News
Recent and past news articles regarding the Kennebec Land Trust (KLT)
Located in Leeds, Maine the 360-acre Curtis Homestead is the childhood home of former Maine Governor Kenneth M. Curtis. This property provides an excellent example of forest succession patterns that occur in New England as agricultural activity diminishes over time. The property includes fields, mature woodlands and wetlands, beautiful trails, and excellent birding.
Get to know Governor Curtis and the Curtis Homestead by viewing the video below, created by Phoebe Parker.
By Kirsten Brewer, Director of Membership & Programs
One of my favorite properties is the Hutchinson Pond Conservation Area in Manchester. While other nearby preserves see thousands of visitors every year, I have almost always had Hutchinson Pond to myself. The two times I have been to Hutchinson Pond with a crowd include two public programs KLT has hosted. Two winters ago we hosted a snowshoe on a Friday in January and over 30 people showed up! It was a great community event with field naturalists, foresters, KLT volunteers, and more all sharing stories and information about this special place. Last year, KLT co-hosted a field day with the Maine Entomological Society. This was a slow walk, but memorable, as experts and amateurs alike took a closer look at the insects and invertebrates on the property.
What makes this property so interesting for entomologists, and all outdoor enthusiasts, is its mix of wetlands and vernal pools, woods, fields, stream frontage, and undeveloped shoreline. There is a lot to explore! At the end of the trail, the views of Hutchinson Pond are a reward for the hiker, AND the pond provides valuable habitat for ducks, loons, osprey, bald eagles, beaver and warm water fish. The southern outlet stream, frequently dammed by beavers, flows west to Cobbossee Stream.
Another nice feature of Hutchinson Pond is that it is relatively flat, making it a beginner and family-friendly hike. Do be aware that there are several narrow bog bridges near the start of the walk. The trails also can be muddy in Spring, and yes, in the warmer months (including March) you need to be vigilant about ticks. Recently KLT has flagged off the wettest areas of trails to help protect them during mud season.
Please enjoy and send us your comments/pictures/observations!
Visitors to the 14-acre Cobbossee Stream Conservation Area and the 15-acre City of Gardiner Harrison Avenue Nature Trail will enjoy an ~ 0.8 mile round trip hike along a stream-side trail. KLT holds a conservation easement on the Cobbossee Stream Conservation Area, which is owned and managed by the City of Gardiner.
Brick walls, remnants of dams, and rusted pipes illustrate a time when Gardiner was a thriving industrial city powered by Cobbossee Stream. In just the year 1860, thirty-one businesses lined the lower stream using hydro-mechanical power to grind grain and produce sawn lumber, clapboards, brooms, boxes, doors, sashes, and other wood items. More than four hundred employees generated two million dollars in products.
The Harrison Avenue Nature trail showcases the spring migration of alewives and American eels which attracts ospreys, bald eagles, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, belted kingfishers, and gulls. Below the lowermost dam in the Cobbossee Stream Conservation Area, sea-run fish gather as water roars over granite blocks and birds cry as they fly, pivot and dive to drive away competitors while swallowing fish whole. In autumn, the migration is reversed. Birds reconvene to feed on out-migrating juvenile alewives and adult silver eels move downstream to the Kennebec, through the Gulf of Maine en-route to the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda to spawn.
Many species of birds migrate to and through the mature red oaks, eastern hemlocks, and early successional and wetland habitats on this conservation land. In 2019, unprecedented waves of warblers and other species filled streamside branches. In winter, the ice-free stream attracts common, hooded and red-breasted mergansers, black ducks, and mallards. The resident mammals, including deer, raccoons, and river otters, leave telltale signs of tracks and scat, and beavers leave partially chewed trees.
DIRECTIONS: Access is from Route 126 in Gardiner to Harrison Avenue, immediately west of the bridge over Cobbossee Stream. Limited parking is available at the height of land along the east side of Harrison Avenue. A kiosk marks the trail entrance; QR signs along the trail enable digital access to history and wildlife information.
Photo: Norm Rodrigue
For more information about Cobbossee Stream’s alewives, check out the Upstream Group’s Facebook page.
Please see an update from our partners at the Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead
With heavy hearts, we made the very difficult decision on Saturday, March 28 to close Vaughan Woods until further notice. The extremely high rate of visitation on the warm Saturday as well as the lack of social distancing practices on the part of visitors (despite our many educational signs) gave us no other choice than to follow the lead of the State of Maine which has closed many popular parks and beaches for the same reason.
From what we saw on the trails on Saturday, it is evident that many people are not taking this crisis seriously. Take care of yourselves friends. Educate everyone you know. We will see you on the trail again when this is all over.
Kate Tremblay
Executive Director
Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead
Parker Pond Headland, Fayette (The Fellowes Cove Road is a private road and is only open to homeowners during mud season).
Surry Hill, Fayette
Holman Conservation Area, Litchfield
Nancy’s Bog, Winthrop
Judy Kane Kennebec River Parcel, Augusta
Echo Lake Watershed Preserve 3, Fayette
Not only is there a risk from cars on dirt roads, our trails can be damaged by all users during mud season.
Best practice is to limit trail hiking activities during the worst part of mud-season and pursue other activities on more durable surfaces. Such activities may include: road biking or walks on solid gravel or pavement roads.
If you are going to explore the trails, consider ways to reduce your impact:
Hiking is preferable to biking or other wheeled vehicle use which put an even higher ground pressure on the trails. This includes fat tire bikes.
