In 1978-1983, when Maine created its only Breeding Bird Atlas, about 140 species of birds were found to breed in the region including the Medomak wa-tershed. Today, 70% of those species have negative population trends, and 36 are listed by the state as endan-gered, threatened, or of conservation concern.

To document if they continue with us as breeding birds, MVLT is survey-ing the watershed in a series of bird walks conducted in June and July that are open to the public. This year we unexpectedly discovered Palm War-bler, a northern species not previously recorded, breeding at the Burkett Mill Preserve, where Common Nighthawk was also confirmed. It was encourag-ing to find the special-concern Canada Warbler at many locations, but a num-ber of species, including the threat-ened Upland Sandpiper and special-concern Whip-poor-will and Eastern Meadowlark have not been located and may have been lost as breeding birds. If you are interested in participat-ing the next breeding season survey, please e-mail John Guarnaccia at JAGuarnaccia@gmail.com.

BREEDING BIRD SURVEY

This summer, the Round Pond Vil-lage Improvement Society (RPVIS), in partnership with MVLT, launched an ambitious initiative to purchase and preserve the last piece of open shore-line property on Round Pond Harbor. We are pleased to announce that it was a great success.

At times the campaign looked like a long shot, but thanks to the whole

community pulling together and the dogged determination of committed volunteers, the sea of lupines and tra-ditional water access that are so im-portant to the town of Round Pond will be preserved for generations to come.

MVLT is proud to have been part of this successful effort, offering our expertise in land conservation and 501(c)(3) non-profit status. While the land

has been purchased, we are still wrap-ping up the campaign - raising the final dollars needed for stewardship funds. If you would like to contribute, please send your donation to MVLT.

We could not be more pleased with how everything turned out and tip our hats to the Round Pond community for a job well done.

LUPINE FIELD CONSERVED

FALL UPDATE

2015

NEWS FROM THE TRAIL CREW

Have you ever hiked any of our trails? If you haven’t you are really missing out. The silent partner in all of this is our dedicated trail crew known technically as the Preserve Management Committee. This all-volunteer crew has spent over 1800 hours this year maintaining 13 miles of trails by taking down dangerous trees, clearing obstructed paths, marking preserve boundaries, repairing a granite bench, weed whacking and blazing new trails.

These trails, open year round, are to be found at the following locations: Peter’s Pond, Geele Farms, Martin Point Reserve, Riverbrook, Mill Pond & Peace Corps, Reef Point, Sweet Grass, Berger, Clarry Hill, and Burkett Mill. Maps of the trails can be found at www.medomakvalley.org or at the office in Waldoboro.

Come join our crew for warm camaraderie, exercise, and a shared love for Maine. We’re always looking for more volunteers. If you are interested in joining us, please call the office at 832-5570.

CHARLIE’S CORNER

Most of you know that this August Liz Petruska, our Executive Director for the last 11+ years, moved on to a new job working for the State of Maine. She’s monitoring easements and state owned lands.

Meanwhile MVLT has had a number of excellent applicants and we are work-ing hard to bring our search for a new director to conclusion.

Marching on, MVLT has several lands projects in the works which we hope to be able to share with you by the end of the year or early next year in-cluding 150 acres of preserve and 70 acres of easement. We are also working to conserve a 14 acre island in the Medomak River. Then there’s the River Park Trail project that was kicked off at this year’s Sizzle. We plan to make this trail handicap accessible. The icon for this project, a beautiful river scene painting by local artist Kat Logan, is now hanging in the office with the names of contributors beneath it. We are also continuing our work to better under-stand our community, its needs, and where the land trust can contribute to its health and vibrancy.

We have a wonderful trail crew led by our VP Ed Kahora. Most exciting to me is that 13 years ago MVLT didn’t have any trails and now we have over 13 miles of trails. We urge you to hike our trails and consider becoming a part of the trail crew. It will fill your lungs and your heart.

Of course we wouldn’t have these acres of protected land for wonderful trails, wildlife habitat, traditional uses and spectacular vistas without the gen-erosity and passion of the visionary land owners in our community. Their fore-sight has ensured that future genera-tions will also share in the love of these places.

The second annual Summer Sizzle at Dan and Suzanne Goldenson’s farm in Bre-men was a fabulous success. The evening featured dinner, a lively auction, and some dancing for the young at heart. This was truly a community happening and we would like to thank everyone -- planners, decorators, bidders, auction item donors, attendees -- who pulled together to make this a most successful event. The Sizzle has become a true summer highlight, so to anyone who missed it, you will have another opportunity next year and we hope to see you then.

SUMMER SIZZLE

FARM FOR SALE Nearly a year ago an anonymous donor helped us acquire a 396 acre

preserve in north Waldoboro. As part of that transaction it was the intention

of the donor that we sell off the house and several acres (called River

Bend Farm). Please help us sell this property by talking it up among your

friends and neighbors.

River Bend Farm consists of a lovingly refurbished 1750s cape, large barn, stable, a workshop, and an in-ground pool. The farm is beautifully site on 11 acres of mostly open, rolling fields and is surrounded by over 400 acres of conserved land. The property also has a deeded right of way access to the Medomak River. Price: $449,000. If you, or someone you know, are interested in this property, please contact Lorrie Zeiner at New-castle Square Realty 207-563-1003.

For the past two summers MVLT has participated in a regional water quality monitoring effort through the Maine Coastal Observing Alliance. MCOA is a consortium of the Dama-riscotta River Association, Georges River Tidewater Association, Kenne-bec Estuary Land Trust, Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, Medomak Valley Land Trust, Friends of Casco Bay, Rockport Conservation Commission and Boothbay Regional Land Trust. The group was estab-lished to coordinate a regional effort to monitor coastal waters, particularly estuaries, and detect trends such as those related to ocean acidification and nutrient loading.

MCOA successfully conducted its first monitoring season in August and September of 2014 and we are eager-ly awaiting the publication of the initial findings. A summary of the report was recently released and states “These

estuaries were generally in a healthy state in that they did not exhibit exces-sive nutrient loading or oxygen deficits. The Harraseeket estuary seemed clos-est to a state of some risk of eutrophi-cation based on nutrient levels. The low pH of waters entering the estuar-ies at the seaward and landward ends are cause for concern, but it is unclear if these conditions are a result of hu-man influence or natural processes of the watersheds and open Gulf of Maine.”

We would like to thank all of our

water monitoring volunteers who are

currently wrapping up the 2015 sam-

pling season—they have logged many

hours sampling the waters of the

Medomak. Their data will help us all

gain a better understanding of the

health of our river and our region’s

coastal waters.

WATER QUALITY MONITORING

Left: A recent walk at Clarry Hill with GRLT Right: Riverbrook Preserve bioblitz