Download a PDF file of this newsletter for printing. - Maine Coast ...

Maine Heritage
T h e Ne w s l e t t e r o f Ma i n e Co a s t He r i ta g e Tr u s t
S p r i n g 2010
The Early Years of Maine Coast Heritage Trust
The first of three articles celebrating MCHT's 40th Anniversary
MCHT Council Member Mary
Rea recalls an evening, late in the
1960s, when Peggy Rockefeller arrived
for a visit: “She marched into my
island camp and exclaimed ‘Mary,
we’ve got to DO something!’ ” Peggy
and her husband David, both avid
sailors, were dismayed by how coastal
development had begun transforming
Maine’s shoreline. Through conversations
with the family’s attorney,
Donal O’Brien, and friends such
as Tom Cabot and Bob Patterson,
Peggy Rockefeller learned of an ingenious
approach to protecting Maine
islands. A legal agreement known as
a conservation easement would allow
landowners to keep their cherished
properties while preserving their
land’s scenic and ecological values.
Peggy Rockefeller
There was a vision in the
beginning when Maine Coast
Heritage Trust formed…
a vision, which continues today,
that this amazing stretch
of coastline should not
be over-developed...
Caroline M. Pryor,
former Vice President of MCHT
Needing more information on
potential legal tools for conservation,
O’Brien asked fellow attorney David
Strawbridge to do further research.
“The upshot was,” Strawbridge recalls,
“that conservation easements looked
like the best tool.” Rockefeller found
a close ally in Bob Binnewies, of
Acadia National Park, who was eager
for the Park to hold easements and
shared her enthusiasm for launching
a nonprofit organization to advance
coastal land conservation.
Incorporated in September 1970,
Maine Coast Heritage Trust was a
truly collaborative venture with a
tight-knit board and staff and strong
working partnerships with The Nature
Conservancy, Acadia National Park
and others.
continued on page four
40 Years

From MCHT’s Board Chair
Looking Forward
Celebrating our 40th anniversary
this year gives Maine
Tom Ireland
Coast Heritage Trust a chance to reflect on our history
and to look forward to exciting challenges ahead. I think
Trust founders Peggy Rockefeller and Tom Cabot would
be delighted, but not surprised, by the scope and quality
of the work MCHT is doing all along the coast. The
Trust had a stellar year in 2009, completing 40 land
conservation projects encompassing 2,500 acres. We
expanded our trail network to more than 50 miles, and
further strengthened our relationships with partners
and local communities.
MCHT will spend the next few months searching
for a successor to Paul Gallay, who recently resigned as
President to pursue his long-standing interests in environmental
law, land-use planning and public advocacy.
All of us at MCHT appreciate Paul's two years of service to
the Trust and wish him the very best in his future pursuits.
I will serve as President while we conduct a search
for Paul’s successor. Our 40th year, like the ones that
preceded it, promises to be both engaging and productive—we
have many exciting land projects underway,
and a full slate of outings and events planned this
summer. I look forward to seeing you on the coast.
MCHT Given a Treasured Island in Brooklin
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
recently received the gift of a
striking, 78-acre island by Eggemoggin
Reach that local residents and
boaters have long enjoyed. A beautiful,
undeveloped gem close to the
public boat launch at Naskeag Point
in Brooklin, Hog Island is readily
accessible to visitors who enjoy picnics
and clamming along its many
sandy beaches and coves. During
the late 19th century, the island had
year-round residents and supported a
menhaden factory—foundations of
which remain today.
A former owner of Hog, Elliot
Russell Hedge, donated a highly
restrictive conservation easement on
the island to Acadia National Park
in 1976. Most recently the island
was owned by the White family of
Brooklin. “The Whites made an
exceptionally generous gift turning
this island over to our care,” observes
MCHT Project Manager Ciona
Ulbrich. “Generations of people
from all walks of life have treasured
visits to Hog Island, and the Whites
took action to ensure that tradition
would continue through time.”
Ben Emory, an early Director of
MCHT who owns another conserved
island in Eggemoggin Reach, recalls
how “special small-sailboat adventures
in my childhood were often to Hog
Island. We lunched by the big rock
and picked cranberries along the north
shore. I am thrilled by the White family's
foresight and generosity.”
“Generations of people from
all walks of life have treasured
visits to Hog Island,
and the Whites took action to
ensure that tradition would
continue through time.”
Ciona Ulbrich, MCHT Project Manager
2 Maine Heritage Spring 2010