Some trails will be worse than others. Try to plan ahead and seek upland trails of moderate grade and with southern exposure. Avoid steep trails and low wet trails.
If you begin a hike but discover the trail is wetter than you expected, consider turning around and finding a drier hike.
If you do find yourself needing to pass through a muddy section of trail, best practice is to hike straight through the wet spots so as to contain your impacts. Wear appropriate footwear to plan for this!
Keep in mind that you are one among a herd. Your impacts alone may not seem significant, but the collective impacts of ‘the herd’ do generate significant impacts.
If you are curious about the “why” behind mud season impacts, read on!
Melting snow and precipitation, along with freeze-thaw cycles, and a lack of vegetative transpiration (growing plants), creates a saturated soils environment. In other words, more water is entering and staying in the system than is leaving it.
Soils have a limited capacity to hold water. Most trails are located on native soils that become fully saturated this time of year. These saturated soils are what leads to the mud in ‘mud-season,’ as well as soft spots which quickly turn to mud if exposed to hiker activity.
These soils become vulnerable to compaction, erosion, and displacement with every foot-step or other ground disturbance, such as tire treads.
This reduces the long-term resiliency of the trail in a few ways:
By compacting soils and reducing their capacity to hold water.
By creating low spots and ruts which further channel water, leading to erosion and reduced drying capacity.
Displacement and erosion leads to the exposure of rocks and roots and pollutes waterways with sediment, creating a host of environmental concerns.
Hikers skirting around wet areas leads to an expansion of impacts; diminishing plant growth and further destabilizing soils.
In summary, mud-season presents a threat our natural areas and adds potentially significant maintenance costs if precautions are not taken. KLT is a very small organization, supported by our members, and relies heavily on the labor of volunteers. Please respect their efforts!
Thanks for doing your part to protect the quality of our trails and surrounding environment.
Mud season information is updated from the Green Mountain Club.
KLT encourages you to get out in your neighborhood and near your home as you are able-and DO practice social distancing.
During the State of Civil Emergency please consider avoiding Mount Pisgah in Winthrop and the Vaughan Woods in Hallowell. These areas tend to be quite crowded making social distancing a challenge.
We recommend the following properties:
Vassalboro Wildlife Habitat, Vassalboro
Davidson Nature Preserve, Vassalboro (Please be aware, no dogs on this property)
Cobbossee Stream & Harrison Nature Trail, Gardiner
Macdonald Woods, Readfield
Hutchinson Pond Conservation Area, Manchester (The muddiest sections of trails have been flagged off, please avoid to protect the trail).
Rosmarin & Saunders Family Forest, Readfield (Please be aware that the snowmobile trail is quite muddy and not suitable for foot traffic).
Out of an abundance of caution, avoid touching shared surfaces like signs or benches, and - yes - trailhead boxes. KLT will begin posting maps on the outside of trailhead boxes. Please prepare yourself by viewing a map in advance, and printing at home as needed, or take a photograph of the map at the trailhead.
This article in the New York Times discusses research about how long the virus is living on surfaces like metal or cardboard (potentially up to 3 days on surfaces like plastic or metal, but less than 24 hours on cardboard). They don’t mention wood specifically. Please take precautions and avoid touching surfaces in public places.
At KLT, our mission includes: "offer(ing) opportunities for people to enjoy the natural world." Right now for everyone across the globe this is incredibly important.
We encourage you to get out in your neighborhood and near your home as you are able-and DO practice social distancing:
If you are exhibiting symptoms related to COVID-19, or if you have recently been exposed to COVID-19, please stay home.
Stay at least six feet away from other people.
If you do decide to go for hike, remember trails are likely to be slippery from ice and mud, which can increase the difficulty level. Stick to easy trails to avoid injuries and further stress on health care resources.
Be sure to tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.
Always leave no trace, including cleaning up after your pet, so be sure to bring a disposable bag to carry out any waste.
These tips are adapted from the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. Please visit their website for more details and the most up-to-date information.
Please consider avoiding Mount Pisgah in Winthrop and the Vaughan Woods in Hallowell. These areas tend to be quite crowded making social distancing a challenge. Other options are on our Property List Page.
Over the coming days we are going to share recommended "hidden gem" trails for you to enjoy, as well as tips for staying safe and healthy on the trail. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
And please, send us your pictures of nature near you! (instagram: @kennebeclandtrust or info@tklt.org). March is a special time with signs of spring everywhere.
We will be updating with more information.
Dear KLT Members and Supporters,
We have been thinking of you and wanted to update all of our members on day-to-day operations at the KLT. Last week we addressed our first priority: to ensure the health and safety of our staff, members, board, volunteers, and the communities we serve, we postponed our March Lyceum lectures and closed our 331 Main Street office in Winthrop.
Jean Luc, Kirsten, Tyler, and Theresa are working remotely and in the woods, with periodic individual shifts in the office. We are following guidance from the Maine CDC and Governor Mills’s office and are grateful for their thoughtful leadership. Last week the KLT Executive Committee approved a comprehensive coronavirus sick leave procedure.
We will keep you informed on the status of KLT spring and summer programs or you can email Kirsten (KBrewer@tklt.org) or visit KLT online. At this time, cabin reservations at the Wakefield Wildlife Sanctuary and Norris Island are on hold.
As someone with a connection to the land, you know that time in the natural world, even short strolls, can enhance our physical and emotional well-being. With those benefits in mind, we wanted to remind you that KLT's beautiful conservation properties are open to the public for hiking, nature observation, birding, photography, and your own favorite outdoor recreation activities.
