Bonyun Preserve
Westport Island, ME
Bonyun Preserve is conservation land managed primarily for the preservation of wildlife. The Preserve is open free of charge to the public from dawn to dusk. Help us protect what you have come to enjoy. Natural areas are delicate. Westport Island is underlain by granite bedrock, covered for the most part with thin, relatively poor acidic soils. The general landscape was shaped by events that occurred during the pleistocene epoch, which began about 2 million years ago. There were at least four periods of glaciation during which huge ice sheets covered all of Lincoln County. The last major glaciation spread southeast about 18,000 years ago. As it moved, the glacier ground up rocks beneath it and deposited this newly eroded material as a compact layer of glacial till. The sheer weight of the ice sheet depressed the land surface, while the large quantity of water tied up in the ice lowered the surface of the sea by as much as 350 feet. As the ice melted the land began to rebound and emerge from the sea. This emergence lasted from about 13,000 to 10,000 years ago when sea level was 180 feet below the present level. Since that time, a slow submergence of the land has brought the sea up to its present level.
Read “Bonyun Preserve” by David Crews
Green Point Preserve
West Bath, ME
The property is on the deep water shore of Winnegance Bay at Green Point Preserve. The wooded upland is primarily spruce-pine, with hardwood dominated sections on the southern point. A ridge runs north-south along the center of the property and drops off sharply to the east and west. There are lovely rocky outcrops and views of Winnegance Bay, down the New Meadows River toward Cundy’s Harbor in Harpswell. Access to the preserve is by deeded right of way from Birch Point Road along an old woods road. To the west of the trail is a small stream that drains the trailside wetland into Brigham’s Cove in Winnegance Bay. Vernal Pools are present, providing essential breeding ground for fairy shrimp, wood frogs and salamanders. At the head of Brigham’s Cove is the old “Indian Carry Road” where the Native Americans carried their boats across a narrow strip of land to reach Winnegance Creek, and the mighty Kennebec River at Doubling Point. A current resident of Brigham’s Cove remembers seeing Native women come into Brigham’s Cove to collect grasses for basket making.
Read Three Poems for Green Point Preserve by Mike Bove
Higgins Mountain Preserve
Georgetown, ME
In 2000, the Higgins Mountain Preserve was donated to the Land Trust. This preserve provides stunning views of the coast from atop the bedrock outcrops of the mountain. A short loop trail leads from a small parking lot on the west side of Rt. 127 and winds through the forest to the rocky summit. Higgins Mountain is one of the highest points on Georgetown Island, with an elevation of 259 feet above sea level. The lower slopes of the mountain are dominated by red oak, maple, and birch, creating habitat for warblers, woodpeckers, and owls. Pitch pine and blueberries grow on the upper slopes, and rare broom crowberry, a low growing shrub, is found in the shallow soils between rocky outcrops at the summit. Deer, fox, and racoon forage on the land. Higgins Mountain was burned in the Great Georgetown fire of 1908, and has experienced smaller fires since then. In the summer of 2003, a wildfire burned two acres at the top of the mountain. Land Trust volunteers are closely watching the recovery of the vegetation.
Read Three Poems for Higgins Mountain Preserve by Robert Carr
Lilly Pond Community Forest
Bath, ME
A mixture of upland forests, rocky woodlands, wetland forests, and open wetland, the preserve protects 900 feet of frontage on Lilly Pond, the headwaters of Whiskeag Creek. Three miles of multi-use trails exist in the preserve. Lily Pond Community Forest is appropriate for hikers and mountain bikers. Leashed pets only.
Read “Lilly Pond” by Julian Wise
Merrymeeting Fields Preserve
Woolwich, ME
In 2003, the 125-acre preserve at Merrymeeting Fields was donated to the Trust at the generous bequest of Eleanor B. Burke, long time resident of the property. Mrs. Burke’s will instructed the Trust “to maintain the property’s open space, forests, woodlands, and varied habitats with no hunting, trapping or motor vehicles to be allowed.” The land is primarily a mixed forest and includes a former farm field which is maintained by KELT for nesting birds and small mammals. It is a wonderful place for bird watching and cross- country skiing. The Preserve also has extensive frontage on Merrymeeting Bay and Chops Creek, an area designated as critical habitat by the Maine Natural Areas Program. The Trust has cleared trails along the old lighthouse road and through the forest to an impressive overlook on Merrymeeting Bay. This historic site provides fine views of the Kennebec River and Abagadasset Wetlands, high value habitat for nesting and migrating birds. Striped bass spawning grounds lie off the Preserve shore.
Read “Pandemic Field Notes” by Dawn Potter
Red Rose Preserve
Bowdoinham, ME
Red Rose Preserve is KELT’s first public preserve in Bowdoinham and was protected thanks to generous donations from local landowners. Red Rose features an approximately one-mile long loop visiting different parts of the property. The trail following the rolling landscape through the quiet woods can be enjoyed by a variety of preserve users, including hikers, birders, and walkers with leashed pets. Red Rose Preserve, a former dairy farm, includes two hayfields, mixed forest with a perennial stream, and scrub-shrub habitat. This new preserve boasts sloping ravines, a variety of birds, and a plethora of plants and wildlife to discover. Red Rose Preserve is conveniently located near town and school property, is great for nature lovers of all ages, and will be open dawn to dusk, year round.