Progress at Bog Brook Preserve
Two Additional Land Acquisitions
While some whole place conservation efforts can span
decades, a few coalesce in a remarkably short period of
time. “Three years ago,” observes MCHT Project Manager
Marty Anderson, “we hadn’t conserved any of the four
properties that make up the Bog Brook
watershed in Cutler and Trescott. This
winter, we secured the final 128-acre
parcel, thanks to three siblings who shared
ownership.” This last puzzle piece, with
4,000 feet of frontage along Bog Brook,
adjoins three other conserved parcels
in the watershed. In combination with
the State’s nearby Cutler Coast Public
Lands, the new property is part of 14,000
acres of contiguous conserved lands.
MCHT also acquired a small lot on a
prominent cliff face adjoining Bog Brook
Cove. This parcel offers commanding
views of Grand Manan Channel, and a
prominent house in this location would
have detracted from the experience of
preserve visitors.
Trail Update
While the Bog Brook trails will not open officially
until this fall, trail crews have made significant advances.
A 1,000-foot wheelchair-accessible trail now leads to a
cobble beach at Moose Cove. Regional Steward Melissa
Lee plans to work with an MCHT trail crew this summer
to construct bog bridging along the Norse Pond Trail, a
2.5-mile loop trail that offers access to Bog Brook Cove
The trail network at Bog Brook will open in Fall 2010.
© Bridget Besaw
(where impressive, sculpted rocks can be seen at midto
low tide). “The trail now is very wet,” cautions Lee.
“Anyone visiting before the bridging is in place should
plan on walking right through wet spots to avoid damaging
sensitive bog plants off the trail.”
Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s recent acquisition of this prominent cliff face
will help protect the scenic integrity of Bog Brook Preserve.
Grant Advances Organic Blueberry
Production Plans
Within the Bog Brook watershed, MCHT owns 88
acres of productive blueberry barrens, 80 of which are
leased to blueberry growers and 8 of which are now in
an experimental transition to organic production. Last
winter, Trust stewardship staff met with Washington
County organic blueberry growers to discuss shared
needs. The group recently received a grant to conduct
a feasibility study for establishing a value-added facility
(to process blueberries into juice, sauce and other products).
Members of the group, including MCHT’s Melissa
Lee, are excited about the potential this project holds
to stimulate regional organic blueberry production.
Blueberry grower consultant Charlie Hitchings notes
that small organic growers have long been up against
the massive scale of commercial blueberry production:
“I think that Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s blueberry
initiative is the first thing to come along that shows
promise of getting us somewhere.”
Pat Watson
3 Maine Heritage Spring 2010

The Early Years of Maine Coast
Heritage Trust continued from page one
Board members delighted in Rockefeller’s spirited leadership,
mischievous sense of humor and absolute dedication:
working with her was, Council Member Gordon Abbott, Jr.
recalls, “one of the great pleasures of life.” In its first year,
the Trust facilitated protection of 30 islands (having contacted
310 island owners and met with 46 of them!).
“we realized we had to pay attention to what was going
on in Washington. That led to closer contact with other
land trusts and soon
prompted MCHT
and three other
trusts to found the
national Land Trust
Alliance.”
By 1983, MCHT
had become what
Thomas D. Cabot
one board member
calls the “mother church” for Maine’s local land trusts.
It established a revolving loan fund, hosted an annual
conference, and published a land trust handbook
and directory. Tom Bradbury, Executive Director of
Kennebunkport Conservation Trust and an MCHT
© Peter Ralston
Peggy Rockefeller and Tom Cabot were both down-to-earth
people who were interested in practical solutions. I think that
had a tremendous impact on the Trust getting started as it did.
MCHT's close-knit and active board often went on field trips
to explore lands proposed for conservation.
“From the outset, MCHT played a highly prominent
role in the national land trust movement,” observes Ben
Emory, one of the Trust’s first executive directors. When
Congress threatened in the early 1980s to rescind the federal
tax deductions that easements provide, Emory recalls,
MCHT
- David Strawbridge, an attorney who helped establish MCHT
Council Member, recalls how pivotal MCHT’s support
was to local land trusts during that time: “For technical
and legal information, we turned with thanks and confidence
to MCHT, grateful they were always there to guide
us through any difficult area of negotiation. The staff of
MCHT kept providing encouragement, knowing that…
collectively [we] could protect the best that is Maine.”
MCHT Pr e s e rv e To u r s
MCHT will host dozens of field trips this year to Trust preserves and
protected areas led by knowledgeable staff, partners, and volunteers.
Most trips are free and no advance registration is required (save for
boat trips with transportation provided, which do require registration
and have fees). A small sampling of trips appears here. For details,
please visit www.mcht.org or become a fan of MCHT’s Facebook page.
© Bridget Besaw
May 22
July 6
July 10
July 12
July 13
Frenchboro Preserve Bird Walk,
Frenchboro Long Island
Ovens Mouth Hike, Boothbay
Malaga Island History Tour, Phippsburg
Merchant Row Cruise, boat leaves
from Stonington
Treat Island Hike and Paddle, Eastport
S e e
“Getting Out on the Coast”
a short video about MCHT Preserve Tours—
one of 5 new videos highlighting
the Trust’s work.
Visit w w w.mc h t.or g / v i d e o
4 Maine Heritage Spring 2010