Although we must all practice social distancing in closed spaces, for those who are able to go outdoors, we hope that you are able to enjoy the beauty around us in Maine – spring bird and frog choruses, wildflowers, newly germinated buds and seedlings, and warm spring breezes over streams, lakes, and hills.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions about our properties or trails (KLT properties by town: https://www.tklt.org/property-list). Jean Luc and Tyler are currently planning several new trails – including an extensive bog bridge crossing at the Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area – you will have new paths to explore soon!
Sincerely, Theresa Kerchner, Executive Director and Kim Vandermeulen, President
* And ... looking forward – the KLT Lands Committee is busy– we plan to finalize a number of new conservation projects by the end of the year: two additions to our Eastern River Preserve in Pittston, a new property in the Vienna hills, and two conservation easements with valuable wetlands, woodlands, and farmland. Thank you for supporting land conservation and KLT.
The Kennebec Land Trust office is closed until further notice. Our staff will be working remotely and will be occasionally checking voicemail messages. Please email us at info@tklt.org if you need to reach us, we will be checking email daily.
We wish you good health. If you are able, we hope you can find time to be outside every day. We look forward to seeing you for our upcoming spring and summer programs!
by Theresa Kerchner, Executive Director
Adapted from KLT News, Fall, 2019
With the acquisition of 90 acres in the spring of 2019, KLT now owns or holds conservation easements on 448 contiguous acres of valuable farmland, forestland, and wetlands near Baldwin Hill in Fayette. What’s more, after three years of planning and research we’re in the process of designing an eight-acre conservation burial ground on the northeastern portion of this new property. KLT’s Baldwin Hill Conservation Burial Ground, soon to be incorporated as a 501(c)(13) non-profit, will provide for ecologically sound burial for people of all faiths.
I learned of conservation burial in a 2007 article in the Land Trust Alliance’s magazine, Saving Land. The essay highlighted the ecological benefits of “green” burial and profiled the Ramsey Creek Preserve in South Carolina, the first conservation burial ground in the United States. Almost a decade after I read that essay, two KLT summer interns, Josh Caldwell (Bates College) and Jack Daley (Harvard College), focused their research projects on this topic and helped us move the initiative from an idea to a tangible proposal for the Board of Directors.
As interns and staff researched the concept of conservation burial, we sought technical support and guidance from Maine State Soil Scientist Dave Rocque, as well as from Cedar Brook and Rainbow’s End burial grounds in Maine, several funeral home businesses, our land trust conservation colleagues, Jeff Masten of LANDMATTERS, the Green Burial Council, the Maine Funeral Consumers Alliance, and community members. KLT members Paul Kuehnert and Judith Graber provided generous support for the project in 2017, with matching gifts from Paul’s employer, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The planning process, which has fostered new partnerships across community, business, government, and conservation organizations, created a strong foundation for the project.
As we consulted with experts in Maine and across the country, we came back to one key finding: conservation burial is traditional burial, a practice that has been followed for thousands of years. The use of chemical embalming fluids and energy-intensive cement vaults is relatively new, and our society is still coming to terms with the environmental impacts of these modern burial practices. KLT is proud that we will be providing an ecologically sound model for burial and serving our members in a meaningful way at the end of life.
On the operations end, KLT will manage the burial ground and coordinate plot sales, and we are partnering with local funeral homes that have established expertise with grief support, memorial services, transportation of the deceased, and sexton burial services. Once the cemetery is open (2021), grave-digging and interment will be carried out by a contractor. Graves will be approximately three feet deep, since the majority of the microbial activity in soils takes place within the upper soil horizons and in the organic duff layer. Native stones can be engraved to mark grave sites, and each plot will have a GPS point on a survey.
KLT Stewardship Director Jean-Luc Theriault has been coordinating site preparation, including a timber harvest, the development of a scenic viewshed, the construction of a year-round road and parking area, planning for trails (including contracts for an accessible trail), and plot surveying.
When I picture this KLT property, I know it will be a place where people will celebrate life and the beauty of the natural world, something I think we all hope for at the end of our lives. Please contact the KLT office if you have questions. We will be updating our website with information about fees and our conservation burial partners.
Photo: Norm Rodrigue
KLT is pleased to announce that the board of directors approved a new, five-year strategic plan during their September 11,2019 meeting. The strategic plan culminates a year of work, starting with a member and community survey, a day-long board and staff retreat, and the ongoing work of the Strategic Planning Committee.
We thank all community members for completing our survey and submitting their comments.
Please read the strategic plan here.
The Howard Hill Historical Park is a very significant achievement and a very special place — it has stunning views, wonderful hiking trails, and a bunch of wildlife, all just a short distance from our state capitol. For thousands of years, the Wabanaki used these woods; now they are preserved forever.
I doubt there is any place like this near state capitols throughout our country. Kennebec Land Trust deserves a lot of credit for never giving up on this project. When the Land for Maine’s Future program sharply reduced its contribution, I really thought that the land trust might not be able to raise the necessary money.
But with lots of help from individuals and groups, they did raise the money. Kennebec Savings Bank especially deserves credit for stepping up with a $337,500 loan to move the project forward. I had no idea, until I read Keith Edward ’s story in this newspaper, that David Silsby, the father of bank president Andrew Silsby, advocated for creating this park for many years, with no luck. David has to be very pleased that his son helped get this done.
