an afternoon on Norris Island in search of several rare plants that have been documented on the island. Botanists Tony Owens and Carole Merrifield and John Merrifield, joined KLT stewards Steve and Diana McLaughlin to look for dwarf bulrush (Lipocarpha micrantha), New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans). The Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP) documented all three of these species on the island five years ago. The KLT-New England Wildflower Society group tenaciously explored the entire island during its trip and observed a variety of tree and plant species including American beech, sugar and red maples, maple leaf viburnum, witch hazel, sarsaparilla and a variety of fern species. The search for the elusive rare plants proved only partially successful - Indian grass was found; however, the dwarf bulrush and New Jersey tea were not. Don Cameron, botanist with the MNAP says there is no reason to believe the plants have been lost from the site. Locating rare species can be difficult, especially when they occur in small discrete locations. Additional survey work is recommended. Diana McLaughlin, Norris Island co-steward

Mathews Wildlife Habitat: October 10th was a magnificent fall day for Kents Hill students, faculty member, Eric Winter and Headmaster, Rist Bonefont to join KLT stewards Ron Giard and Beth Craigie at the Mathews Wildlife Habitat in Fayette where they met with Wes Davis, CMP forester. Wes said that the huge sugar maple on the property was approximately 200 years old and that it had grown to this size with a wonderful full crown of leaves because it grew alone (in a cattle pasture) and far away from road salt. Wes pointed out where the tree had been tapped and surmised that it had provided many gallons of syrup for the farm family. To help preserve the tree, Wes suggested pruning, fertilizing at the drip edge and wiring up some branches. Wes also suggested that managing the pine forest on the Mathews property might improve wildlife habitat. Beth Craigie, KLT Steward, Sturtevant Farm Scenic Area and St. Andre Fields

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