The Kennebec Land Trust NEWS Volume 38 No. 2/ Fall 2020
STORER FARM COMMUNITY PRESERVE Theresa Kerchner, Executive Director
Left to right: Sarah Doscinski, Creston Gaither, John and Marianne Archard, Kim Vandermeulen, Jim Anderberg, Howard Lake
Late in September, as the leaves were turning and the days were growing shorter and cooler, KLT members and the Storer Farm Community gathered for a small, safe dedication of our newest property, the Storer Farm Community Preserve. Generously donated by the Storer Farm Community, this seventy-acre conservation property borders the Franklin County line in northwest Kennebec County. At an elevation between 650 and 750 feet, the preserve features a mixed hardwood and conifer forest, a vernal pool, and a meandering perennial stream that flows southwesterly into McGurdy Stream. A short, mostly level trail allows for a leisurely walk in the beautiful Vienna hills. Wabanaki peoples lived along the Sandy River in what is now Farmington Falls for thousands of years before Vienna was incorporated; they might well have used today’s Storer Preserve for hunting and gathering. In the late 1700s, large landowners known as “the great proprietors” divided and sold lots in what is now the town of Vienna. The Storer Farm Community property was purchased by Elijah Bunker in the early 1800s. A succession of owners led to Union Army Corporal Thomas Franklin Storer, for whom the property is named. Another succession of owners led to the Storer Farm Community, which purchased the property in 1975 and has generously donated this preserve to KLT in 2020. KLT is grateful to the members of the Storer Community for their generous gift.* At the time of their donation, members of the group wrote of this land: For our children and our children’s children and beyond, we put aside this small piece of the world, forever wild, for generations of the two-legged, four-legged, winged, finned, green, and all things that live. Jim Anderberg, member of the Storer Farm Community, spoke at the dedication about the community’s deep connection to the land and its ecology. Donating the Preserve to KLT felt a bit like “sending a child off to college,” he said, but he knows it is in good hands. Kim Vandermeulen, President of the KLT Board of Directors noted, “Together we are protecting forestland, wetlands, and other valuable natural places on the landscape—places that we love, and that in turn support our communities and ecosystems.” *Members of the Storer Farm Community: Jim Anderberg, John and Marianne Archard, Sarah & Josh Doscinski, Creston Gaither, Bob and Donna Fellman, and Lee Fellman. Visit KLT’s website at www.tklt.org/storer for a brochure and map with directions. Thanks to Maine Master Naturalist Deb Stahler of Mount Vernon for her work on the Storer Farm brochure and to Tyler Keniston, KLT Stewardship Manager, for the beautiful cedar property sign.
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P AGE 2 Board of Directors Kim Vandermeulen President Janet Sawyer 1st Vice President Matt Mullen 2nd Vice President Amy Trunnell Treasurer Bob Marvinney Secretary Sue Bell Susan Caldwell Mary Denison Tom Ferrero Craig Garofalo Ben Godsoe Marty Keniston Howard Lake Jean Scudder Deb Sewall
President’s Message: Caring and Sharing As you and our many other members know, KLT’s principal mission is to care for the lands placed in trust with us. Our staff and many volunteers do a world-class job of carrying out this mission. Equally important is having our community enjoy these properties and Maine’s wonderful outdoors. The note below from one of our local Boy Scout troops is one excellent and very cute example of sharing the beauty of KLT properties.
Our land trust maintains a Facebook page, and Theresa tells me that any posting that highlights our community’s enjoyment of the trail system will receive the greatest number of positive comments. Her observation led me to check out the KLT page. Quoted below are just a few of our hikers’ Facebook comments: “Some of the best, well maintained trails in Central Maine! Well marked and always cared for. Thank you to the excellent volunteers who make it possible to use such a great trail system.” “So impressed by and grateful for the outstanding work you are doing. Looking forward to future volunteer opportunities.”
KLT Staff Tyler Keniston
Stewardship Manager Theresa Kerchner
Executive Director Marie Ring
Membership & Program Director Jean-Luc Theriault
“Trails are incredible. Think national park quality but without the people. Similar to Bubbles in Acadia if you are hiking with kids. Did the blueberry trail. Great time outside, saw a porcupine den too!” Edna Jaques, Canadian Poet of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, said it well: Go out, go out I beg of you And taste the beauty of the wild. Behold the miracle of the earth With all the wonder of a child. I hope you can all get out and enjoy our trails this fall.