A couple years ago my wife Linda and I donated our woodlot to the Kennebec Land Trust, partly because they do such a great job hosting children’s events. They now own a lot of property in our area, all which is available with wonderful hiking trails. But I’ve got to say the Howard Hill project is probably their greatest achievement to date.
I wasn’t able, in my wheelchair, to hike to the spot where they hosted their celebration. But my friend, Sue Bell, a KLT board member, sent me some photos including stunning looks out over the capitol building. And a few days later Sue came out for a visit and gave me a lot more information, including a brochure listing all the donors. It’s a very impressive list of groups and people.
Another friend, Howard Lake, is also a KLT board member who spoke at the celebration. I had joked before with Howard that he certainly should be pleased that the hill was named for him. Actually the property was once owned by William Howard Gannett — and it is named for him.
And I have to thank Theresa Kerchner for her exceptional leadership of the land trust, and for never giving up on this project.
While there are trails accessing the property from Augusta’s Ganneston Drive and from the Hallowell end of the park, I was very pleased that they built a new trail that starts right near the capitol. It would not surprise me to find legislators and others enjoying the hike and land.
Judy Camuso, the outstanding commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, delivered a great speech at the celebration. She captured the purpose, saying, “This dedication is an excellent example ensuring that not only does Maine’s wildlife have a home, but the people of Maine and those that visit have a place to enjoy Maine’s wildlife. One of my personal passions has always been connecting people with nature, with the belief that people will protect what they care about, and this property is an excellent opportunity to make new connections every day.
“Having an area like this within the view of the state capitol and in the city of 19,000 people is extremely important if we want the next generation of Mainers to value our woods and wildlife as much as we do.”
And she summed it all up very well: “We realize that no single entity can accomplish projects like this alone. While each of us may have a slightly different vision or focus, together we can combine our visions to protect areas like Howard Hill, a property that Mainers will value for generations to come, an area that gives us a sense of place and reminds us not only of the way life should be, but the value in ensuring that our Maine, the Maine that we cherish and strive to protect and enhance, will be here long after we are gone.”
I recommend that you get out and enjoy this beautiful and special place. And be sure to bring your camera.
George Smith can be reached at 34 Blake Hill Road, Mount Vernon 04352, or georgesmithmaine@gmail.com. Read more of Smith’s writings at www.georgesmithmaine.com.
Those who attended the dedication of Augusta's Howard Hill Historical Park Thursday hiked through woods to get there, but it was a small journey compared to the years-long effort to establish the city park.
A partnership among the Kennebec Land Trust, the city of Augusta, and the Hallowell Conservation Commission, and with a boost from Kennebec Savings Bank, the project at the top of the hill near the State House was more than a decade in the making. And that was just the latest attempt.
Those involved gathered Thursday on an overlook offering a fall foliage-painted vista of the capital city and parts east, with the State House gleaming in the late afternoon sun below.
"There were a lot of times we didn't think we were going to make it," said Howard Lake, director of the Kennebec Land Trust. “At times, we thought maybe we wouldn’t be able to raise the money, and we had already spent a lot of money on it.
"But we persevered, and here we are.”
As Lake stood with the backdrop of the eastern vista behind him, he noted it was a special place. Real estate strategy holds that "it's location location location that matters," he said. "But people matter more," and the city park, which is held in trust by the KLT, wouldn't have happened with the persistence of those involved.
Preservation of the 164-acre hill between Augusta and Hallowell was necessary, speakers at the event said. It preserves green space and the wildlife in it and provides the area with a place to hike, snowshoe and enjoy nature, as well as a tree-laden area in the city to help mitigate climate change.
The process itself was also valuable, said Judy Camuso, commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. It sets the stage for partnerships between the state, conservation groups and other stakeholders, groups have different goals and focuses, but can work together toward one end, she said.
"People will protect what they care about," she said.
The Kennebec Land Trust and the city of Augusta began in 2009 to pursue conservation options for the site that was once part of 500 acres owned by the Gannett family, who published several magazines as well as the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
A large portion of the hill was a Maine game preserve from 1930 to 1969, but the western area, near the end of Capitol Street, was subdivided for homes in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, the Maine Parks and Recreation Commission attempted to buy 200 acres, but wasn't successful.
When the effort to turn the site into a conservation area began anew in 2009, nearly $1 million was pledged to the Kennebec Land Trust over the following years.
Some $337,000 of that was to be from the state Land for Maine's Future, but Gov. Paul LePage wouldn't release the $12 million voters had approved in 2010 and 2012 for 30 conservation projects, including Howard Hill. The $337,500 for the project was then cut to $163,500 by the state in 2016.
With a deadline on the purchase, the trust bought the land for $975,000 in 2015 with help from a bridge loan from Kennebec Savings Bank that closed the funding gap the state money holdup caused.
The land trust deeded the site to the city in 2017 and holds the conservation easement on it.
Andrew Silsby, president and CEO of Kennebec Savings Bank, at Thursday's Howard Hill Historical Park Dedication. The bank provided a bridge loan to Kennebec Land Trust to help complete the project.
Kennebec Savings Bank President and CEO Andrew Silsby told those gathered Thursday that the bank "jumped on the opportunity" to help with the project.
He said when government, nonprofits and businesses work together on layering funding to protect the state's land "citizens win."
Silsby, an Augusta native, said his father, David Silsby, was a longtime advocate of preserving the land, and was always afraid development would mar it.
