Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Case Study: Significant Vernal Pool Identification and Mapping

Identified as a conservation priority in Bremen, significant vernal pools need our attention and protection.  The link below provided by MEACC is a case study of what one Maine town is doing to protect significant vernal pools.  If anyone in Bremen is interested in attending workshops/training sessions regarding vernal pools please contact us via email at bcc@tidewater.net

http://www.meacc.net/achievements/topsham_vernal%20pools.pdf

Monday, April 25, 2011

Conservation Priorities | Projects

The Bremen Conservation Commission began 2011 by writing a new chapter in its history.  For the first time the BCC developed a document that outlined Conservation Funding Priorities and Projects.  This document was recently presented to the town selectmen and the BCC is now ready to begin a series of projects all dedicated to achieving conservation goals in areas of Public Access to Saltwater and Freshwater Resources and Trails Development to name a few.

Below are conservation projects that the BCC will begin this year:

Conservation Priority #1 - Public Access to Freshwater Resources
Project A:  Inventory freshwater sites suitable for public access   
Project B:  Identify funding sources to acquire properties for public access
Project C: Survey and mark town of right-of-way on Biscay Pond

Conservation Priority #1 - Public Access to Saltwater Resources
Project A: Medomak Town Landing Use Study
Project B: Verify Creek Road Landing Documentation
Project C: Study to explore acquisition of right-of-way(s) to saltwater/Working Waterfront

Conservation Priority #2 - Trails Development
Project A: Develop trails on town property north of the Town House
Project B: Identify private properties suitable for trail/trail system and build trails

If anyone is interested in any of these conservation projects the BCC encourages you to get involved.  For more information please call Dennis Prior / 529-2987 or Diane O'Connor / 529-4499.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Bremen Clean Up is April 30

The Patriotic Club of Bremen is celebrating Earth Day this year on Saturday April 30 with the annual roadside clean up.  Residents of Bremen collect trash that has collected beside the Bremen town roads every year at this time. Volunteers may pick up empty bags, provided by the State Department of Transportation, at the Bremen Fire Department on Route 32 at 9:00. When the bags are full, just tie them up and leave them along the side of the road. Pickup of the bags will start at 11:30, with the last pickup at 12:00 noon on Saturday, April 30. The event will take place rain or shine. Let's take pride in our community and work together to beautify Bremen and Mother Earth.

Friday, April 8, 2011

New Lands Conserved on BLI

Medomak Valley News, March 2011

Daniel and Suzanne Goldenson of Bremen made a further gift of land to complete the Karl F. Berger Preserve on Bremen Long Island.  The gift was made to Medomak Valley Land Trust and consists of an additional 15 acres, including a cove and 700 feet of deep water frontage on the eastern shore of the 165 acre preserve.

Working closely with MVLT and the Bremen Conservation Commission, the Goldensons souht to preserve a major part of the 850 acre island, which, in the days before paved roads and electricity on the mainland, had several hundred residents who were farmers and fishermen.

The Berger Preserve is accessible from Hockomock Channel, on the western shore, and extends more than 4,000 feet to the eastern shore where the swift ocean current inspired the name "Flying Passage."  The newly donated parcel protects a beautiful cove on the eastern shore of the island.  Trails, signage and brochures will be developed this spring by MVLT and the Bremen Conservation Commission.

Bradley Family Donates Easement on BLI

Medomak Valley News March 2011

Thanks to the generosity of Robert and Suzanne Bradley of Bristol a small parcel of wooded land on Bremen Long Island, with 900 ft. of frontage on Muscongus Bay, was placed under conservation easement.

The property is on the southwestern end of Bremen Long Island, and includes several beautiful wetlands, mature woods, and rocky shoreland.  A historic 'cattle run' passes along the eastern edge of the property.  Conservation of this property ensures that the land will stay forever undeveloped and available to the public for hiking, picnicking, and other low impact activities.

The property was donated in the memory of Robert's mother , Elizabeth Bradley, and has been in the Bradley family for almost half a century.  Rob, a local lobsterman, says that his mother enjoyed spending summers for years on Bremen Long Island before handing the property down to him.  He and Suzanne will, in time, hand it down to their children.

During the time that the Bradleys have owned the property, they have seen public access to the shore decline precipitously, and wanted to make sure that there were still places that locals could go to enjoy the water.  They decided that an easement was the best vehicle for protecting both the natural resources of the property, and the public's access to it.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Clearing Up the Mud

Kennebec Journal
April 2, 2011

MAINE COMPASS: Clearing Up the Mud
Some facts about Maine's significant vernal pools

By Anne Duperault

As the snow begins to melt, many of us soon will hear the sounds of
spring peepers and wood frogs calling around vernal pools -- unique
natural areas that have garnered much attention and confusion this
legislative session.

Vernal pools are small, shallow wetlands that provide big benefits to
people and wildlife. They are critical habitat for many species,
particularly frogs and salamanders, but they also are used by
waterfowl and deer.

Vernal pools also help fuel the surrounding forest food chain as
countless larger predators, from red fox to mink to woodland hawks,
prey on the annual crop of frogs and salamanders that emerge from
these habitats every year.

Recently, there has been substantial focus and misconceptions
regarding Maine's laws on vernal pools. Unlike several other
northeastern states, Maine does not protect all vernal pools. The
state protects only "significant vernal pools" based on specific
scientific criteria designed to target pools hosting rare and
endangered species or exceptionally high populations of pool-breeding
indicator amphibians.

Not every mud puddle or skidder rut is considered significant. In
fact, of the nearly 1,200 vernal pools reviewed to date by the Maine
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, only about 240 pools (20
percent) have been identified as significant vernal pools.

Further confusion arises when Maine is compared against other states
in the Northeast, especially with regard to "buffers" -- the setback
for land surrounding the pool.

Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia apply
smaller buffers to a larger proportion of vernal pools than does
Maine. These buffers (25-100 feet) are too small to adequately support
many of the wildlife populations that require forested habitat
surrounding the pool.

Maine has a more scientifically supported buffer size of 250 feet that
is applied to a limited subset of the state's highest-value vernal
pools. The state's conservation approach focuses on quality and
functionality, not quantity.

Some have blamed Maine's vernal pool protections for impeding
development. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection,
however, has not denied a single permit for a development proposal
involving a significant vernal pool, according to its own briefing to
the Legislature last week (March 23).

Some also assume the word "buffer" to mean "no development activity."
This is not the case with Maine's vernal pool rules. Forest management
activities, including associated road construction, are exempt from
vernal pool protections. Low-intensity development activity is also
permissible, provided it is planned in a manner that minimizes its
impact to pool-breeding wildlife.

Maine's significant vernal pools have been part of the state's
regulated natural resources for almost four years, and part of Maine's
natural landscape for thousands of years.

Poorly planned development, however, can wipe these unique habitats
out in a matter of days.

Legislators beholden to a few outspoken, highly paid development
lobbyists should remember that the silent majority of Mainers treasure
the natural heritage that makes this state special. Any change to
science-based natural resource protections should not be done hastily
and in response to unsubstantiated rhetoric, but rather with careful
consideration of the facts.