25 Years Serving MCHT:
Karin Marchetti Ponte, Esq.
Karin Marchetti Ponte began
working for Maine Coast Heritage
Trust in 1985 when there were
four people on staff and—she
recalls—“an IBM Selectric typewriter
with one-page memory
that held our easement template.”
MCHT needed legal expertise,
and Karin—just back from a Peace
Corps assignment in Tunisia—
wanted to resume work in public
interest law. She was soon busy
drafting conservation easements
and researching Maine’s currentuse
tax programs. Within a year of
Karin’s arrival, MCHT cofounder
Peggy Rockefeller observed “It’s
very useful having Karin here; now
we can’t imagine not having her!”
Board and staff members have felt
similarly ever since.
Karin was soon at the forefront
of the emerging conservation law
field, offering workshops to the
Maine State Bar Association and
presenting at national Land Trust
Alliance events. She mentored
many of the local land trusts
forming around Maine, helping
fledgling groups draft their first
conservation easements. In time,
Karin literally “wrote the book” on
easements, coauthoring the second
edition of the Land Trust Alliance’s
Conservation Easement Handbook.
When the need arose for a network
of attorneys who could represent
land trusts and serve conservation-
Karin Marchetti Ponte, Esq
minded landowners, Karin helped
launch the Maine Land Conservation
Attorneys Network, a group of about
20 attorneys who meet regularly and
share resources. “In recent years,”
Karin observes, “the general level
of expertise among lawyers has
increased greatly. Conservation
techniques have become part of the
literature, and even part of some
law school curricula.”
Maine was among the first states
to pioneer use of conservation easements
in 1970, and it continues to
lead the nation in refining easement
legislation. Karin recalls “a satisfying
effort” in 1989 in which she
worked closely with legislators to
amend the Open Space Tax Laws to
Rich Knox
recognize conservation easements’
impact on land values. In 2007,
she collaborated with the Attorney
General’s office, state agencies and
other conservation partners to
shape an amendment to Maine’s
Uniform Conservation Easement
Act—giving the State greater oversight
if easements are amended.
The careful work done to make
conservation easements legally
sound has paid off, Karin says.
“There have been very few easement
violations—even nationally,
and almost to a one those have
been resolved in favor of the land
trust. In Maine,” she adds, “we’ve
had a remarkable record of compliance
with our easements because
we work closely with landowners to
understand and incorporate appropriate
uses of the land.” In 25 years,
MCHT has never gone to court
over an easement violation and only
twice over infractions on fee lands.
The legal work Karin most enjoys,
not surprisingly, is crafting easements.
“The conservation easement
is a tool for visionaries who love
their land,” she observes. “I take
that bond seriously and try to have
it inform the easement-drafting
process, even though the final legal
language may sound prosaic. I love
seeing a piece of land going from no
plan at all to one that will stand the
test of time and serve landowners for
generations to come.”
© Sa r a Gr ay
5 Maine Heritage Spring 2010

M a i n e Co a s t He r i t a g e Tr u s t
is dedicated to protecting land that is essential to the
character of Maine, its coastline and islands in particular.
Since 1970, more than 133,000 acres have been
permanently protected, including 288 entire coastal
islands. MCHT provides conservation advisory services
to landowners, local land trusts and state and community
officials free of charge. A membership organization,
MCHT welcomes your support and inquiries.
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 201
Topsham, Maine 04086
Return Service Requested
Non-Profit org.
U.S. Postage
Paid
Main Office
1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 201, Topsham, Maine 04086
207-729-7366
P.O. Box 669, Mt. Desert, ME 04660
207-244-5100
P.O. Box 193, Milbridge, ME 04658
207-546-2224
Aldermere Farm, 70 Russell Ave., Rockport, ME 04856
207-236-2739
Visit us at www.mcht.org
Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled stock
Design & Prepress: ethos Writing: Marina Schauffler
S t a f f Ne w s
Amanda Devine, MCHT’s new Regional
Steward for southern Maine, is a graduate of
the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist
Program. She has worked as a naturalist
and guide in Alaska and, more recently,
doing planning and stewardship work in
southern Maine.
Warren (Whit) Whitney, who has served
Amanda Devine
as MCHT’s Community Outreach Manager and Associate Director of
Development, recently stepped into a new role as Maine Land Trust Program
Coordinator. Whit understands local land trust perspectives well, having
formerly directed Friends of Merrymeeting Bay.
Keith Fletcher
Jeff Romano
Keith Fletcher, MCHT’s new Land Project
Manager for southern Maine, worked for
eight years as The Nature Conservancy’s
southern Maine Program Manager, and
has served on the Wells Conservation
Commission and board of Great Works
Regional Land Trust.
Rich Knox
M a i n e La n d
C o n s e r va t i o n
C o n f e r e n c e
Friday April 30 and
Saturday May 1
Mt. Ararat Middle
School, Topsham
To register, visit
MCHT’s website at
www.mcht.org
or call 207-729-7366
for a flyer.
Become a fan of
MCHT on
Facebook