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Norris Island is a majestic island with natural and cultural significance. It lies within Androscoggin Lake in the town of Wayne and was acquired by the Kennebec Land Trust (KLT) through the Islands of Hope fundraising campaign in 1997.
Ken Spalding of the KLT stewardship committee and Jessie Mae MacDougall, the AmeriCorps Volunteer Coordinator for KLT, have been working diligently to form a local Norris Island Stewardship Committee (NISC). At the first few meetings, NISC identified and prioritized issues that need to be addressed, including those which need attention before the summer season begins. The priority issues currently being discussed are: camping, sanitation, crowd control and campfires.
This summer will be the first for Norris Island under the watchful eyes and caring hearts of KLT. NISC is composed of active and concerned citizens who will be key in establishing local stewardship and successful management of the island. If you would like to become a participant in this project, please call Ken Spalding at 207-685-9012. NISC welcomes your thoughts, ideas and participation.
As noted above, Jessie is working with the Kennebec Land Trust this summer as an AmeriCorps volunteer. In December 1997, she graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in marine resources, after initally studying music. Future plans include graduate school in environmental policy or education. She lives in Sidney.
Jessie is sponsored by both the Cobbossee Watershed District and the Kennebec Land Trust as a volunteer coordinator. As Jessie says: "I am quite excited to be working with two organizations and different citizens during the week, because I like variety. I feel lucky to have been able to find a job in a field that is of interest to me and I hope to contribute to your organization as much as I will get back from it."
Welcome, Jessie. We hope your enthusiasm is contagious!
"whose woods these are I think, I know...." Robert Frost
Although you will be reading this in early summer, I am writing to you in mid-April, when spring is just beginning to rustle under the leaves laid down last fall.
I have just come from the Vaughan Woods near my home in Hallowell, where a group, loosely known as the "Friends of the Vaughan Woods", has spent the morning working to clear the trails of the untold numbers of branches that rained down in last January's phenomenal ice storm. The "Friends" get together to work in these Woods from from time to time; this year I expect it will be more often, as there is much work to be done in the wake of the storm.
I ask myself, why do people volunteer to work in these Woods? What is it about this experience that transcends the mere labor of it, and that causes these busy people to spend a Saturday in spring toiling on someone else's property? What is the powerful magic of this place?
Of course, the answer begins with the fact that the Vaughan Woods are beautiful. These Woods are laced with trails and stone footbridges, an old mill dam, a stream with waterfalls and pools, a ravine, a large rolling field, majestic old pines amidst a mixed forest of hardwoods and softwoods, a veritable hillside of ladies' slippers in May and all sorts of wildness the rest of the year.
Add to this, these Woods are historic, a vestige of the original Vaughan proprietorship that extended throughout much of this area. Not far from downtown Hallowell, these Woods once contained an active farm, a granite quarry, a tea house near the height of land from which one could look over the nearby Kennebec River to the east and all the way to the White Mountains to the west. There are old swimming holes here, no longer used but at one time the dunking grounds of everyone from local youths to visiting French nobility. A hundred years ago, Vaughan Stream, which today threads its way through a deep ravine overshadowed by tall trees, was one of the most industrial areas around, populated by a series of mills using the stream's waterpower. While it's hard to visualize all this now, given the natural landscape that's left, these Woods resonate with memories...
Today, the Vaughan Woods are permanently protected by a conservation easement donated to your the Kennebec Land Trust, as an act of supreme generosity and conservation-mindedness, by Vaughan descendent Diana Gibson. These Woods have been lovingly tended, as a community treasure, by generations of Vaughan families. This ethic reaches its peak with George Gibson, who alone has spent decades of hard labor building and maintaining the trails and bridges, motivated by his complete devotion to the Vaughan Woods.
For me, and I think for many, these woods have a special meaning not just because of their natural beauty and history, but because of the tangible dedication and stewardship of Diana and George. They have infected me and many others with a passion about the place. These Woods define our sense of community, and help shape our sense of place. I know that my own children will remember the Vaughan Woods, especially when they have gone from here, perhaps more especially when I have gone.
The feelings evoked by these Woods derive from the juncture between landscape, history, community and personal well-being. This is the core of what a land trust is all about; and it's a big part of why we choose to be here in Maine.
Of course, you know this, even if you have never been to the Vaughan Woods. We are each involved with a place like this because we find something there that is larger and more enduring than ourselves.
