From the beginning, QRLT has had a goal of providing water access for commercial fishermen and shellfish harvesters and also for those who seek the water recreationally. In 2002 we acquired our first water access property, Gilman Dam on the Dennys River, a traditional canoe put-in and take-out spot (this property also protects Atlantic salmon habitat). The next year we completed our second water access project, Orange River Landing in Whiting, almost across from our office. In 2004, we purchased Mowry Beach in Lubec which, as well as conserving a large area of scrub-shrub and wetlands habitat, lets the general public and the students and teachers of the Lubec Consolidated School get to the beach.

Now, we have the chance to secure two more important water access properties. Both, like our previous acquisitions, offer scenic beauty and outstanding wildlife values as well as public access. Both require funding. Each is very different from the other. And both are very worthwhile.

Reynolds Marsh Overlook -

Orange River Access, Whiting, Maine

We need your help to acquire Reynolds Marsh Overlook, an important water access property in the Orange River watershed.

Reynolds Brook

Reynolds Marsh Overlook, directly on U.S. Route 1 in Whiting, offers a hand-carry launch site for canoes and kayaks that provides access to miles of scenic waterway. The property is about two miles upstream from QRLT’s Orange River Landing Conservation Area, offering easy one-way or round-trip paddles.

This 1.23-acre parcel with 310 feet of shorefront looks out on the Orange River Wildlife Management Area (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife), making it perfect for picnicking, enjoying the scenery, and observing the area’s diverse birds and other wildlife, whether from the water or from the shore.

Once we acquire the property, we will remove a derelict camp and outbuildings, create a parking area, and improve the water access. As we fundraise for this second site in the Orange River watershed, we are exploring ways to create a "water trail" along more of this lovely and remote-feeling, yet accessible, river with its idyllic small lakes

The SCAT Foundation, which helped QRLT buy Gilman Dam and the Orange River Landing, has committed $15,000 for this latest project. QRLT has alread raised $24,000 towards this project. But we needs to raise another $32,500 before October 1, 2008 to complete the purchase. Donations and pledges can be made to QRLT, marked "Reynolds Marsh Overlook."

To make a donation for one or both of the properties send your donation to QRLT PO Box 49, Whiting, ME 04691. Please enclose the following form with your donation Donation Form and note next to the land and easement acquisition fund the property you would like to help fund. Thank you!

Lubec Salt Ponds Protected but funds still needed

View of the Lubec Salt Ponds looking towards the "Spark Plug"

If you have ever driven the South Lubec Road, you know the "S curve" just past the medical center heading toward Quoddy Head. Here, the road approaches the shore and – if you are not driving – you can take a moment to glance at stunning views of Lubec village, Campobello Island across the Lubec Channel and, on a clear day, Grand Manan in the far distance. If you are a shellfish harvester, you may have pulled down onto the beach just before the outlet stream to Pike's Puddle, a pond and freshwater marsh area on the inland side of the road, to get onto the nearby mud flats. If you are a birder, you will have parked alongside the road to check out the avian action on the Puddle and on the saltmarsh, beach and flats across the road.

The property we call the Lubec Salt Ponds forms one side of the Pike's Puddle outflow. A roughly 5 acre parcel with almost 500 feet of saltwater shorefront and over 700 feet on the road, it has an area of high ground with an old cellar hole, which drops down to alders, saltmarsh, two salt ponds and a sandy barrier beach with mud flats beyond.

Currently, most water access is from the neighboring property across the outflow stream. This is dependent on the good will of the owner and could be stopped at any time. It also requires driving onto the beach, which is eroding, and is not very safe given the curve and dip in the road at that spot. Acquisition of the Salt Ponds will ensure that the public can continue to get to the shore in this area, and will allow for creation of a small parking lot to provide safe off-road parking and a path to the beach for foot traffic and hand-carried small boat access (tide dependent).

While the main reason to acquire the property is to ensure water access, another reason is to conserve the site for nature observation. As QRLT member and Lubec resident Ralf Multhopp told us: "Like other birders, I slow or sometimes come to a complete stop at the S turns when I come to the Salt Ponds. The variety of shore birds, waders and waterfowl there are frequently enough to make you forget driving safety. Egrets, Yellowlegs, Piping Plovers and Herons can be seen there. The fields above the slough can have Horned Larks, Geese and other grassland birds. It is one of the richest and most accessible birding "hot spots" in eastern Washington County."

Our partners include Maine Coast Heritage Trust and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W). We have signed a purchase option agreement to acquire the property for $71,000, well below the appraised value. We have just been awarded $58,000 from the Land for Maine's Future program. We have purchased the property but we are still left with a total of $18,00 to raise to cover stewardship endowment and other project costs. Please download the Gift/Pledge form to give to theLubec Salt Ponds

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Quoddy Regional Land Trust

PO Box 49

Whiting, ME 04691

(207) 733-5509

Two New Water Access Projects Underway for 2008

Reynolds Marsh Overlook -

Orange River Access, Whiting, Maine

Lubec Salt Ponds *Protected but funds still needed*

Lubec Salt Ponds Protected but funds still needed