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Monday, June 17, 2002
Pulling together for marsh
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||||
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SCARBOROUGH — They came together for different reasons. Some were concerned about birds and wildlife. Others wanted to restore what they consider Maine's greatest natural treasure. What started as a suggestion in a report and a gathering of concerned friends has quickly evolved into a group called Friends of Scarborough Marsh. "We had concerns about the health of the marsh . . . ," said board member C.D. Armstrong. "We got together and thought maybe we should put together an effort to do some restoration and determine really what the problems were and how we could fix them." The group was established formally about two years ago. It has already finished one restoration project and is embarking on a second. From the beginning, members of Friends of Scarborough Marsh knew they needed to work toward a focused preservation and restoration effort, Armstrong said. "I think what's interesting and what's been so successful in the pulling together of the group, and I think is central to what we're doing at this point, is to be a facilitator of information and resources," he said. Friends of Scarborough Marsh is made up of 12 board members and has 140 general members who pay dues of $25 a year. The group has targeted damaged areas in the marsh. It raises funds and finds groups and companies to carry out repairs. Its partners have included Swamp Inc., the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, Ducks Unlimited, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Scarborough Coastal Pollution Committee.
"What we have found is that all these groups are working mostly in the same direction but not necessarily in the same direction, and covering and re-covering the same ground," Armstrong said. About the same time Armstrong and others were discussing ways to help the marsh, Rob Bryan, a forest and wetland ecologist with Maine Audubon Society, issued a report outlining damage done to the marsh since European settlers arrived in the 1630s. One of his suggestions for ensuring a healthy marsh was the creation of a group with the purpose of restoration and preservation. For restoration to work, the group decided they needed to create a strategic plan for the marsh. After researching a number of environmental consulting firms, they chose Normandeau Associates from New Hampshire to put together a 58-page plan. It details what projects must be done to restore and enhance the marsh and its watershed. The plan calls for restoring pools vital to wildlife by damming ditches dug to grow salt hay. It also calls for salt water to reach places where it was found before the construction of Route 1 and other roads that cut off the tides. Friends of Scarborough Marsh raised $37,000 to finance the project. The plan took a year to complete and targets 38 sites on the marsh. The first project, which involved ditch plugging, was completed this year by the York-based company Swamp Inc. at Seavey's Landing. The next project will be restoring tidal flows and removing the invasive plant phragmites by late fall from Cascade Brook near Dunstan's Landing. For board member Roger Mallar, the marsh is an integral part of his family. The Mallars have spent the past 30 summers at Bayley's Campground near the marsh. Mallar is excited about the activities of Friends of Scarborough Marsh, especially its plans to move beyond projects that involve field work. The group is developing a program to bring it into the Scarborough school system with a new estuarine education curriculum. Members hope to teach students about the marsh and, they hope, breed a new generation of preservationists, Mallar said. "That's an exciting, long-reach process that's very exciting to all of us," he said. If the long reach of Friends of Scarborough Marsh can turn back the clock to a time when the marsh abounded with wildlife and beauty, then the state will be better for it, Armstrong said. "I think we are losing some parts of our heritage; if we don't act today to conserve and maybe in fact improve upon some of the great places that we've got, then I think we will lose a lot of what has been beneficial and attractive to our residents today, and that would be extremely unfortunate," he said. Staff Writer Ryan Blethen can be contacted at 791-6329 or at:
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