Stewardship Director
Kim Vandermeulen, President KLT News Design Tyler Keniston KLT News Editors Theresa Kerchner Janie Matrisciano Deb Sewall Cover Photo Theresa Kerchner
Advisory Board Jim Connors Hon. Kenneth Curtis Elizabeth Davidson Eric Doucette Caroline Farr David Gibson Glenn Hodgkins
Charlie Jacobs Mark Johnston Ron Joseph Kevin Kane Martha Kent Robert Kimber Ken Laustsen
Gloria & Lincoln Ladd Barbara Libby Andy Lilienthal Scott Longfellow Jon Lund Jessie & Douglas Macdonald
Bob Mohlar Patricia Mooney, Ph.D. Jeff Pidot Norm Rodrigue Dianne E. Ryan Reade & Joan Ryan Rebecca Stanley Jym St. Pierre
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Staff & Board News Thank You - Kirsten Brewer, Membership and Program Director KLT bids a fond farewell to Kirsten, KLT’s Program and Membership Director from 2017 to 2020. Kirsten served the Trust with dedication and brought with her a myriad of skills and talents. Her attention to detail and thoughtful communications with our members and the public were important in all aspects of KLT’s conservation work. Kirsten designed and produced the newsletter and coordinated KLT’s annual conservation education series, our field programs, our membership renewal, the annual meeting, the Curtis Homestead forestry program, and the Wakefield Cabin rentals. She helped with the Local Wood WORKS partnership, and as happens in most non-profits, she pitched in wherever she was needed to keep KLT on course, all the more crucially during this difficult year. Thank you, Kirsten, for your dedication to the land and the people in our communities. We will miss you and will be thinking of you as you take on a new role with the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Welcome - Marie Ring, Membership and Program Director KLT is thrilled to welcome Marie Ring as the new Membership and Program Director. Marie joined the KLT team in the fall of 2020 and is excited to be back in the incredible state she grew up in. She graduated from the University of Maine in 2018 with a degree in Biology and a minor in Ecology and Environmental Sciences. She then spent two years serving as the Education Coordinator and AmeriCorps Member at the Eastern Sierra Land Trust in Bishop, California, and adventuring in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains. There she discovered her passion for land conservation and helping people connect with nature. During her free time you can find her exploring new trails, lakes, and other unique spots around Maine.
2020 KLT Board Nominees Jordan Beall – Jordan is a family practice physician assistant with MaineGeneral Medical Center. After
growing up in Leeds and living in several other areas of Maine over the past ten years, she now resides in Farmingdale. With a background in public health, she is passionate about health education and creating healthier communities. Along with her dog, Puck, she enjoys hiking, running, skiing, and biking throughout Maine, but especially on the KLT trails.
Karly Bishop, D.O. – Karly is a certified, rurally trained healthcare provider and
a Mt. Vernon resident. She sees a significant relationship between health and connection with nature, and thus the importance of conservation efforts. She enjoys kayaking, hiking, plant-based cooking, live music, and dancing. She is especially interested in the stewardship and development aspects of the Land Trust.
J. Scott Ladd – Scott is an attorney and lives in Winthrop with his wife, Pat. He has been with the Gardiner firm of Farris Law, P.A., since 1987, practicing in the area of real estate transactions. Scott is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking, skiing, and kayaking. His father Bob, and Bob’s brothers Lincoln and George and their extended family, donated the Gott Pasture Preserve to KLT in 2003.