"He really felt strong that a state known for forestry and land should have a backdrop to its state house that's green" and protected from development. David Silsby was state revisor of statutes, as well as director of legislative research and director of the state house and Capitol Park commission, among other roles.
He directed his final remark to his father, who wasn't at the dedication but had had a long conversation with Silsby about the history of the site that morning, Silsby said.
"It didn't happen the way you thought it would happen, but we got it done," Silsby said.
The land for centuries was part of the Wabanaki Kennebec area hunting and fishing grounds, and is dotted with granite outcroppings, streams, ponds, a variety of trees and dozens of wildlife species. It was acquired in the late 1700s by Capt. James Howard, Augusta's founder.
William Howard Gannett, a Maine legislator, bought the land in the 1890s, and named it Ganneston Park. He developed carriage trails, some of which are overgrown but still visible,and public trails and gardens. The family built a camp at the top of the hill, and also built a large treehouse at the site of the overlook where Thursday's ceremony took place.
The new park connects to the Effie Berry Conservation Area in Hallowell, eight acres donated to the city of Hallowell by Mastway Development, owners of the under-development Stevens School campus.
Augusta Mayor David Rollins said Thursday the area is "a special place, but it's more special for the city of Augusta."
"When you add up all the things we have, it's pretty incredible for a little city," he said. The added green space is also a testament to the city's commitment to the environment.
City Manager Bill Bridgeo echoed that, and, indicating the State House below and the forested land stretching out beyond, said, "When you look out here it epitomizes who we are and what we're about."
Howard Hill, the wooded backdrop to the Maine State House, is a large and diverse natural area on the west side of Augusta. Its 164 acres includes a cascading stream, steep ravines, large boulders, an expansive ridgeline with sheer cliffs, and diverse wildlife habitat. The property is crisscrossed by an informal network of old carriage roads and woods roads that provide expansive views over the State House and the Kennebec River valley.
It's now a city park, and is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m for nature observation, hiking and snow shoeing. Bow hunting is allowed in season with permission from the city of Augusta. No motorized vehicles are allowed, and dogs must be on a leash, and owners must pick up after them.
There are no bathrooms in the park, but the city plans an entrance with facilities and and parking via a driveway at the end of Ganneston Drive in the future.
The park is accessed through the Effie L. Berry Conservation Area trailhead in Hallowell, which provides a 0.6-mile walk on uneven terrain to the overlook. Parking is available at Stevens School Commons at the end of Coos Lane. There is also access on Sewall Street in Augusta directly opposite Brooklawn Avenue, which leads to a 0.8 mile walk, which has a steep uphill section, to the overlook. Parking is available at the State House. To access from Ganneston Drive, go to the end of Ganneston Drie and park in the street. The trailhead leads to a 0.4 mile walk to the overlook over gentle terrain.
BY KEITH EDWARDS KENNEBEC JOURNAL
AUGUSTA — When it comes to connecting people to wildlife, Howard Hill Historical Park has it all, the state’s commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said Thursday at the 164-acre site’s dedication.
With fall’s array of multicolored leaves on display for miles behind her, Commissioner Judy Camuso said Howard Hill’s prominence and easy access for people, combined with its spectacular and diverse habitat for wildlife, make it the perfect spot for people to make and share connections to nature, and instill those connections in future generations.
“An oasis for both people and wildlife, right here in the heart of our state capital,” Camuso said from an overlook with expansive views of Augusta and beyond, to a few dozen attendees at the park’s dedication Thursday. “From a wildlife perspective, Howard Hill has it all. With softwoods and hardwoods, it provides a home or stopping off point for a whole host of wildlife species.
“The key for all of Maine’s diverse wildlife will be protecting a wide range of habitats and in providing connectivity between those habitats. This dedication is an example of ensuring that not only does Maine’s wildlife have a home, but the people of Maine and those that visit have a place to enjoy Maine’s wildlife. People will protect what they care about.”
The city of Augusta was given the wooded hilltop site, which provides a scenic backdrop to the State House, by Kennebec Land Trust in 2017, after the trust, using a mix of privately raised and public, but no city of Augusta, funds to purchase the land for about $925,000 from local lawyer Sumner Lipman.
A conservation easement the trust attached to the property before turning it over to the city bans development on the site, other than recreational trials and related amenities.
Howard Lake, of Readfield, a member of the land trust’s board of directors, thanked the numerous volunteers who have cut trails on the property and donors who contributed funds for its purchase. He reminded them that at times it looked like it would not happen.
The land trust initially was expected to use $337,500 in Land for Maine’s Future money to help pay for the purchase. However, Land for Maine’s Future funding for the $1.2 million project was slashed from the previously promised $337,500 to $163,500 in 2016.
Five of six members of the Land for Maine’s Future board, all of whom were either appointed by former Gov. Paul LePage or worked for him, voted to reduce the state’s contribution to the project, expressing concerns about the accuracy of the roughly $1 million appraisal of the property done for the land trust. The property was assessed by the city, for tax purposes, at just $171,000.
Land trust officials have defended what they pay for such properties, stating they have the properties professionally appraised, based upon their “highest and best use,” or what their value would be if they were to be developed.
The trust took out a loan to close the funding gap so the project could proceed.
“We had our challenges, there were times it looked pretty bleak,” Lake said. “At times, we thought maybe we wouldn’t be able to raise the money, and we had already spent a lot of money on it. But we persevered, and here we are.”
The $337,500 loan from Kennebec Savings Bank helped the land trust move ahead with the project before the trust had raised the entire $1.2 million needed for the project.