Jeff Pidot
The City of Gardiner and the Kennebec Land Trust have cooperated
to protect 12.5 acres of land along Cobbossee Stream in downtown
Gardiner. This land was donated to the City by John Jannace of
Standish, Maine. At the same time, Mr. Jannace donated a conservation
easement on the property to KLT. The easement restricts use of the
property to non-motorized public recreational use, including: fishing,
hiking, cross-country skiing and picnicking. The building of hiking
trails is also allowed under the easement.
The property is located on the Harrison Avenue side of Cobbossee Stream and includes approximately 2,500 feet of stream frontage. The downstream end of the property is near Summer Street. Part of the property is visible from Route 9/126, across the stream from Gardiner Paperboard (formerly Yorktowne Paper Mill) - The property extends from the stream to the ridge line.
The parcel contains mature white and red oak, sugar maple and hemlock. The Cobbossee Stream is an important waterway used by Atlantic Salmon and other anadromous fish for spawning.
This is the first time the land trust has conserved land in an urban setting. The gift provides Gardiner with an opportunity to expand waterfront open space and build recreational trails.
Seventeen acres of scenic woods and fields in Fayette have
been donated to the Kennebec Land Trust by Alice Mathews, a
longtime resident of the community who passed away in 1997. The
scenic parcel, which contains open fields as well as a mix of softwood
and hardwood forest, is located on Route 17 not far from the Fayette
school and library.
In addition to the gift of land, KLT's first bequest, Mrs. Mathews' estate has generously provided funds for stewardship of the property. The open fields and forest are an important feature of the rural landscape of Fayette village, which Mr. and Mrs. Mathews and their family enjoyed for many years.
Alice Mathews and her husband Richard, who died in 1991, had three daughters. One daughter, Jane Brogan of Fayette, said that her mother and father "loved to walk through the fields and woods near their home. They were especially fond of a huge, old maple tree which stands majestically in a corner of one of the fields." The daughters have placed a memorial stone bench under this old maple, so that others can enjoy the peace and quiet of this special spot.
The property will be maintained as open space and wildlife habitat and will be available for passive recreational uses such as walking and nature study. Camping and fires are not allowed.
The Kennebec Land Trust has recently acquired 42 acres of prominent ridge line near Mount Pisgah in Winthrop. This acquisition brings the total amount of protected land near this important Kennebec Valley landmark to 104 acres. According to Howard Lake, a land trust board member, "the new property was once cleared pasture land." There are stone walls along some of the property lines which are a testament to the efforts of early settlers to clear the land for pasture," said Lake. "Today it is covered with oak and softwood. It's excellent wildlife habitat."
Mount Pisgah is a popular day hiking destination for area residents and is regarded as regionally significant because it is an undeveloped landscape of unusual size for southern Maine. The newly acquired property includes a walking trail along the ridge. All of the KLT properties near Mount Pisgah are available for passive recreational use. Camping and fires are not allowed. Back to top
We don't stop there however. This year, with the Cobbossee Watershed District, we are cosponsoring an AmeriCorps intern to help us organize local volunteer stewards. (see Norris Island). Similar initiatives will be used with other properties, including KLT's several island parcels on Cobbossee Lake.
In addition to the above, the infamous Ice Storm of 1998 challenged us with additional monitoring and cleanup work. By the time you read this, a special ice storm trail cleanup day will have taken place at Vaughan Woods. Also, work is underway to determine the feasibility, both economic and environmental, of removing dead and damaged trees from our red pine plantation in the Wyman Memorial Forest in Readfield.
We have been and will continue to be busy throughout 1998 and invite anyone who would like to help with stewardship to join us. Call Norm at 207-622-6204.
| Norm Roddgue, Chair | David Courtemanch | Cynthia Kuhns | Jeff Musich |
| Ken Spalding | Collin Therrien | Jessie Mae MacDougall, staff | |
To reduce administrative costs and spend more of your contributions on KLT projects, the KLT Board of Directors has approved a change to a uniform calendar year for all memberships, eff ective Jan. 1,1999.
This means all memberships will expire on Dec. 31, 1998. Renewal notices will be sent in mid-November so members can take advantage of KLT membership contributions being tax deductible.
If you have comments or questions about this change or other membership issues please contact Doug Scott at 207- 933-2220 or by E-mail at adscotl@ibm.net.
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