OCTOBER 1989 y Maine Legacy The Nature Conservancy Rachel Carson Refuge expanded Conservancy buys $2.7 million property Mark McCallum he Maine Chapter of The Nature funds would soon be appropriated to station, store, office park, inn and Conservancy has purchased 315 meet the $2.7 million price. conference center. After the Conser­ Tacres of waterfront property in Saco as By August 9, the date the Conser­ vancy placed the land under option, a proposed addition to the Rachel vancy’s option was due to expire, fed­ zoning changes and a new sewer line at Carson National Wildlife Refuge. eral funding was still in doubt. Never­ the land’s border made the property The parcel, known as Ocean Wood theless, the Maine Chapter’s Board of even more valuable for development. Estates, is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Trustees voted to exercise the option Nevertheless, the 14 co-owners coop­ Service’s top acquisition priority for rather than risk losing the property to erated to help protect the parcel. the Rachel Carson Refuge. Earlier this development. 'T’ve lived here all my life, and I was year, at the request of the Service, the The acreage is part of a 475-acre greatly concerned to try to preserve Conservancy negotiated an option to parcel which, as recently as 1986, had open space,” said Mark McCallum, purchase the property. In doing so, we been planned as a community of almost took the calculated risk that federal 900 dwelling units plus a school, fir 'MAINE STATE LIBRARY1 ge two NOV 17 1989 Rachel Carson Refuge expanded from page one President of Ocean Wood Associates and one of the owners. Among the current residents who will continue to enjoy the pines, hard­ woods and 44 acres of marsh that cover the property are scores of animal species and thousands of migratory shore birds. Blanding’s turtle (Emydoi- dea blandingii), listed as endangered in Maine, inhabits the freshwater marsh area. The tract, located along Goosefare Brook, is the largest undeveloped parcel currently available for addition to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Ref­ uge. The refuge consists of nine divi­ sions spaced at intervals along 45 miles of the southern Maine coastline from Kittery to Cape Elizabeth. Ocean Wood Estates Late news As this issue went to press, "Oceanography in the Gulf of Maine,” the House and Senate Interior Rachel Carson Memorial Pesticide Use over the Past Century,” Appropriations Conference Conference and "Women in Science.” Committee had just approved The Maine Chapter of The Nature Rachel Carson’s books, including $2.4 million for land acquisition Conservancy joined the Boothbay Silent Spring, helped awaken the public at the Rachel Carson National Region Land Trust in the Rachel Carson to the importance of ecology. She was a Wildlife Refuge. The appropri­ Memorial Conference on September founder and honorary chairman of the ation will cover most, but not 20 and 21, 1989 at the Newagen Maine chapter of The Nature Conser­ all, of the Conservancy’s costs Seaside Inn in Southport. The confer­ vancy. Through her estate she provided in buying Ocean Woods Estates. ence, coordinated by Jennifer Logan of a generous bequest to the chapter for In addition to purchase and Boothbay Harbor, marked a quarter­ the purpose of providing stewardship transaction expenses, the Con­ century since the naturalist’s death. to its coastal and island preserves. In servancy will incur interest on Barbara St. John Vickery, the chap­ her honor, all Conservancy preserves funds borrowed to complete the ter’s Director of Science and Steward­ in Maine bordering salt water (including purchase and to hold the prop­ ship, was one of four speakers on a 45 islands) are referred to collectively erty until the U.S. Fish and panel, "The Conservation Movement as the Rachel Carson Seacoast Preserve Wildlife Service can acquire the in Maine.” Other panels discussed System. balance. Depending on interest rates and the timing of federal purchases, it is anticipated that the Conservancy will still have to recover well in excess of $200,000. It is expected that the Conser­ vancy will sell most of the Ocean Wood Estates acreage to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser­ vice this winter, retaining the balance in hopes that additional federal funding will be appro­ priated next year. Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve 2—Maine Legacy, October 1989 the director's corner by J. Mason Morfit ext month, you will receive the much more effectively and efficiently which you, the members, didn’t have NMaine Chapter’s Annual Appeal. than if each chapter had to provide to pay a dime. Last month, you received an annualthose services for itself. In addition, No, it wasn’t done with smoke and appeal from the Conservancy’s national the national annual appeal supports mirrors! Six of the properties involved, office. What’s going on here? four regional offices which provide worth over $1 million, were gifts from It has been a longstanding Conser­ the expertise of senior staff specialists generous landowners. Five others, vancy policy to decentralize our fund in science, land acquisition, steward­ worth approximately $5 million, were raising to the greatest degree possible. ship and other fields to individual state purchases on behalf of state and federal Each unit of the organization is respon­ chapters, including ours. conservation agencies for which we sible for raising most of its own operat­ While we couldn’t do our job with­ will ultimately be reimbursed... we ing budget, and funds are raised sep­ out the help of the national and regional hope! arately for land acquisition projects or offices, they couldn’t do the Conser­ other programs. Membership dues are vancy’s work in Maine without a strong While you, the members, weren’t split equally between local chapters state chapter. And, as the Maine Chap­ asked to contribute directly to the pur­ and the national organization. ter’s Annual Appeal accounts for al­ chase of those properties, they didn’t Internally, this policy means that we most 25 per cent of our operating protect themselves. In virtually every run a tight ship; as most of the people budget, it’s clearly essential to our case, the Maine Chapter incurred sig­ who spend money also have to raise it, ability to get the job done. nificant costs for biological assessment, costs are watched closely. All contributions to the Maine Chap­ negotiations (frequently prolonged and Externally, this policy provides do­ ter Annual Appeal are used directly difficult), surveys, title work, legal nors with the opportunity to determine and entirely in Maine. And, while fees, etc. The return on investment is which specific aspects of the Conser­ some people prefer to give directly to terrific, but making these projects hap­ vancy’s complex overall mission they land acquisition projects, gifts to our pen still requires a lot of cash. wish to support financially. It also operations budget represent a 'best The ancient Greek mathematician, means you get a lot of mail. buy’ opportunity. inventor (and closet conservationist) We encourage Maine Chapter mem­ Consider this: if we manage to nego­ Archimedes, once said, "Give me a bers to support the national organiza­ tiate the purchase of a piece of property lever long enough...and single-handed tion’s annual appeal. Many functions for half its appraised value, donors to I can move the world.” We can provide essential to the good management of that project get leverage of 1 to 1, or the leverage, but we need your hands- any organization (e.g., finance, account­ double their money. Not bad! But on help to move a little more of the ing, auditing, data processing, person­ during the 1988-89 fiscal year, the earth into protected status. Please re­ nel, legal, training, etc.) are performed Maine Chapter protected approximate­ spond as generously as you can to the for the chapters by the national office, ly $6 million worth of property for Maine Chapter Annual Appeal. Wilbur Neck on Cobscook Bay in Pem­ broke. In cooperation with the Maine De­ partment of Inland Fisheries and Wild­ life, the Conservancy has completed the purchase of a 230-acre tract here that includes a bald eagle nesting site as well as prime water fowl and upland habitat. (See "Two Cobscook Bay parcels tar­ Jim geted” in the June, 1989, issue of Maine Dow Legacy.) October 1989, Maine Legacy—3 Stewardship Never a dull moment a car was abandoned on an old woods Please be patient road at another preserve. The Maine Chapter Stewardship pro­ • Peat-mining machinery was moved For all of you who have generously gram now tracks over 400 volunteers into place on a peatland abutting a offered to volunteer your time to the on a computerized database. These Conservancy preserve; Chapter since the beginning of the year people donate their services in a variety But, fortunately, sometimes the news (at last count we had received approx­ of ways essential to the smooth function­ is good: imately 25 new volunteer forms), please ing of the stewardship program; they • A new rare plant species was found don’t give up on us. We have finally act as preserve and easement monitors, on a property protected by the Conser­ developed a computerized system to serve on local preserve stewardship vancy—within inches of off-road track all of our volunteers, which committees, lead field trips, monitor vehicle tracks; should help us make the best use of rare plant populations, and join in • A bald eagle re-established a nest on you who are willing and able to lend a preserve workdays. Chapter staff are an island preserve known to be a hand.