Andrew Silsby, president of KSB, said his father, David Silsby, worked for the state Legislature for 27 years and, because of his belief that a state known for its forests and land should have a forested backdrop to its state capital, fought for years to get the state to preserve the same land, but could not convince state leaders to fund it.
Andrew Silsby said he had lunch Thursday with his dad, who showed him old photographs of the site and gave him a history lesson.
The property is spread between a point just south of Capitol Street to the Hallowell line at the former Stevens School complex. It is accessible from spots off Sewall Street, at the end of Ganneston Drive in Augusta and from a trailhead at Stevens Commons in Hallowell.
Mayor David Rollins, who lives near the Ganneston Drive entrance to the park, said the park is one more example of Augusta’s many attractions that make Augusta the best small city in New England. He also said its another example of Augusta preserving the environment and its growing network of recreational trails, a network he hopes will continue to grow.
“Let’s evolve this a little more every year, and add more trails, Ansley is going to live out here,” Rollins joked, referencing Ansley Sawyer, a member of the Augusta Conservation Commission who has served as a steward of Howard Hill and put extensive time into cutting trails in the park.
The property once was owned by William Howard Gannett, who in the 1890s bought some 450 acres including Howard Hill — where he created Ganneston Park.
The park included gardens, ponds, carriage paths and trails he opened to the public so they could enjoy the natural setting as his family did in their log cabin lodge on the site, Camp Comfort, so named because Gannett was publisher of Comfort Magazine, the first American periodical to reach a circulation of more than 1 million.
The Gannetts had a large, cliffside treehouse on the property, believed to be on or near the site where a scenic overlook with expansive views is now located.
By Abigail AustinKennebec Journal
Jonah Raether and Joe Hazelton stood out to Kennebec Land Trust Executive Director Theresa Kerchner for their desire to mitigate climate change.
“They are inspiring,” she said. “It is hopefully a sign that the next generation is focusing on the future.”
As interns building and maintaining trails, directing volunteer stewards and writing grant applications, Raether kept a keen eye on the connection between human health and the environment, while Hazelton helped community members discover good forest management.
They will present their research projects during KLT’s annual meeting this weekend in Wayne.
Raether is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate student at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, studying health science and community health.
His research project studied the relation between environmental connection and its impact on human health.
“I knew that I did not just want to work on building trails,” said Raether. “I wanted to get to know the people living here — I came in with that goal.”
Through his research project, he created a booklet of interviews sharing the stories of local connections to nature which will be shared both at the meeting and online.
He said its a narrative of what a “community connected to the outdoors looks like.”
One story that touched him was told by Pete and Marjorie Lovejoy of Wayne. Their family had been visiting a patch of showy lady slippers, an endangered orchid.
“Even though it’s a small sample size,” he said, “people in Maine (are passionate) about conservation and climate change mitigation.
“And being outside is really important to folks,” Raether said.
The booklet, titled, “Natural Assets and Resilient Communities — People and the Land: A Collection of Essays,” will be shared at the meeting and online.
Hazelton is from Arlington, Massachusetts, and will soon graduate from the University of Michigan’s environmental science program.
His research project looked at forest management of Surry Hill Community Forest, KLT’s newest property in Fayette, which will be managed to mitigate climate change by carbon sequestration, the process by which trees and other plants pull oxygen out of the air through photosynthesis and stored as carbon.
“You would think that by cutting down trees, you are releasing carbon and promoting climate change,” Hazelton said. “The opposite is true if you harvest timber correctly.”
He created a brochure and designed a web page that explains how timber management is helpful with limiting carbon emissions and pulling carbon dioxide out of the air.
Hazelton’s brochure, “Keeping Forests as Forests: A Natural Solution to climate change,” explains the need for carbon sequestration, the process by which trees and other plants pull oxygen out of the air through photosynthesis and stored as carbon.
Hazelton said that the three points coming out of the forest management is to protect the soil, where half of the carbon in a forest is stored; promote native species, grow big trees and selectively harvest.
Hazelton said the collaboration with experts in science communications taught him to accept the scrutiny of editing and how to present information that would be understandable for a layperson.
“When I am working on a similar publication or a similar piece of analysis,” Hazelton said, “I will feel more comfortable reaching out to double check what I have done to improve the quality of my work.”
For Raether, he developed his interviewing skills in order to have in depth conversations about relationships with the natural world. It solidified his interest about the connection with human health and environmental health.
“Both projects will benefit KLT and the state as a whole,” said Kerchner.
Raether and Hazelton started their nine-week internships on June 25. They worked 40-hour weeks, and were paid $1,000 each for the summer.
Housing for the interns was provided at no cost at the Vaughan Woods and Historic Homestead in Hallowell in exchange for their assistance with its summer programming.
The Winthrop-based trust’s annual meeting will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Camp Androscoggin.
Prior to the meeting will be the Tri-Sport Challenge at 9 a.m.; a hike in Perkins Woods, a trip to Norris Island, open swimming at 10:45 a.m.; and a potluck lunch.
The meeting will include the presentation of the Howard Lake Lifetime Achievement Award and others.
By JOE RANKIN
Forests for Maine's Future Writer
Have you ever noticed how many cemeteries have the word forest in their name? Forest Lawn is perhaps the best known. But usually, there's no forest.
A few trees, maybe, but mostly headstones lined up in ranks like soldiers. It's kind of like a subdivision where they name the streets after tree species that have all been chopped down to make room for McMansions. Hickory(less) Drive, for instance.