Welcome New KLT Members Jordan Beall John Churchill Bill Crosby Bob Doiron Sarah & Josh Doscinski Creston Gaither Damon S. Holman Skip Hunter Jim Hyson
Mark R Jarrell J.B. Kippax, D.M.D Meghan E. Loomis Tiffany P. Mann Carolyn C Mauger Patrick McKeown Nancy & Todd Hemphill Aaron Neily Jesse Patkus
John S. Pillans Emily Poulin Robert & Sally Foster Jonathan Rundell Justin Russell Stephen Smith-Erb John & Cindy Snell Alex & Janet Sydnor Kathy Tarbuck
Dan Tartakoff Sam Tippet Julia Tulchinsky Jon Wood Annika Cole Zack New members as of April 21, 2020 September 29, 2020
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KLT Interns: Future Leaders After an impressive season of field work, office work, and research, Grace Andrews, Luke Beeson, George Edison, and Evan Kuehnert completed their internships with KLT in August. Enclosed in this newsletter are copies of Grace’s, Luke’s, and Evan’s summer research projects. George’s project took the form of a podcast-style audio presentation that discusses the community benefits of trail access during the COVID-19 pandemic. To listen to his presentation, please visit our website at: www.tklt.org/pastinterns-and-research For information about KLT’s internship program, visit www.tklt.org. We will begin recruitment for next summer in December 2020. Grace Andrews: I am very glad that I was able to spend my summer at KLT. I learned so much: from the inner workings of the land conservation world and how nonprofits are run in general, to how to create trails and build bog bridging. Throughout the summer I was impressed again and again by how much KLT does and how much respect and enthusiasm there is in the local community for land conservation. I also thoroughly enjoyed working as a team with the wonderful KLT staff and my fellow interns. It was fulfilling for me to work on such a wide range of projects, both out on the trails and in a research setting. As I look for employment and educational opportunities in the future, I know I will look back on my time at KLT as a valuable experience. Thanks so much to all the people who made this summer possible! Luke Beeson: Interning with KLT this summer helped me grow a great deal professionally. I feel much more secure in my place and my future in the land conservation world with the skills and general self-assurance I gained from the work we did this summer. I will feel incredibly more confident walking into a new job with a broad bag of skills I’m ready to share! I’m extremely grateful for the summer and for the experiences KLT provided, and I’m excited to take them to a new place. George Edison: Going into the summer I felt lucky to even have something to do in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of my time with KLT in mid-August, I had built relationships with my fellow interns and the staff members of KLT as well a connection to the land of Kennebec County. Building and maintaining trails, especially at the Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area, was a great way to work tangibly with my surroundings while also learning about Maine wetlands and other ecosystems. Before the summer started, I hardly even knew what a land trust was. Working for one made me realize what a great resource it can be for a community, and how it can link people together who care for and appreciate the place where they all live. I very much enjoyed my summer with KLT and hope to come back and hike some of the new trails in the future! Evan Kuehnert: Getting to spend the summer with KLT would be a great experience in a normal year, but it was particularly rewarding to have this opportunity during this different and uncertain summer. I really valued the diversity of knowledge I gained from working with Jean-Luc, Tyler, Theresa, Kirsten, and the other interns, as well as the sense of routine and community that the internship provided. While I enjoyed all aspects of the internship, my independent research project on the impacts of climate change on Maine’s forestry, fisheries, and farming sectors gave me the extra opportunity to learn from people working in those fields and on climate change policy in state government. Understanding these issues from a diversity of perspectives was very illuminating, and it was an opportunity I could not have gotten elsewhere. My internship with KLT was a great opportunity to learn and develop a wide range of skills, and I am very thankful to everyone who made it possible!
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Thank You Volunteers
Thank You Foundations & Funds Davis Conservation Foundation Donald & Martha Kent Fund Douglas & Jessie Macdonald Gift Fund Elmina B. Sewall Foundation Elsie & William Viles Foundation Farnsworth Fund of the Essex County Community Foundation The Farr Harvey Fund Helen & George Ladd Charitable Corporation Howard & Brenda Lake Charitable Fund John C. Orestis & Barbra M. Crowley Fund of the Maine Community Foundation
Joseph A. Bauer, Jr. & Mary Brown Parlee Fund Kennebec Savings Bank Maine Coast Heritage Trust Merrymeeting Bay/ Marsh Migration Initiative McGehee-Sniffen Fund Onion Foundation Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Silverseed Fund of the Maine Community Foundation The Snider Foundation
Please Support Our Business Partners Please support our generous Business Partners. The businesses listed below are generous supporters of KLT and its mission. This list reflects donations to KLT between July 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020. Conservation Leader Camp Androscoggin Camp Laurel Camp Vega for Girls Camp Winnebago Cribstone Capital Management Everett J. Prescott, Inc. (Team EJP Employees) G & E Roofing Gibson LeClair LLC. Kennebec Savings Bank Lake and Denison Attorneys Longfellow’s Greenhouses LPK Mendall Financial Group LLC Pat Ladd, Homestead Realty Sprague and Curtis Real Estate Stantec Two Trees Forestry Winthrop Veterinary Hospital Kennebec County Champion Alternative Manufacturing, Inc. (AMI) Amy P. Trunnell, CPA Geoffrey Houghton, The Liberal Cup Trail Blazer Beth Jones Yoga Knowlton Hewins & Roberts Funeral Homes and Cremation Maine State Credit Union Maranacook Family Health Care
Business Partner Beth Anne Pochopien, Occupational Therapist C.B. Mattson, Inc. Connect! Consulting D.R. Struck Landscape Nursery Evergreen Dental Associates Fab Services, Inc. Family Dental Practice Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce Northeast Charter & Tour Co. Thomas Agency Two Loons Farm/Conservative Builders Winthrop Area Chamber of Commerce Winthrop Fuel Company
Henry and Ryan Avery • Jerry Bley • Steve Condon • Jim Connors • Elizabeth Davidson • Jane & Stan Davis • Mary Denison • Eric Doucette • Lee Dunn • Fred Hurley • Charlie Jacobs • Mary & Kevin Kane • Pat Ladd, Homestead Real Estate • Brenda & Howard Lake • Ken Laustsen • Amanda Mahaffey & Forest Stewards Guild • Augusta Martial Arts Institute • Jane Matrisciano • Matt Mullen • Linda Nelson • Tim Pepper • Jim Perkins • Chuck and Lorraine Ravis • Joyce Rivers • Norm Rodrigue • Cassie Sano • Janet & Ansley Sawyer • Jean Scudder • Deb Sewall • Andy Shultz & Maine Forest Service • Deb Stahler • Rebecca Stanley • Sally Stockwell & Maine Audubon • Andy Tolman • Amy Trunnell • Kim Vandermeulen • Vaughan Woods and Historic Homestead • Patsy West & the Viles Foundation • & KLT Land Donors, Stewards, Office & Field Volunteers, Directors, & Advisors.
KLT Stewardship Director Jean-Luc Theriault and Henry Avery celebrate Henry’s completion of his Eagle Scout project at the Wakefield Wildlife Sanctuary. KLT NEWSLETTER
SPONSOR
Celebration and Memorial Gifts In Memory of Rupert Neily Sylvia Bates David B. Binder Leslie Bird Ellen Bowman The Higgins Family Meredith H. Jones & Dana P. Murch Theresa Kerchner & Jim Perkins Howard & Brenda Lake Jeffrey B. Pidot Anne Richter In Honor of Diana Brooks Katherine O. Greenleaf Kevin & Mary Kane
Stanley & Sally Macdonald Anne Ogden Ruth Ann Smith Patricia Cornell Harrington In Honor of Elliot and Anne Farr The Farr Harvey Fund In Honor of Joseph Bauer, Jr. Allan Doyle In Honor of Theresa Kerchner William Edward Strohaver In Honor of Barbara Libby Bill & Carole Slayton
IMPORTANT: KLT Directors Election Ballot:
P.O. Box 261 331 Main Street Winthrop, ME 04364 Phone: 207-377-2848 info@tklt.org www.tklt.org The KLT office is currently closed to the public. Please leave us a phone message or contact us by email. Thank you!
Given that we were unable to hold the annual meeting, we will be mailing all members a ballot for the election of directors of the corporation. The ballot will be mailed with our fall annual renewal request. Each adult member is entitled to vote. Please return all ballots by November 6 by postal mail, or send a scanned copy to: info@tklt.org. See page 3 for information about our three nominees. Unsure of your membership status? Please call or email us.
Printed on 30% post-consumer recycled paper
Take a Hike!
Second Edition Available December 2020 Pre-order for the holidays now* KLT is thrilled to announce that the second edition of our popular hiking guide, Take a Hike!, will be available by early December. We have updated the maps with new trails and property additions, and we’re also adding another twelve properties to the twenty featured in the first edition. The publication of Take a Hike! is made possible by the time and expertise provided by LPK in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mort Libby (1937-2017), former CEO of LPK, was a founding member of KLT. Mort’s wife Barbara is an East Winthrop summer resident and a longtime member of our Advisory Board. Thank you LPK! *To pre-order, use our secure checkout on our website: www.tklt.org/merchandise/guide Price: $18.00 plus shipping