When it comes to death, westerners - Americans in particular- really aren't down with the whole concept. What's that Woody Allen quote? "I'm not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens."
As a result we as a society like our death sterile. And we've supported an entire funeral industry, worth an estimated $20.1 billion a year in the U.S. The average funeral costs $8,000 to $10,000, according to a 2017 PBS report.
But that is slowly changing. Over the past few decades there's a growing movement away from funerals that involve embalming, expensive caskets, and concrete burial vaults and toward a simpler and more natural send-off. And this so-called "green burial" movement is where forests come in. Turns out a lot of people would like their final resting place to be a forest, or at the edge of one. With a nice view. Of mountains, maybe. Or rolling hills, or a lake.
There are already two green burial grounds in Maine - Cedar Brook Burial Ground in Limington and Rainbow's End in South Orrington. The Kennebec Land Trust is planning to open a conservation burial ground as part of an expansion of its protected lands in Fayette, with the first burials there perhaps as early as next year.
Green burials, also called natural burials, forest burials, conservation burials or eco-friendly burials, are about as planet-friendly as they come, says Chuck Lakin, a retired Colby College reference librarian and a volunteer with the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Maine, a non-profit dedicated to educating consumers about funeral choices. Lakin speaks frequently on the topics of home funerals and earth-friendly burials.
"A burial in a green cemetery is a net plus for the environment; burial in a conventional cemetery is a net minus for the environment," Lakin says bluntly.
According to the Green Burial Council, each year we bury 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluid (of which 827,000 gallons is poisonous formaldehyde); 64,500 tons of steel; 20 million board feet of hardwood lumber in the form of caskets; and 1.6 million tons of concrete in the form of burial vaults.
By contrast, a green burial ground limits interment to what's biodegradable, said Lakin: the body, a shroud of natural materials or a cardboard or pine coffin. No embalming, no vaults, no metal-lined caskets. Conservation burial also has these requirements, but takes place in a much larger, natural area (at least ten acres of protected land) thus serving as both a cemetery and a conservation strategy.
In green cemeteries bodies are typically buried only about three feet deep, where they typically decompose in about six months, he said. "It's kind of like composting yourself," said Lakin. "You're putting the materials in your body back into the system. It's the exact opposite of a conventional burial."
Green cemeteries are usually just "natural pieces of land," he said. They often have trails for access to gravesites that also double as recreational trails and benches where you can pause during a walk or come specifically to contemplate the impermanence of all things and your place in a vast universe.
Also, in contrast to conventional cemeteries, where a mower is going to clatter overhead every week during the summer, maintenance is generally kept to a minimum. Green cemeteries that have some meadow may brush hog them a couple of times a year to ensure
they remain open, but that's about it. Green cemeteries are often located in forests, so the term "forest burial" is often used synonymously with "green burial" since some people like the idea of being buried in the woods, the nutrients in their bodies turned into the wood of a tree, tree roots cradling their corporeal remains.
The Kennebec Land Trust began exploring the idea of a green burial ground in 2016 after summer intern Josh Caldwell researched the growing trend and wrote a report and brochure, said Theresa Kerchner, KLT's executive director. In 2018, KLT summer intern Jack Daley continued that work and developed a conservation burial business plan for the Trust.
The organization began working with Maine State Soils Scientist David Rocque, an expert on large animal burials and issues surrounding them. He has since done extensive research on green burials and the siting of green burial grounds. Issues include groundwater, aesthetics, accessibility, and the suitability of soils to foster decomposition. "We wanted to make sure that there weren't impacts on soil and groundwater and wildlife," Kerchner said.
The search for a suitable property eventually led back to an area where the Trust already had a presence: a 90-acre parcel in Fayette known as Baldwin Hill. Its purchase from longtime KLT supporters Arn and Leda Sturtevant was finalized in June. "It immediately resonated with their family," said Kerchner. The purchase brings the area the Kennebec Land Trust owns or holds conservation easements on in that area to 425 contiguous acres.
KLT's cemetery will be sited on Baldwin Hill. However only eight acres of the 90-acre Conservation Area will serve as the actual burial ground. "We had the sense that there was something inherently significant and beautiful about being on a hilltop." Kerchner said.
A timber harvest this summer is opening up some views and clearing out some of the white pines and lower value oak and other hardwoods. A short all-weather road will be put in. "Since storing bodies will not be an option for us, our plan from the beginning was to have burials all year round." Kerchner said.
The burial ground will have an ADA-accessible trail, she said, and other recreational trails will thread the rest of the 90 acres.
The entire project will cost just over $225,000, including the land acquisition, said Kerchner. Proceeds from the sale of timber will go to build the gravel road; sale of burial plots (the price hasn't been set yet) will fund stewardship at the site. The project was made possible by a donation of $200,000 from Paul Kuehnert and his wife Judith Graber and matching gifts from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Kuehnert is a vice president at the Foundation. The couple formerly lived in Maine and are long-time supporters of KLT.
KLT's primary management responsibilities will be to coordinate plot sales and manage the burial ground and surrounding conservation land, Kerchner said, adding that the Trust is partnering with local funeral homes that have established expertise with grief support, memorial services, transportation of bodies and sexton burial fees.
Kuehnert said the project, "just makes sense to us and is consistent with our values."
"Conservation burial makes it possible for our last act on earth - our funeral or memorial - to be consistent with how we are living our lives," Kuehnert said. "It eliminates much of the cost and all of the chemicals and metals and other materials common to mainstream burials today. And the burial ground itself is part of the living, social and natural world that we leave behind as part of the KLT's conservation lands and walking trails."
"Interment in a conservation burial ground has a smaller carbon footprint than a 'modern' burial, and the project will provide a valuable model in our community for other cemetery associations to consider," Kerchner said.
"When I think about this property I think of it as a place where people will be celebrating life and the beauty of the natural world, which I think is what we all hope for at the end of our lives," she added.
While eco-friendly burials are seen as new, both Lakin and Kerchner note that they were the norm until recently and still are in much of the world.
Lakin said embalming took hold in the U.S. during the Civil War as a way to get soldiers' bodies back from the battlefield. Later, as the country continued industrializing and more and more people moved from the country to the city, funeral homes were developed to provide services that families could no longer conveniently provide themselves.
The natural burial movement started in Great Britain in the early 1980s, said Lakin. The first so-called woodland burial in the United Kingdom took place in 1993 at Carlisle Cemetery, according to Wikipedia. The first natural burial ground in the U.S. was opened by Billy Campbell, a rural doctor and green burial pioneer, at the Ramsey Creek Preserve in South Carolina in 1998.
There are dozens of green burial grounds in the US today, with more opening all the time. And some traditional cemeteries are setting aside sections for natural burials as well.
Lakin notes that in much of the world outside the industrialized west, so-called green or eco-friendly burials are just the way it's done. " 'Conservation burial' is really traditional burial," said Kerchner.
Joe Rankin writes on forests and forestry for websites and magazines. He, and his elms, live in Maine.
If you are interested in updates about our Conservation Burial Grounds, please consider joining as a member. You will be supporting this project and all of our conservation work in Kennebec County.
Bob Kimber, KLT Advisor
Phil deMaynadier, a biologist with Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, led off this year’s lyceum with a talk about the department’s efforts to locate, map, and protect habitats essential to the wellbeing not only of aquatic insects—the main focus of his remarks—but of other species as well. In the course of his talk, Phil used the phrase “conserving little things that matter,” which struck me as an appropriate motto for all three of this year’s lectures, because each one showed us vividly how much these little creatures do indeed matter.
Charlene Donahue, retired Maine Forest Service Entomologist and President of the Maine Entomological Society, began her talk on terrestrial insects by noting a few of the crucial roles insects play in maintaining the ecological health of our world. Despite all the benefits insects provide to natural systems worldwide and to us humans as well, we have not been as considerate of them. Scientists in Germany have reported a 76-percent loss of flying insects over the last 27 years, and similar reports from around the globe have led scientists to declare half the world’s insect species in decline.
As to causes, the agricultural practice of using every square inch of tillable land and leaving no hedgerows for insects to winter over in is one major culprit, along with the use of insecticides and synthetic fertilizers. Also, invasive plant species can crowd out native plants. Then there are the impacts of global warming. In the final talk of the series, Roger Rittmaster, a retired endocrinologist and Maine Master Naturalist, reported on the many strategies he has used on his own property to combat these hazards to insects, strategies that make use of Roger’s extensive knowledge about the interactions between particular plants and insects. He also recommended some simpler steps all of us can take, which I’ll wager just about any entomologist would endorse: Don’t use pesticides and herbicides. Reduce lawn space. Grow native plants. Bushhog fields late in the fall. Let flowers bloom.
Avery Siler, Legacy Society member and past KLT intern
Before my internships with KLT, I had never been to Maine. Once I arrived, it didn’t take me long to understand why people love it so much – there’s something about it that just gets into your soul. I was lucky enough to see a fair bit of the state in my two summers at KLT, from Cutler Coast to Katahdin to the Bigelows, but I’m very glad that I was rooted in Kennebec County. Its hills and lakes, its forests and fields, all became a home to me. I can’t think of a better guardian of that home than KLT.
At a time when I was just beginning to consider what a career in conservation could look like, KLT shaped my idea of what conservation could and should be: a land ethic marked by a consideration of the whole system within which humans interact with the environment, and a dedication not only to land, but to people and cultural heritage. KLT’s work goes beyond just setting aside natural places to considering how conservation can be a tool to help communities of both the ecological and the human varieties. I’m consistently impressed by the creativity KLT’s staff and volunteers bring to their work, whether it’s creating the Local Wood WORKS initiative or restoring the blueberry fields on Mt. Pisgah.
As a young person working in a non-profit, I don’t have huge financial resources at my disposal, but I wanted to be able to make a meaningful gift to KLT and help ensure support for years to come. I made KLT a beneficiary of my 401(k), a step that enabled me to plan a larger gift than I could currently give otherwise. It was simple to name a beneficiary through my online account. There’s also the added benefit that because KLT is a 501(c)(3), the gift won’t be subject to the estate tax. I’m so grateful for KLT, and I’m thrilled to be able to support it.
For more information about our Legacy Society please click here.
Our Spring 2019 newsletter cover story featuring our Wakefield Wildlife Sanctuary & Cabins.
Read MoreThe Kennebec Land Trust (KLT) works cooperatively with landowners and communities to conserve the forests, shorelands, fields, and wildlife that define central Maine. KLT protects land permanently, offers opportunities for people to learn about and enjoy the natural world, and works with partners to support sustainable forestry and farming.
The Kennebec Land Trust | 331 Main St, Winthrop, ME, 04364, United States
